Chapter 36

14:45 PDT Wednesday, October 16^th, 1991

Aboard United 842

The Chief looks comfortable, Lenore thought sourly. Being a Department of the Navy civilian, he could wear what he wanted, and today, apparently, he wanted to wear a polo shirt, khaki pants, and soft shoes. He'd stowed his jacket in his carry-on bag overhead, and looked insufferably at his ease.

Lenore, on the other hand, was in her tailored Service Dress, feeling hot and confined. Every time she looked over at him, he seemed smugly comfortable. She'd flown back from Diego last time in a tee-shirt and bluejeans, rather than the Utilities she'd worn onboard the Joy Redux and for the remainder of that weekend.

This time, given that the US Military was on a high state of alert, Lenore would travel in uniform. She was traveling as BM2 Collins, though she felt more and more that she should be seen as Officer Candidate Collins. Yet, given the nature of the duty she was pulling for ONI, she would wear the stripes. And what a change in outlook it is for me to resent wearing a uniform, and even more so to resent, even a little, the stripes that tickled me so much back in August.

Fortunately, the 737 wasn't terribly crowded, being a midweek mid-afternoon flight, and Lenore and the Chief had no one in the third seat on the port side of row 12 sharing their conversation.

"DiPietro is taking your squad, you said?"

Lenore nodded. "Yes, Chief. It was something the Commander had set up Monday when I met with him again. He said I'd done such a good job with her it was time to let her spread her wings a little."

The Chief nodded. "I'd heard good things about the man. It's nice to hear confirmation."

The implication of that, my dear Chief, is that you'd be in a position to pass judgment on him officially, or been in the company of those who had. When Lenore thought about that for a few moments, she realized that he probably had. And that made it easier for her to bring up what was really on her mind. "Chief, I'm concerned about Ben."

Instantly, she had his complete attention. "Your brother is a fine soldier, Lenore. Why are you concerned?"

"His letters are getting terser, and he doesn't seem to want to talk about anything positive that happened to him. I get the feeling he's going through the motions, writing to me. He wasn't even excited about the harvest." Lenore felt great concern for her brother, who had, along with his girlfriend, suddenly and completely without warning, become some of the people she most admired. The realization that he was under many of the same pressures she was was sobering. What was alarming her was that he seemed to be bowing under the weight, when she didn't feel overwhelmed herself.