0
IN THE BEGINNING
BY: DIANA M.
Chapter Two
Conrad
was awakened suddenly the next morning by the force of a black- haired, freckled
devil landing on his stomach.
“Morning, Con! It’s Saturday!” the devil started jumping up and
down on his bed. Her pajamas glowed brightly pink in the still dark room.
Conrad rolled over and looked at his clock. It was just gone five, “Well,
technically, yes.” He sat up and stretched luxuriously. The sun wasn’t even
up yet. “Tell me, Drew, have you ever though about knocking first?”
“If I knock, you never get up,” she continued to jump up and down.
“Well, yes, that was sort of what had in mind.”
“Pop says you’re always up by 4:30, every day.” Bounce, bounce,
bounce.
“Not when I’m on leave,” he grabbed her heart-bedecked pajama top
and yanked, “Quit that for a bit, will you?” She flopped down and snuggled
up next to him. “What are you up so bright and early for, Rabbit?”
“All the good shows are on early.”
“You always get up this early just to watch TV?”
“Only on Saturday. Get up, or we’ll miss Blackstar! And Thundarr’s
on, too!”
“Oh, I see. Today I am to be part of this animated extravaganza,” he
smiled down at her. Oh, to be nine again, when the only thing you had to get up
early for was a pack of cartoons and a bowl sugar-coated cereal. Beat a troop of
bitter trainees any day, “Might I partake in some coffee as well?”
Drew looked thoughtful, “I don’t know. Have you been good?”
“Exceedingly.”
“Why do you always talk weird around me, and not Vince?” She slid off
the bed and regarded him critically.
Conrad thought back to last night. He doubted he’d could ever bring
himself to share the same kind of conversation with his kid sister. It was an
embarrassing thought. He wanted to be far away when Drew hit puberty, “It’s
a brother thing, I guess.”
Drew turned and padded to the door, “Well, come get your coffee, then.”
She walked through the rec. room and up the stairs to the kitchen. Conrad waited
until she was all the way before he got up and swapped the sweats he had slept
in for a pair of jeans and a t shirt. He would put off his morning run; probably
wait for the evening, as the August Missouri sun was too powerful for an
afternoon jog. He made his bed neatly and went to find Drew, stepping carefully
through the dark rec. room to avoid any weights Vincent might have forgotten to
replace after his last work out. Conrad’s room had been moved to the basement
level after Drew was born, and Vincent had grown too old to share a room with
Jennifer. The girls now shared, and Vincent had a room to his own; a wise idea,
considering his recent emergence into the world of hormones.
Conrad hadn’t minded. He was living away from home most of the time,
rotating between special forces school and those “special” missions he had
to keep to himself. Too bad; those were worth talking about.
Suddenly, Conrad knew who had called last night. It hadn’t been from
Benning at all. He reached the kitchen and pulled the coffee out of the
cupboard. Unground beans, what a luxury. Pouring them into the electric grinder,
he stared at the phone and ruminated on this new dilemma. Was this rare domestic
peace to be shattered already?
“Hey!” Drew shouted to be heard over the grinder. Conrad had ground
the beans to a fine powder, lost in thought. He poured them into the coffee
maker, using his finger to scrape off the hard packed powder around the blades.
“What?”
“Could ‘ja give me a hand?” Drew pointed to the cabinet over the
refrigerator, “Mom always puts the good stuff out of reach.” Conrad was not
surprised to find the cabinet full of forbidden foods of all types; chocolate,
sinful looking cookies, a box of Three Musketeers, potato chips, cheese puffs,
and two brightly colored boxes- no doubt containing levels of sugar just safe
enough to be labeled kid cereal.
“My God, why does she bother buying all of this? There’s enough sugar
here to put you into orbit!”
“Vince says she does it to torture us. Buys it, and then uses it as a,
what’s he call it?”
“Encouragement? Motivator? Reward?”
“Bribe!” Drew smiled, “he says she bribes us with it.”
Conrad rolled his eyes, “Figures. For terrors like you guys.”
“Ha, ha, ha, very funny. Get me the Froot Loops.” Drew plunked the
milk down on the counter matter-of-factly and went to get a spoon.
**********************************************
Two hours and four shows later, Drew was firmly established in one of the
biggest sugar highs Conrad had ever seen. She was hovering over the couch rather
that sitting on it; vibrating with sucrose energy. With each commercial break,
she jumped up and zoomed around the room a few times, luckily avoiding anything
breakable. She collided into a few pieces of furniture; the couch, an armchair,
and once went through the swinging kitchen door by flinging herself headlong at
it. It was those visits to the kitchen that had done it. Conrad had been so
intrigued by Thundarr, he hadn’t realized that he’d left the box of cereal
on the counter, within easy reach. She must have emptied the bowl five times
before he noticed and intervened, returning the box to its safe, unreachable
cabinet.
The television announced another commercial break, and Conrad watched as
Drew began her circuit around the room anew. Thank God he had been able to stop
the shrieking. Vincent was the only one she had woken up. He grinned at his
older brother as he went out to feed the horses, and laughed when he came back.
“Now you’ve done it, big brother.”
“Yeah, she’s flying now. I imagine it’ll wear off in a little
while.” Drew bounced happily on the couch.
Vincent laughed sarcastically in response and climbed upstairs and back
to bed. Conrad sighed and got up to get another mug of coffee. Drew dive bombed
the couch and once again fixated on the screen. She should be seeing double,
Conrad thought to himself. He would have mentioned it to her, but he had
discovered already that giving her an opportunity to talk was a bad idea.
Shakespeare hadn’t written such long monologues.
The phone by the couch rang loudly before he managed to make it past the
his insane little sister. Conrad set his mug down and quickly lifted the handset
from its cradle, hoping the peal of the bell hadn’t woken anyone.
“Good morning?”
“Ah, sergeant, I thought I’d try to catch you early.”
Conrad’s heart sank, “You’re lucky, sir, usually I’m out running
in the morning.” Behind him, someone came down the stairs. He looked over his
shoulder and caught sight of Jennifer as she pushed through the kitchen door.
Jane Falcone was shaking her head as she cleared up Drew’s cereal bowl from
the coffee table.
“Tricked you, didn’t she dear?”
He nodded distractedly at his mother. She smiled and took the bowl and
his empty mug into the kitchen. Conrad picked up Drew, tossed her to the other
end of the couch, and sat down. She landed with a squeal and a giggle, and was
soon reglued to the screen, entranced by happy little blue elves, no more than
three apples high.
“Sergeant, I’m not going to pussy foot around. One of our recent
situations has grown into quite a quandary. I need you to come in a soon as
possible...” Conrad felt his stomach roll over a he listened to the gravelly
voice. It must have been important for the Colonel to call him at home; that was
quite a security risk in normal circumstances. It must have taken quite a lot of
manpower to establish a secure line for this one call. Then again, what sounded
vague to outsiders made perfect sense to Conrad Hauser. The Colonel wouldn’t
have to say much to get his point across. The voice on the phone softened, “I
know you’re on leave, son, but I’m afraid this is an A-1 priority. Some
reorganization is in the works, and I need you here”
“ I understand, sir,” Conrad looked over at Drew. She wiggled
excitedly and cheered on a Smurf as he once again, scraped free of Gargamel’s
clutches. He sighed. Must he leave so soon? “I’ll be on the next plane
out...” He paused as he heard a soft clicking interrupt the line. The Colonel
heard it, too.
“Sounds like we’re not alone. This should be a safe line, dammit!”
“Don’t worry, sir.” Conrad stood up and softly crept to the
kitchen. His mother was mixing pancake batter, unaware that Jennifer had picked
up the kitchen extension. Conrad snuck up behind his preteen sister and deftly
snatched the handset away. He angrily slammed it down into its cradle. His
mother jumped, and turned around. The bowl of batter smashed on the floor.
“Conrad! You gave me a scare. Look, now there’s batter everywhere,”
she laughed as she waved at the mess, “You’ll just have to wait longer for
my famous lemon hotcakes- Jennifer, whatever is the matter?” Jennifer’s ice
blue eyes blazed into her oldest brother.
“Conrad’s leaving. He’s going back to base.”
“Well, dear, you know he has an important job to do. We need well
trained men.” She bent and began mopping up spilt batter with a wet rag, “Three
weeks is really a long time for him. How about we have a little party for him
next week before he goes?” Jane Falcone smiled up at her two children.
Jennifer crossed her arms and snorted, “Better plan it quick, Mom. He’s
leaving today.”
Conrad felt his heart sink deeper as his mother regarded him with
concerned, sad eyes. Her voice was just a whisper. “What?”
He couldn’t stand it. He turned and stormed out of the kitchen, only to
find Drew deep in conversation with the Colonel on the den extension.
“So I TOLD him not to get Brainy, Brainy’s the stupidest one around.
I like Handy. But did he get me Handy? Oh, nooooooo, he has to go and get me
Brainy, just like I told him not to. Now I have two Brainy’s, who I don’t
even like, and no Handy.”
“Gimme that!” Conrad swiped the phone and slid down again onto the
couch. Drew blew him a raspberry and bounced off to the kitchen to see what
their mother was getting ready for breakfast. Conrad wondered how much she could
put away in a day.
“Quite the talker, isn’t she?” Conrad was relieved to hear
amusement in the Colonel’s voice. “Is the situation clear, Sergeant?”
“Yes, sir. My other sister was eavesdropping, she assumes I’m heading
back to base.” Conrad switched off the set and tossed the remote on the table.
“Good, soldier. Your siblings are very young,” it was more comment
than question.
“Yes, sir. My mother remarried after my father was killed. She had me
very early on.”
“Yes, I recall reading it in your file. Not yet twenty when you were
born...” Conrad couldn’t help feeling like an open book. “None of them
share your name?”
“No sir, my mother changed her name when she remarried.”
“That makes it easier.”
This last remark confused Conrad somewhat. “Sir?”
“Your life is about to take a drastic change of direction, Sergeant. I’ll
explain when you arrive. Best say your goodbyes now. It may be a while before
you have free time to see them again. Your ticket will be waiting for you at the
airport.” Be there in three hours,” The Colonel’s voice had an air of
finality.
Conrad felt a twinge in his stomach, “Yes, sir, Colonel Abernanthy.”
He slowly hung up and dropped his head in his hands. A week and a half, that was
all the leave he got. Hardly enough time to reacquaint himself with his own
family. They were changing so fast! Growing up, discovering new things about
life--would he have to miss it all?
“Problems, son?” Jack Falcone rested a hand on his stepson’s
shoulder.
Conrad slid his fingers across his scalp and looked up at his stepfather,
“I’m being called back to base. I have to leave today, almost right away,”
He rubbed his chin, “I don’t know when I’ll be back. Mother, well, I doubt
she’ll understand.”
Jack frowned to himself, “Does she know?”
“Thanks to Jennifer listening in.” Conrad jerked his thumb at the
kitchen door, “I promised her I’d be here for three weeks! I really thought
I would. But I can’t control when they need me. My life’s not my own.”
Jack strode over to the wall and stroked the frame of display box holding
his medals, a mix of service and campaign awards, “ No, son, she wouldn’t
understand. The life of a soldier is one of loyalty and unquestioning service.”
Jack Falcone’s medals glinted brightly on the black velvet background, “A
soldier makes the ultimate sacrifice to save lives.” Jack looked to the left,
to where his stepson’s medals hung in a similar frame. His heart swelled with
pride as he took in the medal of honor and the two bronze stars, “Son, I’m
not one to brag, but I have served quite some time, trained quite a few men in
my own career. I have no compunction against telling you that you are one of the
finest soldiers I’ve come across.”
Conrad felt himself turn red, “Jack-”
“No, Conrad, let me finish. I know the training others isn’t the same
as life on the battlefield, but you and I both know that its just as important-”
Conrad longed to tell his stepfather the truth, about his secret missions
between classes. It burned at him that a large part of his service went unknown.
That his death in one of these missions would most likely be recorded as an
accident. Of all the commendations he could never share because of their
classified nature.
Jack continued to stare at the medals as he spoke, “You came back from
Vietnam a hero, son. I always knew you were special. The way you always stood up
for the little guy...I’m proud of you, Conrad. You’re not my own son,”
Jack turned. There were tears in his eyes, “but I wish to Hell you were. I
damn well love you like you are.”
Conrad was touched, awkwardly so. Jack was not one to speak in about
emotions. He looked into his stepfather’s eyes, “Jack, I...You helped me
more, more then I can ever repay. We were all alone until you came,” he could
barely remember those years between his father’s murder and Jack’s arrival
in their lives. He’d pushed them as far out of his mind as they could go. “You
were always there for me when I needed you.”
Jack beamed, “You go get ready what you need to, son. I’ll talk to
your mother,” he slapped Conrad on the shoulder on the way to the kitchen.
As Conrad got up to go pack, he noticed Vincent staring at him from the
landing. He must have been standing there for several minutes, listening in. He
stared at Conrad for a minute or two longer, in an odd, focused way, then
continued down the stairs and towards the kitchen door, “You’re lucky, big
brother,” he said evenly as he passed, “He never talks to me that way.”
______________________________________________________
Continued in Chapter Three!
Back to Diana M.'s Fics!
Back to Authors Page!