A Promise Kept Ch. 03

~~~~~~

The rest of the afternoon was spent making the boat crews running their individual Zodiac boats up and down the beach, which, after four o'clock, and right before shift change, three more people dropped out, making the class number to thirty-nine.''

~~~~~~

That evening around six after Dave and Sam came in to relieved me and Brad from the twelve hour shift we'd just pulled, I decided to go directly from the base, across the bay to a small eatery in San Diego called, Bennie's Café over in the Mission Beach district. I didn't bother changing into my civilian clothes, because I was just ready to get out of there for a while. Besides, I promised Dave that I would be back bright and early in the morning to relieve him and Sam so; I wasn't planning on staying out too late.

~~~~~~

After I eaten my dinner, I sat afterwards with a cup of coffee and spoke to the owner of the restaurant, Bennie Tavares and his wife, Sondra. They're both very nice people who are still friends to this day, but back then, we'd just met. However, I always enjoyed talking to Bennie, as he's a Marine who did three tours in "The Nam" and therefore earned my respect immediately upon meeting him for the first time.

Plus, I saw them both at Jill's funeral, which showed me how much they truly thought of me. Not only is Bennie one of my best friends in the whole world, but I trust him with everything I own. Sondra used to tease me about being single, telling me that if I wasn't careful, one day a beautiful girl would come and steal my heart. Of course it finally happened the day I met Jill, but God had other plans for her that didn't include me. I'm not angry with God, because who am I to doubt his wisdom. Besides, Sondra also taught me that we would all see her again one day, and that was good enough for me.

~~~~~~

SIX WEEKS LATER

The BUD/S class I was proctoring was now in Dive Phase, meaning that the instruction was becoming more intensified and specialized as they progressed further into their training. And although I was slowly getting better, as well as being able to handle things easier, Jill's death still weighed heavily on my heart. My days seemed to drag on, one after the other, an endless progression of nightmares while I slept, and day dreams that haunted my every waking step. Still though, I hoped that it would one day come to and end.

However, little did I realize that there was a light on the not too distant horizon that would end up being my salvation? I just didn't see it coming...yet. It came in the shape of an invitation to an Embassy Dinner in Los Angeles. I didn't know where it came from, nor did I realize what lay in wait for me when I got there, until I saw not only the Royal Seal of England stamped on the inner the envelope the invitation came in, but primarily the hand-written note that fell out of with it.

It read:

My Dearest Michael,

I would be honored if you would be my escort to the Annual Diplomatic Dinner being held at the British Embassy in Los Angeles on the enclosed date. I really enjoyed meeting you the last time we saw one another, and I can't wait to see your handsome face again. So; please accept my invitation, Michael. I would really love it if you came and if you have any questions, call xxx-xxx-xxxx. I look forward to not only seeing you again, but also being with you as well, Michael.

Forever Yours,

HRH Lady Natalie Wickham

P.S. Be prepared to stay for the whole weekend, okay?

~~~~~~

I looked at the dates that she wrote and realized that she was talking about the up and coming weekend. Considering it was going to be a formal dinner, I made certain that I took my ceremonial Uniform with me, as well as polishing my dress Jump Boots to a high gloss, after which I began packing a bag. However, this was going to be my first Embassy Dinner and I was going to need a few pointers so, I called Dave.

~~~~~~

Chapter Three

DAVE'S HOUSE

"Hi, Michael," Dave Turner's wife, Stephanie, hugged me, as she greeted me at their front door, "How are you holding up these days, sweetie?"

"I'm doing better, Steph," I smiled, returning the hug, "Thanks for asking, pretty girl."

"You're welcome, baby boy," she sweetly replied, "Dave's in the kitchen pouring you guys some coffee. You've been here before so I don't need to tell you hoe to get there..."

~~~~~~

"Hey, L.B.," Dave grinned, handing me a fresh cup of coffee as soon as I walked into the kitchen, You said you needed my help with something over the phone so; what can I do for you?"

"I've got a problem," I said, showing him not only the invitation to the Embassy Dinner, but also the short note I received from Natalie as well, "I'm scared to death, Dave, and I don't know what to do."

"You accept the invitation and go," he encouraged me with a smile, "That's what you do, L.B."

"I know," I relented, leaning against the counter, "But I can't help but feel like I'm...I don't know...I feel like I'm cheating on Jill...defiling her memory, or something," and then I hung my head, as a lone tear silently ran down my face."

"Listen to me, Mike, and listen well, my friend," Dave suddenly said, getting in my face, "Everybody around here knows how much you love Jill, alright?"

"Of course," I said, "But I don't know if..."

"Jill would've wanted you to be happy Michael," Stephanie pointedly interrupted, suddenly coming from behind me, "Put yourself in her place. If you were gone, you wouldn't want her to mope around, not living, just existing, would you?"

"Of course not," I replied, "But this is different."

"No, Michael," Stephanie gently told me, hugging me, "It's no different...Go see this girl I've heard so many wonderful things about. You never know what might happen, if anything, you might just make a friend, and you know what they say, don't you, sweetie?"

"No, Steph," I grinned, "What do they say?"

"That a man can never have too many friends, sweetie," she giggled, hugging me again, "Now I want you to go to L.A. this weekend and go see that pretty English girl."

"Damn," I teased, "I don't guess I have a choice now, do I?"

"No," she smiled, "You don't, Michael."

~~~~~~

Because of the fact that Dave gave me a day off, I drove up to Los Angeles a day early. I scouted around for a hotel near the embassy. Granted, I didn't get a penthouse suite, but I did manage to secure a single suite for a fairly affordable price...well, for that area of town anyway.

My hotel was two blocks north of Wilshire Boulevard on Granville Avenue. The British Embassy was within walking distance, and once I got checked into my suite, I decided to, per Stephanie's orders, call Dave and let him know that I made it here okay, after which, I also took the time to think about everything that had happened to me recently.

I'd trained, performed, and was now teaching people to fight for those who can't fight for themselves for the better part of three years, and hadn't taken a leave to go home. Although I knew that my superiors thought very highly of me, I was not being allowed to operate with other teams on operation status. But then again, having dealt with things that I'd been dealing with as of late, made me realize that the Navy was right to do what they did; and it was not only for my safety that I was placed on stand down, but also the safety of my team. And that was the one factor that made it all bearable for me. I was beginning to come to terms with why my career was where it was at, and that it would be back to normal when I was back to normal, no matter how long it took...

~~~~~~

However, there had come a new and different type of distraction as of late. Here I was barely over four months out of a relationship that tragically ended for me, and I was already pursuing another female.

"Wait a minute, Mike," the voice inside my head said, "She invited you to come here. You didn't come looking for her, remember that."

"Maybe not," I thought, "But I was still scared shitless none the less."

~~~~~~

I'd just come in from having dinner downstairs in the restaurant of the hotel I was staying in when I heard my phone ring, making me figure that it was one of my friends calling to bust my chops.

"Hello," I grinned, "This is Mike."

"Hello, Michael; how is my handsome Knight in shining Armor?" asked a beautifully familiar female voice with a lovely British accent.

"Hello Natalie," I warmly smiled, "I won't even begin to ask how you found me."

"I hope you're not angry with me, Michael," she softly replied, "I simply had to see you. Can I come to you?"

"Sure," I chuckled, "I would imagine that you know exactly where I am, too."

"I certainly do, but I didn't use any of my own resources for that one," she teased, "A lovely lady named Stephanie Turner told me to tell you hello."

"How long will it be before you get here?" I laughed

"About two minutes," Natalie giggled, "I'm right downstairs on the house phone, see you in a few minutes," and then she hung up.

~~~~~~

"Hello, handsome," Natalie sweetly said, hugging me as she greeted me, "I'm so happy to see you, Michael."

"I was pleasantly surprised by the invitation to the Embassy Dinner," I smiled, pulling her into my site, closing the door as I led her in to sit down, "This will be the first time I've ever worn my ceremonial dress uniform."

"That's wonderful news," she widely grinned, "Thank you, Michael; I was hoping you would wear your uniform, and I can't wait to see you in it. In the mean time, I thought that perhaps we could sit together and talk for a while...I'd really like to know more about you."

It was then that I decided to be totally honest with her about Jill's death, and where my feelings were about it. I have to say, Natalie was as beautiful a girl as I'd ever seen, hence the reason I wanted to be honest with her about everything, and then see where things went from there.

"Before we go any further, there's something that you need to know about me," I said, gently kissing the top of her beautiful right hand, "About four months ago I lost someone that I loved very much in a car accident."

"I'm very sorry, Michael," Natalie softly replied, gently pulling me into her arms, "I'm quite certain that it still hurts you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," I truthfully replied, "And I don't think it would be fair to you if I didn't tell you this."

"I knew I was right about you," she began to excitedly laugh, "When I told my mother about the beautiful American service man that saved my life, she said that all American men, especially American service men are a bunch of oversexed dogs."

"Is that right?" I laughed, "And how would she know that?"

"It does make one wonder doesn't it?" Natalie giggled, ten softly said. "I told my mother that you were nothing like that, and I also told her that from the very first moment I opened my eyes after you pulled me from the water, that I knew that you were very special, Michael...very, very special," as she gently rubbed her palm against my cheek, staring deeply into my eyes.

I don't know when or how it happened, but one minute Natalie and I were looking into one another's eyes, and the next thing I knew, we had our arms tightly around each other, our lips gently sealed together, as our tongues softly caressed each other in a dance that was older than time itself.

"Oh, Michael," Natalie breathed, urgently pulling herself against me, "I want you to do something for me, regardless of how insane I know it sounds. Can you do it?"

"I'll try," I softly replied, now wanting her so badly I'd have done anything, "What is it?"

"I asked you in the letter I sent to be prepared to stay all weekend," she began, her eye starting to fill with tears, "I found out that my mother has plans on trying to press me into marrying someone that is not of my choosing."

"That's easy," I told her, kissing her neck and making her smile and moan, "Just don't marry him...marry who you want to."

"It's not that easy among the aristoc...among the people in my family," she quietly said.

"You can go ahead and say aristocracy, my dear," I quickly let her know, "I also know that my kind is most certainly not accepted among your kind so; what is it that you want with me, Natalie?"

"I want to be seen with you," she smiled, "You're the most handsome man I've ever met and I want to be with you, regardless of how short a time it is."

"Natalie, sweetie, that's awfully nice," I told her, smiling at the idea of such a thing, "But what good will it serve?"

"Can I be completely honest with you, Michael," she meekly asked, "And not hurt your feelings?"

"Let me guess," I grinned, "You're going to use me to make someone else jealous, right?"

"There was a time when I would do something like that," she smiled, and then she stood there and just simply looked at me sweetly and told me, "Seriously though, Michael, I really just want to spend some time with you. I go back to England on Tuesday. Today is Thursday, and I was hoping that between now and then, you could show me what it's like to be with a really handsome man, whose kind, gentle, and caring. Please say that you'll do this for me, please?"

"Alright, I'll do it," I chuckled, "But the food at the Embassy Dinner had better be at least somewhat tasty," and then we both laughed..."

~~~~~~

That night Natalie and I went to a place called "The Mint" where we sat and listened to different musicians get up and play their original songs. Some were good, some were not so good, and then some were absolutely terrific. Still though, the two of us sat in the back cuddled together at a small table enjoying the music, the drinks, but most of all, the company of each other.

~~~~~~

When I took Natalie back to her hotel, she turned to look at me right before she got out of my car, and with a pretty smile across her beautiful face, she told me, "I'll come in a limousine to pick you up tomorrow night at Seven o'clock so; don't be late, you handsome thing," and then she leaned over and softly kissed my lips, sweetly grinning from ear-to-ear right before exiting the car and going into her hotel.

~~~~~~

I called Danny bright and early the next morning to talk to him about what I was about to do that night with Natalie, as well as how I was feeling about it.

"Who said anything about getting involved with her?" Danny asked me, "It sounds to me like this girl really likes you and just wants to have a good time, L.B., and you could damn sure use a dose of that."

"But I don't understand," I told him, "What if she wants to have sex? You know how I am about that kind of thing."

"So, what?" he laughed, "You're a good guy, Mike, and have you ever considered the fact that maybe that just might be the reason that she's so attracted to you. Girls are real smart when it comes to that sort of thing. It's kinda like they have a sixth sense or something, and they can tell how us guys are."

"I know that this one is smart," I proudly grinned, "She's very smart..."

"Yeah," Danny laughed, "And you like her, too. Don't you?"

"Yeah," I chuckled, "I guess so."

"You guess so?" he teased, "I known so. Go have a good time tonight, okay, L.B.," and then he hung the phone up before I had the chance to reply..."

~~~~~~

Because it was still early and there was hardly any traffic, I went downstairs and ran a total of eight miles that morning in order to clear my head. A good run always gave me the opportunity to think, and I used the time for just that on that particular morning.

I thought about all I'd been through up to this point in my life, the operations I'd been on, losing Jill like I had, but most of all I though about meeting Natalie, and how refreshing it was for me just being around her.

She was very beautiful, standing five feet, ten inches tall, the top of her head coming to my chin when we stood face to face. She had long, shoulder length blonde hair, and the most beautiful hazel blue eyes I'd ever seen. Her measurement fit her height, and like I've already said more than once, her British accent, in my eyes, made her even more beautiful than she already was.

She was still young and not yet tainted by the world, and/or its politics, hence the reason she seem so innocent and naïve when I first met her. However, little did I realize that naïve was not in her vocabulary? But read on, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

~~~~~~

After I got back from my run that morning, I took a shower, put on some clean clothes, and then went down to the restaurant there in the hotel and ate some breakfast. Normally I'm a bacon and eggs kind of guy, but I remember eating French toast that morning, the likes of which tasted so good that I simply had to come back for more every morning I stayed at that hotel.

~~~~~~

I waited until it was time, and then after taking another shower and then making sure that every aspect of my uniform was correct; I put it on for the first time. Of course Danny and Dave made sure that I knew how it was fitted before I ever left Coronado, and that was just another one of the many ways that those guys kept me from looking like an idiot, hence the reason that I loved them so much...

And when the limousine pulled up to the front steps of my hotel, I came down the stairs watching the late evening sun reflecting off of the bright shiny gloss of my dress jump boots.

The driver opened the rear door, and seated within the back, was Natalie...beautiful Natalie, dressed and looking as though she'd stepped in directly from Camelot. My God, she was stunning, and because of the fact that she was royalty, she wore the Tiara as a sign of statehood.

"Wow," I widely smiled, getting into the limousine, "You look absolutely breathtaking M'Lady."

"Why thank you, kind sir," she sweetly yet very tenderly smiled, "And please, allow me to be the first girl this evening to tell you how absolutely dashing you look in your uniform."

"I appreciate such a nice compliment," I softly replied, gently kissing her hand, "Especially when it's coming from such a beautiful lady..."

~~~~~~

"I'm really excited to be here," I told Natalie, as we left the limo and walked hand-in-hand toward the front of the Embassy, "So; let me say thank you now for inviting me to be your escort."

"You're such a lovely man, Michael," she sweetly grinned, "Thank you for coming, you darling lad..."

~~~~~~

"Lady Natalie Wickham of Essex, and Masterchief Michael Walker, United States Navy," the crier announced, as we enter the Embassy for the first time; and of course we were immediately met by Natalie's mother and father, The Duke and Duchess of Essex, His Lordship, Sir Tom and Lady Sarah Wickham.

"So, tell us, poppet," Natalie's mother, Lady Sarah, knowingly smiled at me, while talking to her daughter, who looked more like Natalie's sister, "Is this the man you've been on about for the past two months, the one that saved your life?"

"Yes, Mummy," Natalie softly but excitedly smiled, taking my hand, "Mum, Daddy, please allow me to present Masterchief Michael Walker, United States Navy."

"It's nice to finally meet you, young man, "Lord Wickham nicely told me, "Thank you for saving our Natalie, we're very much in your debt, Michael."

"We certainly are, dear," Lady Sarah very gently said, "How can we ever repay you?"

"There's no need to repay me for anything, Lady Sarah," I gently replied, "I was the one who received the blessing by getting the opportunity to meet such kind and noble people like yourselves.

"Don't let the titles fool you, young Michael," Sir Tom grinned, "It's all a bunch of bollocks and shit for the most part," eliciting a giggled from both his daughter and his wife.