Secrets From The Med

Chapter 13

"Why do I have to do this?" Garwood demanded as he gave Jason an accusing stare. "Can't I just assign it to one of the seamen?"

"No," Jason said firmly. "The boatswain wants these damage control checks assigned to petty officers. You can get a seaman to help you, but the assignment is still yours and if there's a spot check, you'll be the one answering questions." The two men were standing in Jason's office and Jason had given him an assignment in which he was to test some of the division's fire hoses for cracks by hooking them up and letting water run through them. It wasn't hard, but Garwood was acting as though he'd been asked to stand on his head for an hour.

"So, when am I supposed to have this done?" Garwood angrily asked.

"On Monday," Jason replied. He then watched as the third class petty officer stomped out without another word. Jason was relieved to have gotten rid of him for now. It was almost 1600 and he had plans to meet Tabitha at 1700 so that the two of them could go out and spend the evening together. He could hardly wait to be alone with her. He still found it amazing that it had been nearly two months since he'd had a drink of alcohol. He wondered if he would be able to keep that up now that he was on another Med cruise. He hoped he would; he hoped that he and Tabitha would be able to spend enough time together that he wouldn't think about going out and getting drunk.

Jason stepped out of his office and closed the door behind him. He drew in a deep breath of the outdoor air. The afternoon was sunny, breezy, and warm, which heightened his anticipation about being with Tabitha soon. He hurried down to deck department male berthing. Many of the guys were already headed out the door in civilian clothes and chattering about hitting the local clubs and bars. Jason quickly grabbed his shower supplies and clean clothes from his locker. Twenty minutes later he was freshly showered, clean shaven, and dressed in a pair of jeans and a light blue polo shirt. He checked his watch; now was the time to go meet Tabitha.

He made his way down to deck department female berthing and knocked on the lounge door. Tabitha immediately came out. She was wearing a lavender blouse and khaki shorts and her hair was pulled back into a banana clip. She looked beautiful to Jason, but he couldn't help notice that her eyes looked tired. He remembered that she'd had duty the night before and made a mental note to ask her how it went later.

The two of them walked straight down to the quarterdeck, showed their military ID's to the watch standers, then made their way down the brow.

"It feels so good to be off the ship," Tabitha looked at Jason and smiled as they walked down the down the dock and toward the streets of Naples.

Jason returned the smile. "It really feels good just to be with you."

"I can't believe we're really in a foreign country," Tabitha commented as she glanced around her with seeming wonder. "Like I've heard Williams say, we're actually in that boot shaped country we used to read about in social studies books."

Jason was happy to hear her talk this way. "So, does that mean you're feeling better about this Med cruise?"

"Well, I'm trying to have a better attitude about it," she said thoughtfully. "I am now qualified to stand those watches on the bridge and that makes me feel better. Like I've told you, learning new things isn't as easy for me as it used to be. By the way, you were right about Reid. She and I have become friends."

"See, that means you need to listen to me more often," Jason said as he playfully nudged her arm.

"Now, don't get the big head," Tabitha teased back.

Suddenly the pungent smell of Italian spices wafted through the air. Jason saw that just up ahead was a small outdoor pizzeria.

"Hey Tabitha, are you hungry?" Jason asked.