Love Knows No Boundry

Chapter 12 -- Creating our Blueprint

Two days after I started my new job I came home to find Sonja's suitcase right outside of the second bedroom. That became the routine even after we bought our home in Rockville. I would either find the suitcases out or she would ask me to get them out of the storage closet.

Another tradition came about as Percy revealed each of her three pregnancies by asking me to get the baby bed out. The first time she just simply said that there was a gift for me in the guest room. I opened the package to find a bassinet. The other two times, Sonja left me a note asking me to set the bassinet up.

The second pregnancy note had an additional line 'and get the other one from underneath Mary's bed. Twins. Oh my I thought! Cade and King were a handful. The funny thing was that Cade was more like the actual King and King was more like his uncle Cade. Percy could tell them apart by their smile and how they walked. It took me a while to catch on though and sometimes I had peek at Cade's foot where we had painted one of his toe nails red as insurance to insure we did not mix them up. 

 We dressed them in red and blue so everyone else could tell which one was which. Even then some people couldn't remember which one wore the blue or the red.and still asked until they were about 11. By then their personalities had started to bloom. Later on as teens King wanted to put a dye streak in his hair which resulted in instant recognition for everyone.

Over the years the children adjusted to Sonja's disappearances. We had hung a bulletin board in the hallway down at the eye level of a three year old. When she was away we put a current photo of Sonja on it. We would either take them to it or they would walk over and greet her photo, kiss it or stand there and talk to her. More than once I caught momma crying watching them interact with that photo.

When the twins were born, we decided that we needed a nanny. She returned when our 'surprise' came along four years after the twins. Momma laughed at us when we found out that we were expecting again. So much for a childless get away. Sonja had caught a military hop to the Thule Air Base in Greenland. I flew up to meet her for a 72 hour reunion. Sonja managed to flirt her way to persuade the chief chef to fix us an elegant dinner. She departed the unexpected encounter pregnant.

I had a great life though. I decide not to pursue the chief's job but the guy who I would have competed with offered me a newly formed Assistant Chief position which included a salary bump as well. My off duty hours were spent as the primary caregiver. I even learned to braid hair.

Percy was a lot more patient and spent a lot of time with the three oldest children on the weapon's range. All three were in ROTC. The boys both went into law enforcement. Cade became a state trooper and King a police officer.

Our oldest, Mary, accepted a Navy commission and entered into Nuclear medicine with all of seven years of her education paid for.

Our youngest daughter, Elizabeth, excelled in dance. She was petite like mother with the bone structure like my sister. She always looked like a little bird and was prissy like a princess. Julliard bound, she dreamed of dancing at the American Ballet. She caught the eye of Misty Copeland and will work with her next year.

I was more than happy when it came time for Sonja to retire. She missed way too many birthday parties, graduations and ball games.

We were all helped by the fact that we lived in the middle of so many military families. There were always deployed parents so we fit right in. Unfortunately I began to fear that dreaded knock at the door too. Two families in the school district lost loved ones in Afghanistan and a third in a training incident aboard an aircraft carrier.

Time for mandatory retirement came for me. We decided to build a home in Alabama after Lizzie graduated.

I spent a lot of time on the water with childhood friends. Sonja pacified me by coming out often proving that sacrifice in a marriage comes in different forms. She would bring her biggest sun hats, movie star glasses and stacks of magazines or her kindle and sit quietly. Sometimes I would entice her to come sit in my lap and we would make out like silly high schoolers.

Another mile marker came our way. Our first grandchild. Christopher LaSalle II was born on Sonja's birthday. She never let me forget it. As I held him for the first time I thought about all of things that I knew that I would be able to teach him.

Sonja and I left the hospital hand in hand. I laughed to myself as I look at her face. I knew Sonja. This was the frisky Sonja La Salle and left me wondering just what exactly was awaiting me in our hotel room.