Perseverance (The Resident FF) by Frances51163

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN: Regrets

By the time Conrad had pushed away his half full plate his unexpected dining companion had demolished his full meal and called the Waiter over to order a black coffee.  

"You should eat more," the older man gestured to the half finished meal.
"Not all of us can eat like a horse Sir."
"I told you call me Tom.   I won't be long more in the service."
"You glad you made a career of it?" Conrad wondered aloud hoping he wasn't pushing things but his friends' father was very easy to talk to.
"The Navy?"
"Yeah."
"Yes I am," Thomas confirmed readily, "but I understand your concerns about being at the whim of bad people.   I can only control my corner of the world and do what I think is right.    Have to believe there are always more good people than bad."
"That's what we all hope," the fair haired man conceded.
"Jim told me a lot about you.  He said he had never seen someone so young with such an old soul.  You're four years younger than him but you're one of the few men he truly respects."
"Well I respect him too Sir," Conrad shifted uncomfortably on his wooden chair as he took a sip of water.
"I know I owe you a lot son," Thomas stated evenly.
"Don't know what you mean."
"We both know if you hadn't helped Jim out during basic he would never have survived Fort Benning.  He told me in his letters home about how you helped him and never once made him feel beholden to you.  In fact he said you brushed off any efforts to thank you."
"So how come ye travel over to the Small Island four times a year?"
"Jim also told me you hated personal discussion," Thomas grinned knowingly before going along with the detour in conversation and answered the question, "you met Macy.  She loves shopping, especially in Honolulu.  I'm not sure if you know but the Big Island isn't very commercialized."
"Jude mentioned it.   Guess it's good all of the islands aren't commercialized."
"Did you know there are one hundred and thirty seven islands?"
"Can't say as I did.   You like it here?"
"Definitely.  Like I said Macy loves Oahu and I prefer the Big Island but marriage is about compromise and once I retire we'll move here."
"You like both anyway," Conrad motioned to their surroundings, "you'll have places to sneak off to no matter where ye live."
"Truth is I rarely indulge myself anymore but I had a blood pressure problem about five years ago and poor Macy was so shaken it scared me into eating healthily ...... most of the time."
"Most of the time," Conrad nodded with a smile, "so did you tell her where we're staying?"
"Yes.   She was not impressed with me."
"Well you can tell her Jude sorted it.   He changed from the hotel we won with the trip.   Have to say though I could grow to like it at the Hawaiian except for ....,"
"The colour," Thomas finished, "as bad as the damn hospital."
"Jude told me about the paint mix up," Conrad chuckled thinking of the pink military hospital as he motioned for the Waiter to bring over the bill.

Ten minutes later the pair finished an argument about paying.  Thomas paid on the basis he wanted to say a small thank you to the young man who had helped his son all those years ago in Georgia and in Afghanistan.   Any arguments to the contrary were brushed aside firmly and Conrad caught a glimpse of the General in action, seeing the formidable force he could be.  After leaving a generous tip the younger man led the way out onto the pavement, knapsack on his shoulder.

"So are you heading back?" Thomas eyed the other man.
"Nope.   Going to do some sightseeing without Jude driving me nuts."
"Ye're good friends," the older man noted, "maybe he's just worried about you.   Like any good friend would be."
"Hey I wasn't having a go at him," Conrad defended, "I just meant it's nice to have some alone time."
"You're used to it?"
"What?"
"Being alone."
"I work in a busy hospital so being alone is not really an option."
"Maybe I put the question wrong way," Thomas proffered, "I meant you prefer being alone."
"Not really," Conrad shrugged and looked around for a cab then offered a hand, "well I better be going.   Day is half over already."
"It was good having breakfast with you son.   We'll see ye tonight.   What time should we arrive?"
"Table's booked for 1900."
"Well I'll see you then," Thomas grinned as he checked his watch, "I have plenty of time to walk back before Macy wants to go shopping.    And don't forget you need to finish off telling us about the similarities between the Titanic and the Pearl Harbor attack.    The boys were fascinated last night."
"Yes Sir," Conrad nodded before hailing a cab from across the street and left his companion looking after him with a look of concern.

Once in the back of the cab the Resident sorted through his options as he glanced through the leaflets he had picked up in that lobby on the way out.   Nothing really appealed so in the end he asked the jovial middle aged Cab Driver to take him to a public park on the waterfront.   Ten minutes later sitting on the grass under a shade of a large palm tree overlooking the blue waters  in Ala Moana Regional Park in Waikiki Conrad thought about the breakfast conversation he had shared with the General.   As he suspected the man, despite his formidable title, was warm and  easy to talk to.   He envied his friend such a father.   Shaking his head he wondered at the lack of control each individual had in their life.   Before you were born your race, gender, eye colour and hair colour were already preordained.   The cards were already dealt in respect of some aspects of your life even before you took your first breath.   You had no say in the family you were born into.  Rubbing his eyes as they announced an impending attack he sighed heavily, comparing Marshall Hawkins unfavourably with Tom Phillips.   He couldn't help but try to imagine what his young life would have been like if he had been born into the Phillips family.  Of course he knew they would have had their issues along the way but the cliseknit family projected the perfect image he used to long for on those long ago Savannah days when life seemed unbearable and all he had to cling to were dreams of what could be.  As a young boy he had often fantasized about being adopted by a family like the Phillips's.   He had found out early on that fantasies only offered fleeting respite from the harsh environment he grew up in.   He thought of his mother.   He loved her very much but had acknowledged long ago that she would never have won an award for Mother of the Year.   Her long absences for work left him isolated at times making living a matter of endurance rather than enjoyment.   Tom and Alicia had been like a comforting blanket with their freely given love and kindness and he knew without the pair he his life would have been so much harder.   The fact was though that the times his father had sent the couple away were many and even the hilarious stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn could not help him evade his harsh reality for long when he was at his fathers' mercy.   He chided himself.   What was done was done.   The past could not be rewritten.   All he could do was focus on the future ....... so why couldn't he?   Why was he reliving childhood memories now?   The beautiful surroundings seemed to be acting as a catalyst for his memories.    Maybe it was time to head back ......

tbc

Basic - Basic Training
1900  -  7 p.m. in the 24 hour clock.