Everybody
Into the Pool
By
Mary Elliott
Thinking back, it had to be Chief Sharkey and
Kowalski who started the pool, after overhearing their skipper asking Mr.
Morton questions about the new junior officer’s name. Lieutenant Carlos A.
Maxwell had been immediately accepted into Seaview's
fold and although the rates called him Mr. Maxwell, Frank O’Brian and Rick “Sparks”
Archer were soon calling him Cam off duty. Lee had overheard the two talking
about the new officer and questioned them about the first name.
“Well skipper, he said Carlos was okay, but he preferred
Cam – his three initials,” O'Brien offered in explanation.
“I was curious so I asked what did the “A” stand for.
I mean he's been so open about his life I figured he wouldn't mind telling me,”
chimed in Sparks.
“And?”
“No go, skipper. All he said about his names is that
they truly represent his heritage but he feels uncomfortable using the middle
one. He had already told me his grandfather was from Scotland and if you saw a
picture of his mom, you could tell she was Latino. Frank and I have tossed
around a couple names. Cam would just smile and shake his head.”
“Well, if he doesn't want it to be known just don't
push it, or wait at least until he has some cruises under his belt,” laughed
the captain as he walked away.
Lee knew he had a secret weapon to uncover the name.
Not that he wanted to pry; he just didn't like an unsolved mystery. He was a
little shocked when his secret weapon, a.k.a. Chip Morton, wouldn't spill the
beans. Since the XO was in charge of hiring, with the captain’s and admiral’s
final approval, he was the only one who had access to the paperwork where the lieutenant’s
full name was listed.
“He did say if anyone guessed it, he wouldn't lie
about it.”
This was the short conversation the Chief and Ski
had overheard and the pool was quickly started at two dollars a guess. One half
would go to the winner and one half to Mr. Maxwell; after all, it was his name.
Four rules were quickly established:
Mr. Morton couldn't enter.
No use of a computer to research his birth
certificate, etc., but looking up unusual names was allowed.
The pool would last until the name was correctly
guessed or six months, whichever came first. If there was no winner then the
pool’s monies would go to charity. Mr. Maxwell decreed he had the right to
choose the charity.
You could enter as many times as you wanted. The
list would be posted in the crew’s and officer’s mess with a daily update to
list all names to avoid duplication.
During his first sailing more than half the boat had
entered guesses for the name. More common names such as Arthur, Alfred and
Alfonzo were quickly vetoed by the junior officer as were the more exotic names--Aesop,
and the captain’s contribution of Abdukrahman (Islamic). Not to mention Acario (Hebrew)
and Abhijat (Native American) that were tried by men attempting to guess what
other nationality Mr. Maxwell’s name could represent. Patterson had even
suggested Aristotle. Cam would smile each day as he checked the list and shake his
head sometimes in great amusement at the strangeness and the ethnicity of the
guesses.
During the second mission there were fewer entries due
to the near death of Mr. Morton*. The day before reaching Santa Barbara when
the crisis had passed the men were in a more jovial mood and guessing was heavy
but still, no winner.
It wasn't
until the end of the third mission, when the six months were almost up, that
Admiral Nelson entered the pool and won. He hadn't wanted to use what he
thought was an unfair advantage, but knowing that charity would be the actual
winner, reasoned anyone was free to guess based on the events in the young
officer's life. After all, Mr. Maxwell appeared to be a very garrulous person,
so surely he had told others about his unusual birth. Nelson had learned the
amusing story when Cam accompanied him for a short flight in the flying sub.
In the short time the admiral was around Maxwell he
found the junior officer a strange mixture of characteristics possessed by Lee
and Chip. Prior to Maxwell's first cruise on Seaview, Nelson ran into Cam’s last captain. If the stories told to
the admiral were true, it appeared that in his time with the Navy, Maxwell,
like Crane, had established himself as a risk taker. He was an officer who
always put himself in harm’s way to protect his fellow shipmates and boat. He
also had shown a remarkable aptitude for computers. He might even give the XO
some stiff competition. Aboard Seaview
he was fitting in very well with the officers and rates. He appeared to be very
approachable and not afraid to get his hands dirty, but still managed to
maintain his authority when working with the men. Although he did not have the
exec’s trademark stare, there were a couple of times Nelson had observed him
handling a situation with just a look.
Finally, when in deep desperation, men were entering
names of objects or animals, the admiral decided it was time to step in. By
then Sharkey had suggested aardvark and Riley followed that up with anteater,
but it was Kowalski's entry of applesauce that was the final straw. Taking all
that he knew about the young officer into account he wasn't positive about his
entry, but it seemed to make the most sense, and he was correct.
Nelson, knowing very well how to maintain morale
aboard Seaview, promptly announced
that his portion of the winnings ($500) would be used to host a BBQ for the
crew and their families. Cam very generously donated his portion to the Wounded
Warrior Project, in honor of his uncle Captain Jonathan Maxwell USN. The
captain had been a graduate of the Naval Academy in ANNAPOLIS, Maryland. In fact, Carlos was born there three weeks
early when his mother went into labor immediately following the graduation ceremony
of his Uncle Jonathan. There was a lot of good-natured ribbing when Cam revealed
the details of his auspicious birth location, practically on the sidelines at
Navy-Marine Corps Stadium! Admiral Nelson announced that obviously, his calling
to naval service was almost a sure thing from the beginning.
Needless to say, the picnic thrown on the third Saturday
in June was a huge success. In the typical support from the men of Seaview and their families, that the
admiral had come to expect, an additional $2500 was collected for the Wounded
Warrior Project, an amount generously matched by the admiral.
Commander Morton had beaten Chief Sharkey and
Kowalski in the pie eating contest, with his hands tied behind his back
figuratively and literally. He was relaxing now, enjoying his victory, with no
trace of the illness that had almost robbed him of his life.* Riley, Kowalski,
and some other younger men wanted to show off in front of their dates so they
got together a volleyball game. Dr. Jamison was elected umpire/referee, and situated
himself in a sand chair with a nice glass of iced tea. Making sure to cover his
balding head with a Seaview baseball
cap, he got the game underway. Unfortunately, things didn't work out as the men
planned. It seemed many of the women were more interested in eyeing the 6 foot
Adonis-like body of Seaview’s newest junior
officer than their own dates. Jamie was having trouble refraining from laughing
as he saw the young women ogling Mr. Maxwell. Cam's warm golden tanned skin,
dark hair, and golden eyes certainly attracted a lot of attention. Angie was
overheard commenting that his eyes seemed to turn to a honey color in certain light.
In no time, one man after another removed his sweat soaked shirt, giving the
viewing audience a real treat.
Captain Crane
had reluctantly agreed to judge the sand castle building contest for the
children. He declared Patterson’s five-year-old daughter the winner in the
under eight division and Spark’s 12 year old visiting nephew the winner in the
9 to 14 age division. Grabbing a beer, Lee took a break, choosing the steps of
Nelson's patio as a quiet place away from the festivities.
Chip arose from his resting place to join Lee in his
seclusion. After refusing the offered beer, he parked himself on the steps next
to his best friend. He was cognizant of Lee’s moodiness during NIMR sponsored
family events. Chip would never criticize this behavior. It must have been difficult growing up with a
drunken abusive father whose idea of together time usually resulted in a black
eye or broken bone. Putting his hand on Lee's thigh, Chip gave it an empathetic
squeeze.
"I don't know who was happier, Patterson, or
his daughter Penny, when you awarded her first place."
"Pat’s a great dad. I saw him playing Frisbee
with his son, Peter. I'm glad we’re in port tomorrow for Father's Day. I can’t
imagine how tough it must be on the married men when we are at sea, away from
family. But, at least when they are home together…" Lee's voice trailed
off as he glanced at his brother with a wistful half smile on his face.
After a couple minutes of silence, Chip patted Lee's
leg a couple times before leaving his friend with his thoughts.
Nelson had noticed the blonde haired officer walking
away, sure Chip had tried to put Lee in a better frame of mind. He, too, was perceptive
of what these family events stirred up in Lee. Thinking back to a decision he
made several years ago, Nelson was no longer confident he had made the correct
choice.
Harry was very aware of the longing in Lee’s eyes
when he looked out over to the beach area. Seeing the laughing children playing
and running with their affectionate parents reinforced Lee’s unpleasant
memories. Nelson knew the young man had missed out on all this parental love during
his traumatic childhood. The admiral realized he had been wrong in thinking his
original decision wouldn’t matter. He was now determined to confront Lee about it.
Tomorrow, yes, he thought with a chuckle, tomorrow would be a very appropriate
day for the talk.**
.
.
Author’s notes
*All Things
Work Together
In case you haven’t guessed, his name is Lieutenant
Carlos Annapolis Maxwell, a very
fitting name don't you think?
**THE TALK
follows Everybody Into the Pool