Chapter 5 - The Reckoning of Hugh Alden
The grandfather clock in the corner struck eight. The deep, brass chime vibrated through the floorboards, measuring out the seconds of a house whose foundation had just crumbled.
Marin lowered her feet to the floor, her voice small and trembling like a frightened child's. "Maya... I didn't know. Gregory told me... he told me you were just an administrative officer who washed out. He said you were bitter because you didn't make commander."
"Gregory is a parasite who sells untested equipment to ships he will never have to sail on," I said, turning my gaze upon her. "And you tore my clothes off in front of two hundred people because I wouldn't help him compromise the safety of sailors who actually risk their lives."
Marin burst into tears, covering her face. "I’m sorry! I’ll tell the police it was an accident! I’ll tell them I slipped!"
"You will tell the police the exact truth," I said. "And Gregory will face the procurement review board without any favors from this family."
My father slowly lifted his head from his hands. His face looked twenty years older. The arrogant, untouchable posture of Captain Hugh Alden was completely shattered.
"Maya," he choked out, reaching across the desk, his fingers grasping the empty air between us. "Please. The ceremony... Miller said the Secretary of the Navy is flying down from Washington. Carrow is holding a full division formation at Pier 14. Let me come. Let me stand with you."
I looked at his outstretched hand.
For five years, I had craved that hand. I had dreamed of the day my father would put his arm around my shoulder, look at my scars without flinching, and tell me I had done well. I had spent countless nights in the Portsmouth apartment, staring at the ceiling through haze of nerve pain, wondering what I could possibly do to earn back the respect of the man who had taught me to read navigation charts before I could ride a bicycle.
Now, looking at him, I felt nothing but a quiet, hollow sadness.
"No, Dad," I said softly.
He flinched as if struck across the mouth. "Maya... please. Don't do this to me. The entire waterfront will be there. Every retired officer I know... if I’m not there, they’ll know—"
"They already know," I interrupted. "They saw you turn your back on me last night. Everyone in that ballroom saw the great Captain Alden look away while his daughter was humiliated."
"I didn't understand!" he pleaded, rising to his feet, his knees knocking against the desk. "I thought... I was trying to protect the family’s dignity!"
"You weren't protecting the family," I said, my voice hardening. "You were protecting your pride. And there is a vast, ocean-wide difference between the two."
I stepped back toward the library door.
"The Navy didn't break me, Dad. The fire didn't break me. What broke me was coming home to find out that your love had an expiration date tied to my active-duty status."
"Maya, don't leave!" my mother cried from the doorway, her hands clasped against her chest. "Please, don't leave this house like this!"
May you like
I looked at my mother, stepping over to press a soft kiss against her wet cheek. "I’m not leaving in anger, Mom. But I have to put on my uniform now. The real one."
I opened the door and walked out of the house. Behind me, the sound of my father's broken weeping echoed down the long hallway, mingling with the ticking of the brass clock that had run out of time.
