ROOTS 17 Final

 Chapter 17: Eyes Wide Shut

Summary:

Javier looks at him, intrigued. He realizes there's something else Jake hoped he'd understand without words. Is the key supposed to be in the photos? He looks at them again before following his friend through the kitchen, and he doesn't see anything extraordinary: an unconventional family, but do conventional families exist outside fiction?
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Part 4 of: The Lies We Told Each Other

Fandom: Top Gun (Movies), Thunderheart (1992), Madam Secretary

STORY INDEX: http://palabraspulsares.blogspot.com/p/the-lies-we-told-each-other-4-roots.html

University City, San Diego, Thursday, November 12, 2019

 

They continue through the kitchen and onto a large wooden terrace that Bradley, Jake, and Sam cross without stopping to go down to the patio. Like Sarah said, there's a icebox refrigerator just to the right of the back door. Phoenix, Payback, and Omaha leave their beer contributions there. This serves as an excuse for the entire squad to stand with their hands resting on the veranda and admire the massive courtyard of the Kazansky-Mitchell residence.

The perimeter is surrounded by tall fruit trees and shrubs with evergreen foliage that isolate them from prying eyes. Almost at the back is a lit grill, from which comes the delicious smell of meat cooking on charcoal. In the center is a long table covered with platters of food of various styles and origins: guacamole, tortillas, toast, potato salad, rice, macaroni and cheese, pico de gallo, cheese squares, and other things in small portions. Also, several jugs of drinks of different colors, water, and a couple of bottles of red wine. At each end of the table is a stack of plates, cutlery, and napkins.

The rest of the patio is occupied by six sofas facing the buffet table. They are spacious; each comfortably fits five or six people. In front of each couch are small coffee tables for food and drinks.

There are a dozen people between the grill and the sofas. They know some of them.

Rooster went to sit next to Sarah Kazansky. She extends an arm to hug his side while chatting with a couple. The group does not know Cougar and his wife Vivian, but Natasha's trained eyes do realize that they are rich people by the quality of their clothes.

Samantha Kazansky goes to the grill, where Sean and a petite woman with indigenous features cook meat and sausages. Seeing the familiarity with which she puts her arms around the unknown woman's waist and rests her chin on her shoulder, Yale feels his heart break a little.

Jake heads to another couch, where Admiral Kazansky and Captain Mitchell talk with another legendary Navy figure: Commander "Merlin" Wells and a woman who must be his partner from how their hands are clasped. To the surprise of his colleagues, Jake does not sit on the couch end, next to his father. Without saying a word, Maverick and Iceman make space between them. Jake sits down. The admiral turns his head to look at him tenderly and says something that the squad cannot hear, but it makes the blonde swell with pride.

"That is…?"

"Yeah."

"Did Hangman just…?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know if I can survive this."

"I need a beer."

"I something a little stronger."

Yes, they definitely need alcohol to deal with this because… What did the captain invite them to? They never imagined being in a situation like this, so the phrase “a dream come true” does not apply either.

Mitchell turns to watch his squad join the meeting. He sees them frozen on the terrace veranda, to his surprise and concern.

"I think we fried their brains, Ice."

The admiral does not need to turn his head to know what his husband is talking about.

"Take care of it," he says, pulling Jake tighter against his torso. "After all, they are your aviators."

Merlin makes a mocking sound, and Madelaine -his second wife- giggles. It's true: Pete has been praising the merits of his squad in the half hour they've been talking.

Iceman continues his conversation with the couple while putting one arm over his son's shoulders and massaging his skull. Jake rests his head on his dad's shoulder and squints, enjoying the physical contact. Maverick makes a slight, disgruntled noise but gets up and walks towards the stairs to the terrace.

In the eyes of his Daggers, Maverick looks heroic in those worn jeans and the white T-shirt where his abs are visible (absolutely unacceptable for a man of almost sixty years old) as he does in full uniform.

Damn, Payback thinks, I want to reach his age with half that style.

"So you're here."

"Thank you for inviting us, captain."

Pete nods and smiles at Bob.

"To be honest, it was not my idea. We don't usually celebrate Thanksgiving," the group raises their eyebrows in surprise as one. "Sarah is of Siuox origin. Jake's mother was, too. For indigenous people, there is nothing to celebrate about the arrival of the Mayflower. But Ice," he points to the couch, where the commander of the US Pacific Fleet has Jake in his arms, "said he wanted to meet you in person. We thought it would be a good opportunity. We also invited some friends. Please don't stay there. Go down and settle in one of the sofas. Phoenix, Bob?"

The couple immediately stands firm.

"Yes, sir?"

"Just Mav, please. Wolfman and Hollywood want to talk to you about your stunt on the first training day."

Natasha and Bob exchange shocked looks. Wolfman and Hollywood? The legendary aviators who are now legendary stars of aerobatic shows?

"With us?" he croaks, nervous.

"Yeah, they haven't arrived yet. They went to get some kind of tacos at a super specific place in San Diego. I don't know too much about it," he shrugs. "But I'm telling you. Eat now because when those two catch you, they won't let you rest from asking questions."

The pilot and her SWO take the steps to the patio like someone on a sacred mission.

Pete turns to the rest of the group with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"I hope seeing Sean in charge of the grill doesn't worry you too much. I promise he knows what he's doing. His only talent is not doing dramatic scenes at funerals."

"Uncle Mav!," a female voice interrupts behind the group. "You will never learn how to break the ice gently."

When they turn around, they see an African-American man with white hair. His left hand rests on a cane, and the other is on a woman's shoulder. She is in her twenties.

"Hello," she says "I'm Elsa Williams, this is my father, Marcus."

"Vice Admiral Williams, sir!" they say at once and salute.

Maverick can barely contain his laughter. Elsa rolls her eyes. Marcus momentarily steps away from his daughter's shoulder to give them an informal salute.

"Sundown is fine for today, lieutenants," he says. Then he fixes his lively eyes on María Celeste. "Mav, is this her?"

"Yes, meet the engineer María Celeste Machado."

Marcus holds out his hand, smiling.

"I have wanted to meet you for a long time, ma'am. I see there's still room. Would you please sit with my daughter and me?"

Javier and María Celeste cannot hide their astonishment, but they follow Williams as he slowly descends the steps and heads to the nearest sofa.

"Uh, that one doesn't stitch without thread," Maverick comments.

He looks at the rest of the group with an amused expression.

"Feel free to eat and talk."

And he returns to sit next to Jake.

Yale stuffs his hands in his back pants pockets and looks at the yard, unsure. Samantha Kazansky is there, so far away and so close at the same time…

Finally, Billy's voice brings him out of his gloomy reflections.

"Guacamole and whiskey?" he proposes.

"Yes, please," Halo begs.

The six troop down to the buffet table.

After getting generous portions of all kinds of hors d'oeuvres (who said you can't eat dumplings with red sauce?) they go to one of the two still empty sofas. Yale takes great care to appear to sit in the spot closest to her purely by chance. He's only interested in the end of the couch because he's from Florida and is closer to the only heat source on the patio: the grill.

Sean Kazansky ignores them, but his sister is much kinder and moves away from the petite woman to face them.

"Do you already know Bradley and Jake's squad, misún?"

He grunts and shrugs. Sam rolls her eyes, exasperated.

"Lieutenants Fitch, García, Vikander, Bassett, Avalone, and Lee meet my brother, Second Lieutenant Sean Kazansky." Then she pulls the woman's hand to make her move away from the grill for a moment and looks directly at Yale. "This is my girlfriend, Elia Eagle Bear."

Logan brings the glass of whiskey to his lips and closes his eyes. He feels exposed like he has an open wound, and someone was touching it with a cotton ball soaked in alcohol. He's only met her twice. Are his feelings so pathetically obvious?

While the rest of the group tries to be less conspicuous by eating their hors d'oeuvres with the best manners, Fanboy takes advantage of the friendliness to make small talk.

"Miss Kazansky?"

The nickname makes Elia let out a short laugh.

"Sam, please."

"Sam, yes, of course. You're not in the Navy?"

"Ugh, no! My three brothers are enough. I went with the other side of the family. Mom Carole was a nurse, and my iná is a midwife. So I studied medicine at the University of San Diego."

"Iná?"

"It means mother in Lakota," Elia explains. "Mrs. Sarah is an Oglagla citizen."

"Oh yeah. The captain told us something about that," Billy nods. "That you don't celebrate Thanksgiving because Admiral Kazansky's wife and Jake's mother are of indigenous origin."

"To avoid confusion, growing up we got used to calling Carole Bradshaw, Mom, and my mother, Iná," Sam explains.

"And what did you call Admiral Kazansky and Captain Mitchell?" asks Payback, interested.

His WSO gives him a grateful look. He was dying to ask but didn't want to seem too eager.

"Oh! Icepop and Mavdad, obviously."

Payback nods with a forced smile. Obvious? No, not at all. Ingenious, yes, but that is not obvious at all.

Still, there is a significant absence in the yard.

"Do you know where Brig is?" Halo asks.

"Icepop sent him to pick up a couple of guests from the airport," answers Sean Kazansky while twirling some sausages.

Omaha takes advantage of the fact that the boy finally speaks to try to pull his tongue.

"Is it true that you have been flying since childhood?"

"My first time was in one of the Cessna 152s at Wolfman and Hollywood´s place, in Nevada, when I turned ten," confirms the youngest of the Kazanskys. "Same as Jake and Sam. We also had a flight simulator, the US Navy Fighters 97. Brad, Jake and I even forgot to eat on Jane's F/A-18 missions."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that one," Halo's eyes become dreamy. Next to her, Omaha nods emphatically.

They embark on a discussion about fantasy video games versus simulators of "realistic" situations.

"Grand Theft Auto is…"

"A shameless glorification of crime," Brig interrupts in a cheery tone as he approaches.

Although four more persons follow him and sit on the last empty sofa at the other side of the grill, the group only pays attention to their colleague. Sean steps away from the grill and hugs his brother-in-law with a mocking expression.

"Come on, admit that what bothers you is being unable to beat me," he turns to the squad. "Don't you know? He has never been able to win a game against me, not even when I was a child."

"I beat you where it matters, little blonde razor," Brig replies affectionately.

Sean wrinkles his nose at the demotion of his callsign.

"Pure infamies and slander, adjunct professor."

"Children, manners," a deep and amused voice stops them.

Payback, Fanboy, Yale, Fritz, Omaha, and Halo straighten their backs involuntarily. They know that voice because they passed through the great base in Norfolk at different times in their lives. They exchange frenzied glances. Vice Admiral Kerner is here, too? They turn slowly and see that, yes, the famous Slider is looking down at them from his impressive height. A woman with auburn hair stands next to him and smiles softly at them. She rests a hand on the vice admiral's back with the familiarity that implies long-standing intimacy.

"Hello. You're Mitchell's ducklings, right?"

"Yes, Vice Admiral Kerner," they respond in a poorly organized chorus.

The reaction provokes amused waves of laughter around the yard.

"At ease, lieutenants," the giant replies, his eyes shining with amusement. "I expected more resistance from Maverick's squad."

"Rick," his companion says his name in a way that is both a gentle scolding and a reminder.

"Right, right. I forgot. Lieutenants, meet my wife Suzanne," the woman gives them a slight nod "and Senator Charles Piper. A Democrat, but he's one of the good ones."

Piper rolls her eyes but doesn't seem really offended.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, lieutenants," he says with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "We are friends of Maverick and Ice, so we have heard a lot about you."

"What you are is stingy bastards, taking Brig as a driver," Sean snorts. "Couldn't you rent a car at the airport like everyone else?"

Sam looks at Halo, raising his eyebrows as if to say, "Do you see what I have to deal with?" and cuts her brother.

"Sean, take these sausages to Uncle Sundown," she orders in a soft voice that does not accept a reply.

Although he grumbles, the youngest Kazansky takes the plate and heads to where Sundown converses animatedly with the Machado couple under his daughter Elsa's watchful eye.

Sam turns to the squad.

"You must excuse him. He is still getting used to the idea that Jake is back. I think it feels a little…territorial."

Fanboy risks a quick look at Iceman and Maverick's couch. Yeah. Hangman is still between them with a relaxed expression, his head resting on the admiral's shoulder. Kazansky is talking about something that makes Mrs. Wells laugh while he caresses the back of his neck with languid movements as if petting a giant cat.

"Yes, we understand," he says slowly and takes a sip of beer to avoid saying something inappropriate.

In fact, he feels like his entire world has been turned upside down with this family, but he's sure that Jake's return to this house is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you had asked him yesterday what his favorite theory was about the origin of Jacob "Hangman” Seresin, Mickey would have answered without hesitation that he was betting on Kazansky's bastard. His admiration for Mitchell has led him to search for records of his career. Locating photos of Maverick means seeing photos of Iceman. He found it very curious that the Kazansky of twenty years ago bore more physical resemblance to Jake than to his own son, Sean. But he didn't tell anyone, not even his pilot. One does not spread such rumors about one of the most powerful men in the US Navy. He doesn't want to end up carrying loads to the Arctic, thank you very much.

Now, they come here and are told, with unexpected honesty, that Hangman is the mysterious Jake Mitchell. Jake indeed has Maverick's eyes and nose, and his tendency to challenge authority, but otherwise...

Mickey looks up from his plate and meets Harvard's serious face. His dark green, moss-like eyes seem to want to pierce him. He suddenly remembers everything he speculated about Maverick and his brood during training for the Mission. He remembers that Brig had been with Jake since the beginning at the USNA.

"All this must seem hilarious to you, right? You were hearing everyone wondering where Jake Mitchell was for years."

He must have said it a little more forcefully than he should have because the rest of the group falls silent, and Payback puts a hand on his thigh.

But Brig shakes his head gently.

"Not at all."

He looks like he will say something else, but instead, he turns to Sam.

"Can you give me some sausages? I want to go sit with my parents."

Elia nods silently and serves him.

Brig walks to the other side of the courtyard, where Hollywood and Wolfman are interrogating Phoenix and Bob. He sits on the end of the couch next to Leonard and hands him the plate of sausages. The man takes it while still paying attention to Natasha, who explains how they almost escaped Maverick on the first training day. Brig lets himself be carried away by his colleague's expressive voice and smiles when he realizes that part of her exceptional performance was due to pure panic.

"... and then I thought, do it slow, Nat. If not, you'll be out of the ballroom before the party really gets going. And I did like this," she moves her arms as if giving the rudder a sharp tug.

"And I almost puked," Bob interjects.

"And I hear on the radio that Maverick says, "Good move, Phoenix. I like your style." And I almost fainted."

"Ah!" Maverick exclaims from the other side of the table. "I knew that I saw that plane shiver a little."

"Let the girl tell her story in peace, midget."

Pete lets out a contemptuous growl and turns to Slider with mocking eyes.

"At least I fit in all airplane seats."

Slider smiles at the answer. After so many years, the meetings of the '86 Squad are not complete without a verbal duel between the two. But this week has been so emotionally charged that he wasn't sure Maverick was in the mood for it.

"At least I can afford airplane seats with extra legroom."

"Oh! Now you have to pay for your plane tickets? Cougar doesn't love you anymore?"

"It's called integrity, Maverick. Of course, you don't need it because you only think about how to fly faster."

"At least I haven't forgotten how to fly."

"I remember perfectly. I have my license up to date."

"Really? I have a simulator in there that..."

"No one is going to play video games at my barbecue," Sarah Kazansky interrupts like a whip.

Both men look at her surprised but without the slightest intention of challenging her.

The first to react is the captain.

"Of course, dear. Slider and I just…" he looks scared at his friend.

"We let ourselves go," the other finishes in a voice more humble than that of a midshipman facing an admiral.

She makes a little noise of agreement and concludes the matter.

"Uh." Halo looks at Omaha. "Any conspiracy theories for this?"

The pilot shakes his head, too stunned to speak.

Taking advantage of the fact that his buddies are rebooting their brains after seeing the aviation legend and the legendary iron fist of Norfolk being controlled like a pair of toddlers by Sarah Kazansky, Fritz gets up and walks to the far end of Slider, Suzanne, and the senator's couch. He rests one hand on the arm of the sofa, crouches down to look at its occupants, and says.

"Hello. I just wanted to say that I really admire your work."

Milo lifts his head from Charles's shoulder and stands slightly to face him. His brown eyes are cautious. Fritz notices how the senator tightens his grip around his waist and vaguely wonders if he crossed some imaginary line by addressing Ventimiglia directly. After all, Vice Admiral Kerner did not introduce him.

Billy doesn't blame them for trying to avoid being noticed: it's been a challenging year for the actor. The success of "This es Us” is undeniable, but his personal life has made even more headlines. Nor is it a small thing: divorcing Alexis Bledel after fifteen years to start a relationship with a Democratic senator twenty years older.

Milo Ventimiglia is no longer the beautiful and slightly dangerous boy Rory Gilmore fell in love with, nor is the nurse Peter Petrelli, always amazed by the world of mutants. Not even the energetic and reasonable LT Connor "Stone" Portland from Top Gun, the fictional alter ego of his current lover. Under the weak winter sun, his expression lines on the forehead, crow's feet, and slight circles under the eyes are evident. He looks like a worn-out, brooding version of Jack Pearson.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Avalone," Milo finally says with a crooked smile. "I also admire yours."

Billy shakes his head from side to side with a slight smile.

"Na, what I do is complicated but precise. What you do, however... you become another person every time. That horrible mobster you played in Wild Card... that was awesome, Mr. Ventimiglia."

"Oh! So you were one of the dozen who saw that film," his voice is dry, but his eyes shine with amusement.

"My family is from a town in the fuck end of Kentucky, we're going to see whatever they're showing at the local movie theater, as long as it has shots," he explains with a smile.

"Then I guess you're not watching This is Us.

"They don't; I do." Seeing the actor's incredulous look, he adds, "Didn't Mr. Piper tell you? In the Navy, we love weekly series; it gives us something to talk about."

"Boy!" Kerner interrupts in a severe tone. "You can't reveal all our secrets. They're not married yet."

"Too late, Slider." Admits the senator with a perfectly contrite voice. "I have told him everything."

"Everything!?" Asks a frantic voice from the other side of the patio.

Milo looks at Wells defiantly.

"Yes, he told me everything. Even," he pauses dramatically, "that."

Maverick looks at his husband, scared.

"Ice," he moans.

But the admiral is not intimidated.

"Prove it," he says to the actor.

Milo raises an eyebrow, leans forward, and says in a clear voice.

"Wolfman's favorite film is Home Alone."

"Lie!" Leonard shouts, but his son starts laughing so hard that he falls from the couch.

Yale purses his lips and digs the nails of his left hand into his palm in a desperate attempt to contain his own laughter as he extends his right hand to point at his squadmate on the ground.

"I think that's all the confirmation we needed, sir."

"Come on, honey, calm down." Rick puts a hand on his husband's shoulder between laughs. "You knew that one day it would come to light, right?"

Wolfman collapses on the couch, defeated.

"I need a drink. You, Fritz," he looks at him smiling. "Since you started all this pining for Milo, give us a round of that famous whiskey of yours, eh?"

"Right away, sir."

While Yale and Fritz serve shots of the famous liquor, Javier leaves his wife in her enthusiastic conversation with Sundown about engines and efficiency and heads to another couch.

"Hey, Jake," he says, somewhat tense.

The blonde turns his head to look at him without leaving Kazansky´s side.

"What's up, Javi?"

"Could you show me the bathroom?"

His friend makes a noise that is half mockery and half disbelief. Well, yes, the excuse is poor, but it's not like he has much to work with. Still, he congratulates himself because he doesn't shrink under the brief glance Kazansky gives him. The admiral seems more amused than offended, but Javier cannot forget the power that man has. The blue-gray eyes return almost immediately to Jake, questioning.

Jake feels the body next to him tense. Even though they knew this was inevitable, his dad can't help but worry. He gives him a reassuring look and slowly pulls away from his embrace.

"Sure," he says and gets up.

Reaching the kitchen door, Jake grabs two bottles of beer from the cooler while looking meaningfully at his friend. Javier sighs and nods. He didn't expect them to believe his excuse either. They enter, but Jake decides it is better to continue to the living room to be sure they will not be heard from the patio. After all, this is just for Javier. He stops next to a sofa and rests his hips on the backrest while he hands one of the beers to his friend.

"Well, do you want to do the interrogation standing or sitting?"

Coyote purses his lips and looks doubtfully at the furniture around him. It is clear that this is not a space decorated for social functions but rather a warm, authentic family room.

"Yes, let's sit down," he accepts.

Jake takes a wide armchair, and Javier sits in front of him on the center of a three-seater sofa. They leave the drinks on a low table next to them.

"So..." he looks around again, still incredulous. "You grew up here?"

"Yeah. We moved shortly before I turned three. We used to live on the Miramar base, but I don't have many memories of that."

"Were you happy? With…" he can't stop his voice from shaking a little. "Kazansky?"

Jake lets out a short, light laugh.

"A lot. He is the best dad in the world." He stops and narrows his eyes with a concentrated frown as if looking for a better answer. "Well, maybe not the best," he admits, "but he did his best. Without a doubt, he is one of the most sacrificing fathers I know."

"Sorry, I'm confused, Jake. Didn't you tell me that Mitchell is your father?"

"They both are." He raises an eyebrow questioningly. His friend sighs and explains. "They are Navy aviators, Javi, and when I was a child, Icepop, I mean, Kazansky, was in active combat too. So, neither of them was home much. Mama Carole and Iná Sarah decided to live together so they could support each other. So we had like, rotating father figures? One time Icepop, one time Mavdad. It was unusual, but it worked," he grimaces as if remembering something unpleasant. "... more or less."

"More or less?"

"I was happy here, but out there? Not always. Once, at an event at Naval Base San Diego, I overheard someone call me the Kazansky charity case. Because I was Mitchell's brat, trouble was in my blood, right? I guess some people assumed that Icepop was trying to save me from my father and from myself."

"But then, why did you leave? Why all this… theatrics of using your mother's name?"

"What I told you, that this family was full of secrets? That's true. Restricted access to the internet, checks for hidden microphones once a month, background checks on the families of our friends from school, and training on what to do in case of kidnapping." He lets out a bitter laugh. "As a child, I thought that was just how everyone lived." His voice becomes thoughtful. "Considering that we grew up among the elite of the Department of Defense, it is possible that many of the families we interacted with lived that way too. I don't know."

"But all that doesn't explain..."

Jake shakes his head as he takes a drink to cool his throat.

"Wait, I still haven't gotten to the real secret, or secrets. The first was, as I already told you, my father's sexual orientation. I grew up with DADT. It was not a subject for the dinner table time, but echoes of the cases reached us. It wasn't about homophobia... explicitly. Hollywood and Wolfman were always close, and not my parents or uncles would have allowed an inappropriate comment about them." Javier is urged to bite his lips when he understands his friend calls the famous 86 Squadron uncles. "But you know that children create their own deductive chains. I was convinced that we were a law-abiding military family and, therefore, we had to be heterosexual, you understand?"

"Oh, and then you found out that your father..."

"Yeah."

"… but if you too…"

"At that time, I was in a closet deeper than Narnia, Javi. You saw me at the academy, with the ease that I told you that I was not gay."

"Right."

"So I had this monumental fight with him at Kazansky's study, and all my years of resentment exploded like a bomb. Like many children of separated parents, I believed that my absent mother would be better than the father I had, but Mavdad never wanted to tell me who she was. I told him not to come any closer unless it was to reveal Rachel Seresin's identity, and we stayed in that awful limbo to which I dragged the rest of the family."

"And he finally told you?"

Jake's expression turns melancholy.

"When I realized that we were on a suicide mission, I admitted to myself that, really, I didn't care. At the same time, my father begged me to return home in exchange for the truth. Kazansky used his power to declassify my mother's file."

"Declassify?" Repeats Javier, surprised.

"Yeah. It turns out that Rachel was a CIA agent, classified shit until no one knows when. She died in a super secret black op. How do you explain that to a child?" He shrugs and looks at the wall full of photographs. "I wouldn't know how. No wonder my father didn't want me to know."

"Wow." Its all Machado can say after his friend's story.

To hide his shock, he grabs the beer, walks to the wall, and looks at the photos again. There is a story there—a story of love and shadows that dates back to 1994 or further.

He realizes he's not as surprised to see the captain, Bradley, and Jake in casual attitudes. The bizarre to him is seeing Kazanky so distant from his strict martial image. In one photo, he wears shorts and holds little Sean's hand while Maverick holds the boy's other hand. In another, he is lying in the sand while hugging his wife with Jake and Sam - ten or eleven years old - on either side. In a third, he smiles at the camera, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses, while he raises a football above his head that Bradley and Maverick are trying to reach. Almost at the beginning of the wall, there is one that especially catches his attention because it is very conventional but also intimate: Sean Kazansky's first birthday. The child is very small, so he sits on his mother's lap in front of a table with a beautiful airplane-shaped cake and a single wide candle in the center. Jake and Bradley are to the right, and Sam and her father are to the left. His friend and Kazansky's daughter have swollen cheeks, surely they were given the task of blowing out the candle instead of the baby. Bradley smiles from ear to ear, and the future admiral has a happy, exhausted expression.

Javier takes a deep breath and turns to Jake.

"So Maverick's secret boyfriend is also in the Navy?"

Jake nods with the slightest smile.

"Of course."

"So the real reason for this invitation is so that he could meet us."

"Yeah."

Jake finishes his beer, sets it aside, rests his elbows on his knees, intertwines his fingers, and rests his chin on them. He looks at Javier with a calculating expression.

"What?"

But Jake shakes his head and stands up.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go back, or Uncle Sundown will have convinced your wife to join some Navy R&D project, and you'll only arrive to have a say in the color of the house you'll be assigned."

Javier looks at him, intrigued. He realizes there's something else Jake hoped he'd understand without words. Is the key supposed to be in the photos? He looks at them again before following his friend through the kitchen, and he doesn't see anything extraordinary: an unconventional family, but do conventional families exist outside fiction?

Arriving at the patio, María Celeste is very excited about Sundown. Javier gives his wife an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder and decides to go in search of meat.

The atmosphere is relaxed on the two sofas flanking the grill. Fritz and Milo Ventimiglia started some light pop culture conversation that the Daggers aren't afraid to engage in. They do not press the actor about details of his industry. It is a simple exchange of film and television preferences about the titles that formed them. The fact that three people sharing their memories are almost twenty years older enriches the experience.

"Hey, Javi. Did you see Danger Bay in Texas?"

He snorts and rolls his eyes.

"Ah, because up in the mountains of Kentucky, they have more civilization than we do on the outskirts of San Antonio." He sits cross-legged on the grass and raises his beer. "Of course, I saw Danger Bay!"

"It must be the foreign series with the most reruns on American TV." Halo speculates.

"It could be." Nods Omaha.

Payback opens his mouth to say something else, but a squeal from another couch stops him. All eyes go to where Vivian Cortell and Sarah Kazansky hug each other and smile like happy, mischievous girls. Cougar looks questioningly at Ice, who gives the slightest nod. The brunette smiles with some melancholy.

Elsa Williams, Madelaine Williams, and Suzanne Kerner almost ran to the couch with shocked expressions. They lean over Sarah Kazansky and begin a whispered conversation, interrupted by occasional squeals of enthusiasm, which the rest of the yard watches with growing concern.

Natasha leans forward so she can address Brig directly.

"Do you have any idea what's going on there?"

Her squadmate gives her a calculating look but does not respond. However, to increase Natasha's intrigue, he turns to Rooster.

"Bradley?"

The other exchanges a quick glance with Maverick and smiles, amused at his friend.

"Do you like weddings, Nat?"

"Well..." She doesn't really know what to say to the unexpected turn. "Like everyone else, I guess."

"Mark your agenda. My father," he gestures towards Maverick, "is finally getting married. Iná Sarah and Sam are going to plan the wedding."

"Excuse me?" Vivian Cortell asks with a threatening expression.

Bradley shrinks in his seat.

"I mean," he is quick to correct with a strangled smile, "they're all going to plan the wedding."

"And it will be great," says Elsa Williams with a dreamy expression. "I can already see the headlines."

"But the idea is..."

Sarah Kazansky silences her (future) ex-husband with a single glance.

"I told you," Sarah declares in a steely voice, "that the Benjamin family won't beat us in this."

The other four women nod vigorously.

Most of the men present shrink in their seats in solidarity with Tom, except Pete, of course. Pete thoroughly enjoys this whole business of planning a new coming out even more scandalous than the one he had with Top Gun.

"So take care of your work, darling, and we will take care of the wedding."

Ice and Sarah lock eyes for a few seconds, but he finally looks away and nods, defeated. She smiles victoriously and stands up with a haughty gesture.

"Come on, I want to show you some ideas I was working on with Sam."

The five women go to the house. Ice sees them go frightened. Pete and his brood give them an amused gaze. The rest of Squad 86 is frankly worried. And the Daggers are completely confused by all of this.

"You're not going?" Yale dares to ask Sam.

"Nah. Now comes the nostalgia festival. When I got married in the eighties this. When I got divorced in the nineties, that. I've had this idea for floral arrangements for twenty years. My thing is 21st-century technology: the website, the invitations, that kind of thing.

Elia snorts mockingly. Her girlfriend raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You've also been imagining that wedding for years, don't deny it."

Sam shrugs.

"Not as much as them." She abruptly changes subject and attitude. "A hamburger, Lieutenant Lee?" She asks with lowered eyelids and a cocked hip.

He swallows dryly and looks fearfully at Elia, but the other woman seems to find her girlfriend's antics amusing.

"Sure," and he offers his plate.

Back to his wife, Javier things about the entire exchange with growing confusion.

That Sarah Kazansky and the other women of the 86 Squadron want to plan Maverick's wedding doesn't surprise him. After all, they have known each other for about thirty years. What seems incongruous to him is that Admiral Kazansky tried to intervene in those plans. If Maverick, the interested party, did not attempt to stop these women in their competition with the Benjamin clan, why would Iceman do it? It's not like the wedding involved him directly.

Right?

Unless…

Oh!

He looks at María Celeste. His wife's panicked expression tells him that she has reached the same conclusion.

Javier looks for the rest of the Daggers.

Across the yard, Omaha's face is slightly green, and Fanboy is whispering something to his pilot with frantic gestures. Payback's face goes from disbelief to disdain, and he seems to seek to confirm his point by staring at the couch Kazansky and Mitchell occupy.

Javier also turns his attention there, desperately hoping all this is a mistake, a misunderstanding.

He knows (he doesn't have to look around, he can feel it) that his wife, Phoenix, Bob, Fanboy, Yale, Fritz, Omaha and Halo are doing the same thing: they are looking for material evidence that their deductions are wrong. Jake has gotten up to grab something from the table. Iceman leans towards Maverick with a slight smile and uses his fingers to smooth out a strand of his hair.

The gesture is casual, intimate, and unequivocal.

The lack of reaction from the rest of the 86 Squadron is the final nail in the coffin of their sanity.

Javier Machado closes his eyes, swallows dryly, and fumbles for his wife's hand.

María Celeste is breathing hard, and Sundown's snide laugh is like a drill in his head.

He hears his captain's voice from afar.

"I think we broke them this time, Ice."

Kerner's response also feels like something from far away.

"Na. A round of whiskey, and it will be as if nothing had happened. If you want, Yale, I'll tell you about when I found them..."

"A round of whiskey, please!" Natasha cuts him off.

 

THE END

 

STORY INDEX: http://palabraspulsares.blogspot.com/p/the-lies-we-told-each-other-4-roots.html