“Why?” He did not sound the least upset by her comment. “It’s just...I didn’t...I don’t want you to take that the wrong way.” “That you think I’m the right man for the job?” “It sounded so...well...not like me. That was rather audacious and brazen of me.” “Really?” He sounded almost amused. Adalia knew she was blushing – the heat was burning its’ way through her cheeks. “It’s only that...well...that could have come off sounding as if it had a number of...It’s...I guess I thought it could be really...well...misunderstood.” “I don’t...” “I’m sure you must hear that all the time, and they don’t necessarily mean you giving them a tour of the Point either.” “Oh....Well...” “I’m sorry if that...” “No...don’t apologize. I was simply thinking that...I don’t think anyone has ever said...Well, when it came to my job, yes, I’m certain someone did, but...I don’t think...I can’t recall that a lady visiting here has ever...” “Here you are!” Both Adalia and the stranger turned at the sound, only then realizing that they were no longer alone. “Tina!” Adalia exclaimed, stepping a few feet away from the man who had kept her company these last few minutes. “I was wondering where you disappeared to. I know, I know...I told you to come out and get some air, but then someone asked where you were and I realized you’d been out here for almost a half-hour.” “I have? Sorry, I…It didn’t feel like it had been that long.” “You okay?” “Yes...” and the Hoosier glanced over her shoulder, half-expecting that her unknown companion had vanished and was actually a figment of her exhaustion. But upon seeing that he was still in the same spot, she smiled, exhaling, overjoyed that their minutes together had been an actuality. “Yes...I’m...Sorry Tina....I...I lost track of the time. Is everything all right?” “Sure, everything’s fine, but everyone’s missing you.” “Oh!” and once more she looked back at the stranger. “Guess it’s nice to be missed, hmm?” “And don’t think it’s only because you’re our new chef. Or that Bud is wondering where you hid the rest of the Banon Capriole! I told him I arranged the catering, but he insists you're holding out on him.” Adalia laughed. “Oh good grief! Okay...I’ll be there in a second.” “Great!" But now the stranger fully caught Tina's attention, and she squinted as though attempting to make him out. Only then did she grin broadly, exclaiming, "Jack?! Jack is that you? I thought you’d gone already.” Jack? Adalia fully turned to gaze at the shadowed figure. “I had started to, but then I ran into Miss Rabino...Adalia...and we started to talk about...about...We started to talk.” “Oh? Oh that’s great. Hey, why don’t you come back inside? I know you said you were heading home, but you can change your mind,” Tina told him. “I’ll...No...I think I’m still going to call it a night, Tina, but thank you. Tell John I said good evening again.” “I will.” Momentarily Tina looked from Adalia to the still hidden figure, wondering what she might have interrupted and nearly allowing curiosity to get the best of her, but instead she said, “Well...uh...see you inside.” “I’ll be there in a bit. Tell Bud to hold on.” “I will. Um…Night Jack.” “Good night, Tina.” Swallowing hard, Adalia felt her throat tighten as she once more gave the stranger her attention. Well, no longer a stranger and she thought it impossible, no, incredible and downright ungentlemanly that a man she respected was playing some type of game with her...especially when she knew he was attached to another. That fact angered her, but in addition he had been manipulative in a way she did not believe possible of him, not from the books and definitely not from the movie. It was not that she was seeking a romance, but she felt as though the little time spent in his company had been an awful cheat. “Jack?” she finally managed, the surprise obvious in her voice, and knowing that her face was burning with embarrassment. “Jack,” and he finally moved. “I should have told you in the beginning.” “Yes...I think you should have.” Adalia hoped that her voice did not sound hurt. “It’s only…I’m just not the Jack you think it is.” “Oh really?!” She thought that a touch of sarcasm was just what was required to let him know she didn’t appreciate his joke. "So just who exactly are you then...Jack?! That other Captain Jack, the one that wears more mascara than I do? Oh I know – you’re Jack Bauer, and you just happened to drop in here by accident while looking for Jihadists!" “Let me…” “Oh no…let me! I haven’t had a chance to tell you how much I love your show!” “Let me…” he stressed, attempting to work in his words before Adalia interrupted again. “I must…introduce myself, as I should have. I’m Jack.” “I know you’re Jack!” she said impatiently, glaring until he moved completely into the light. And she blinked, thinking her eyes were playing tricks. She had expected to see blonde hair pulled into the Nelson era queue, but that was oddly missing, as was the imposing, larger than life form. Instead, she found herself face-to-face with a dark haired man with short hair, his cheekbones slightly high, the features highlighted by a boyish youthfulness, and yet filled with a self-confidence and maturity that neither Johnny nor Dominic possessed. Startled, she stepped backwards, nearly tripping over her own feet, realizing how mistaken she had been. “Lieutenant Jack Corbett. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rabinovich.” Oh my... “I’m sorry. Jack? Corbett?” He smiled sadly. “I told you so." “I...Jack? Corbett?” she asked again, realizing how ridiculous she was beginning to sound. “Or as Johnny might say ‘an oldie but goody’.” Adalia opened her mouth again to speak, and then closed it on knowing that nothing was ready to be heard, and had she spoken, it would have been a repeat of ‘Jack? Corbett?’ which was becoming incredibly redundant. Yes, it was very obvious he was one of the brothers. She knew that the moment she heard him speak, but the face was completely unknown to her, and she seriously knew that had he remained hidden, she would have known as much about him as she did this second. “An...An oldie but...” She shook her head, her confusion obvious. “I’ve been here almost from the beginning....Blood Oath? Or, you might know it by Prisoners of the Sun?" On seeing her continued puzzlement, Corbett merely smiled. “You’re not the first one.” “I'm not the first? As in...” “You’re not the first one that has never heard of it, by either title. I did mention that you probably wouldn’t know me, even if I said my name.” “Well I....Well...I...I...” she sheepishly said. “Oh Lord…I’m so sorry.” He appeared to have expected such an answer. “Why would you be sorry? It’s not your fault.” “But I feel awful. I thought...It’s...It’s just..." "You thought I was Brother Jack, didn't you?" "I thought you were...Yes, yes I did...and that's what made it so..." She smiled. "I hope you understand what a dilemma..." "Oh I understand, and I'm sorry myself...for confusing you." Adalia shook her head. "It's all right." I’m not well known?” He shrugged. “And this has given you a very bad impression of me for a first meeting. I must appear very self-pitying." "No..." Adalia confessed, "it's...it…No…I…Now that I know you’re not Jack Aubrey, I…No…I don’t have a bad impression." "No? Then we can start over again?" "Considering I half-expected you to walk out of the shadows, wearing a mask over part of your face..." At that comment, Jack Corbett laughed. "...and singing Music of the Night...yes, let's start again." With that, she extended one hand. "I'm Adalia Rabinovich from Jeffersonville, Indiana and I'm the new chef for the Point." Corbett gently accepted her hand, shaking it in the most courteous fashion. "And I'm Lieutenant Jack Corbett. How do you do?" "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" "Sweet as a biscuit, thank you." Adalia did not need a slang dictionary to translate that. English (and likely Australian) biscuits were what most Americans called cookies so it made perfect sense. He was telling her he couldn’t be better. And they laughed, suddenly realizing that they were still holding hands, both noticing that it was with the slightest hesitancy that they finally parted. The laughter eased, the two briefly looked aside, and it was for Adalia to speak first, hoping to end the now awkward silence. They had been so comfortable in those minutes before the revelation, and she wanted that again. "I know you've heard this before, but it's just...I thought I knew all of his movies.” “I think most of the casual fans are the same...until you mention...let’s see....The Crossing....The Efficiency Expert.” “That would be Kim, right? The Efficiency Expert?” “That would be Kim....The Crossing is Johnny’s....Arthur’s is Love in Limbo....” “And yours is...Prisoners of the Sun?” “Or Blood Oath. It depends on the nation it was released in, sort of the way Egan’s movie was titled: Silver Stallion, Silver Brumby. “When was it released?” “I’ve read 1990 -- near the start of his real cinematic career – the Creator’s I mean....There was Johnny and Andy…Dominic…Kim …me….East, Egan, Arthur, Hando came next. Johnny and I arrived first though. Our movies weren’t always released in the same year, but I guess…someone…something didn’t want us alone, so we came nearly at once. It’s not like it is now, where they come as their movie is released, but there’s so many of us now. No one gets lonely.” “That’s a fact,” she agreed, thinking of the crowd still awaiting her return to the carriage house. “When I arrived...” he looked around, giving Adalia an opportunity to see him even better. “...When I first came...none of this was here yet: not the gardens anyway, or a good deal of what lies beyond. The Hotel was always here in some form; so was the Tavern, and I’ve never honestly been sure as to how long. But then, the Point was mostly...everything that I had known in my life...my movie. So I had Australia...I had islands from the South Pacific. I guess Tina explained that it continually expands...” “With every new arrival and even when some of the ladies come." "The ones that make a difference, yes." Adalia wondered if anything that might connect her to her Indiana roots or the things she loved waited for her to seek out. She had been so busy the last week, there had been little time to do much exploring. But her concentration returned to her companion, patiently waiting, and likely -- somehow -- knowing exactly what his words had triggered. "And...So were you the first? You and Johnny?” “Seems as though we were, but the others started showing up almost immediately. Our other brothers I mean. It’s been so long ago…but I think I arrived first…” His voice seemed to drift. “…then Johnny arrived shortly afterwards. I know…I wasn’t alone for very long.” The first? If that was so, he was another Adam, the first man to enter the Garden, to be there when the world was born, and she could not help but wonder how he had felt being alone, no matter how short the period. She could imagine him wandering about the property, discovering all there was to offer, and coming to the realization that there was no one else. She could not even begin to imagine his emptiness….“I’m glad.” “You’re…” “I’m glad you weren’t alone for long.” “Ta.” “And you...you were...?” “Excuse me?” “What were you?” Jack raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got me there. What...was I? Oh! You mean...in my movie?” Adalia nodded. “It’s not very exciting, especially compared to some of the others.” “Well, not all of you can be generals and Royal Navy captains, or...Nobel Prize winning mathematicians or a K&R...or...or...heavyweight champion of the world, right? Some of you...Well...some of you have been waiters...and cops...and sheriffs and...” “Lawyers.” Adalia paused in her recitation. “You...You were a lawyer?” Corbett nodded, a slight smile pulling at his lips. “Australian military.” She was allowing it to soak in little by little, the fact that instead of being Jack Aubrey – and thanking God that it was not – the incarnation that had excited her imagination was a young man seemingly aged beyond his apparent youthful years. “You....Like a ...Like a JAG then?” Jack thought briefly then answered, "Yes that sounds right. I was trying to recall what the American military would call it, but I believe that would be right." He smiled. "I was a JAG...second chair...if you know the term." "I know it very well, Lieutenant." "Jack," he told her, his voice insistent. "Jack...." She smiled in return, wondering how in the world she had ever thought it was Jack Aubrey. She doubted the good Captain could pull off an Australian accent if his life depended on it! "Yes, I know the term quite well. I have a brother who is a lawyer." "You have my sympathies," Corbett teased, and Adalia gave a short hard laugh. "Yeah, well, thanks. And uh...several members of my family are current military; I have family that's retired military too." "Right! I heard Dom and Johnny saying you have a brother in your Air Force." "My brother, Nathan, yes. Wouldn't be the first time we’ve served." She was smiling with pride. "My dad is always saying that our family has served in every war in American history, even..." "That little affair between you colonials and the Mother Country?" and he winked after asking, causing Adalia to chuckle. "Oh, now is that the one with the tea chests and whites of their eyes, and kicking Hessian behinds at Trenton? And that tiny little defeat at Yorktown?" "'Tiny little...' ? I...I think so. I also heard it's the one when that bloke signed his name quite big so the King..." "Farmer George?" "The King..." Corbett stressed, enjoying this little banter with her, "could read it without his spectacles?" "That would be the same little affair, Lieutenant, yes." "Feel free to chide me anytime, Miss Rabinovich." "Adalia." "Right...Adalia." Now his expression grew more serious. "That's quite an honor, your family serving your country that way. So your Revolution, and your Civil War too?" Adalia nodded in reply. "Which...?" "The Union," she replied, predicting his question. "I had ancestors at Gettysburg...one died at the second battle of Bull Run...and a couple were at a little place in Kentucky called Perryville, and before you say anything, I doubt you've heard of it. It's really not as well known as the others, I mean, unless you're a Civil War student." "I am a bit of an American Civil War buff. In fact, I think I own as many books on that subject as I do World War II. I would love to know more...about this Perryville." "You know you don't have to say..." "No, I'd like to." He appeared very thoughtful. "My university dissertation was to interpret the battle tactics of Lincoln's chief commanders...sorting the errors and the successes...placing one in command of a battle in which he wasn't involved and analyzing how he might have handled it." "Now that sounds ambitious." "Yes, I suppose it was, but I was fascinated by what made them all...well...unique. So yes, I'd love to read about Perryville. And it's in Kentucky you say?" "It's in Kentucky. I'll see what I can find for you. I imagine there's something online, if you fool with the Internet, but Tina might be able to tell you something too. With her being a history fanatic, she may have visited there." "I will." "And as I said, it's not as famous as Gettysburg or Antietam, or Vicksburg or Sherman's March, but a lot of Civil War buffs know it. I’ve heard that it was the largest battle to take place in the state. Oh and of course there was World War II; my family fought in it in huge numbers." "Which theatre?" "Both, but the majority were in Europe: Normandy, the liberation of Paris, the Battle of the Bulge..." "Berlin?" Adalia nodded. It was not all that often that she found a fellow history lover. "I even had one that managed to get into the RAF because America wasn't in the War yet, and he managed to survive the Battle of Britain....That would have been my father's..." But she paused on hearing Corbett's slight chuckle, a hint of irony in the action. "What's wrong?" "The War. I love how you called it that. You speak of it as if it was your War. It was...what?" "Over sixty years ago, I know, and yes, I know I call it The War but I've always called it that. I guess it's because I've heard my family talk about it my entire life. It was like...well...we always felt we made our mark in the Revolution, in the Civil War, but the War...I don't know....I guess it really did feel as if we were helping save the world. And that was as important as..." "Building a new nation or saving one?" Adalia smiled. "That was my War," Corbett softly replied. "Which...? You mean World War II?" "That was mine." "Oh! Oh that's...You did say Australia and the South Pacific, didn't you? Of course that would be your War. Your movie was about that?" "Well, not my time during it, but afterwards...and...that can probably wait for another day." Adalia's face nearly fell. "Why?" "Because if you don't get inside, Bud is going to go searching for that cheese on his own, and I’m not sure you’d want that. And besides, Tina will either come looking for you again, or she'll send John to look for you, or all your guests will be out here wandering around." "All right, all right, I get it, I get it!" she laughed, but she grew quiet, attempting to think of what to tell him next. Funny how this episode had gone from a fascinating mystery, to seconds of anger and hurt, and now such interest that she hated tearing herself away. She wanted to know more: about his movie, his life, the world he had known during a tumultuous period of history that always enthralled her imagination. The veterans she knew, those of the Greatest Generation, were old men who had given the best of their youth for something larger than themselves. And now -- as if stepping into a time machine -- she was talking to one who was still young, unbroken, his memories as fresh as yesterday and not over the expanse of decades. There were other things she wanted to share with him, so that he would know that her curiosity was not simply that of a fan-girl, but those of a woman whose family had given and sacrificed so much at the time, and not only on the battlefield. Adalia cleared her throat, and gently smiling said, “It’s…It’s been nice, Lieutenant,” and she effortlessly said it in the British fashion. “You’re right – it has been. And…I apologize again…” “No…” she protested, raising one hand. “No…I apologize – again – for leading you astray.” “You didn’t…No…look…it was…it’s all right. I mean…in the end, we worked everything out so…don’t worry about it, okay?” “Leave it to you to make my deception seem less…disturbing.” “Well, considering the circumstances…honestly…don’t...don't worry about it, all right?” Corbett opened his mouth, another protest, another apology on his lips, but it was gone with one glance at that smile. There was nothing more he could say but "All right." "Great....So...I guess..." She was trying to find an excuse, any excuse to linger. "I guess you should get back to your guests." "I think you're right." She took a step backwards. "It was...I'm happy to have met you." "Same here. Good evening." "Night."11anewstart.html

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