This is a story about a young Marine Corps pilot during the era between the Korean War and the Viet Nam War. Reading the previous parts will lead to a better understanding of the plot and the characters..
Mica watched as his wife, Melissa, entered the bar at the Officer's Club. She paused and scanned the room looking for him. Young officers from all over the room started towards her. Then she saw him and he waved at her. The smile that lit her face was beautiful and a tingle ran through his body clear to his toes. Her smile always affected him that way.
She dismissed her admirers with a flip of her hand, and she hurried to his table. Mica rose to meet her and she stopped about a foot in front of him. She carefully placed her purse on the table, then stepped forward and ran her hands up his chest and around his neck. Her parted lips found his and they kissed for several moments. Her smile seemed even brighter when they parted and he seated her.
"Have you seen the Markers?" she asked.
"Yes, Dear, here they come now." Melissa looked over her shoulder and saw their friends. She turned and moved to meet them and hugged Dawn and Bill Marker. Mica and Billy shook hands. When they were seated, they all looked at Melissa.
Mica leaned toward Melissa, "Well, we are all waiting. What did the doctor say?"
She grinned delightedly at her husband, "He said YES. WE are pregnant. WE are going to have a baby."
Mica leapt up and yelled, "YES!" He lifted her into his arms and kissed her again. He looked around the bar, there were about fifty or more people in the room. He grinned and yelled, "SHE IS PREGNANT, THIS ROUND OF DRINKS IS ON ME!" People that knew Mica or Melissa crowded around, congratulated them and wished them the best. When the excitement abated they finished their drinks and moved to the main dining room.
Mica had not released the hold he had on her hand since she had told them she was pregnant. She grinned at her friends and leaned toward the middle of the table, she looked all around and said, "Guess what, we got a list of the Reserve personnel in the Air Wing who are being reverted to their original rank or grade. Two bird Colonels, six light Colonels, about twenty Majors and fifty Captains are being reverted because of the Reduction in Forces Act. Billy, you are not on the list of course because you have a regular Commission. But seven of your officers are on it."
Lieutenant Colonel Marker said, "Please don't tell me now. I just hope some of the right ones are getting riffed."
Melissa smiled, "I just have to tell Mica about one LTCOL, who of course is not in the squadron, but who will be a Staff Sergeant tomorrow." She leaned to Mica and whispered in his ear. 'Vernon Butcher.'" Mica jerked back and looked at her.
"Really?"
"Yep!" She smiled and giggled. "He has eighteen years of service so he can either get out now, with no retirement, or revert to SSgt and retire as a LTCOL in two years."
Mica said, "Yeah! A lot of the Captains were offered a Regular Commission and they revert to their grade when they were Commissioned and will then be promoted each day until they are back to Captain. Frank Gothals is one of those, He was a Marine Guard on the Base at Pensacola when WWII started. He had a private pilot's license and they made him a 2nd Lieutenant. By the time he finished Officer's Training at Quantico, was sent to flight training, then served as a flight instructor, the war was over. Then he was recalled for Korea. He is a good man."
Billy said, "There are several guys like that in the squadron."
Mica laughed, "I was talking to a pilot a few weeks ago who has a brother in the Navy who beat the system. When the RIF rules were published, he was a Commander in the Reserves, he wrote a letter to BuPers (Navy Bureau of Personnel.), referenced the RIF Directives, and said, 'I do not wish to revert to my original rank and status, I request to remain in my present grade and status.' Then every time they put out any order that had anything remotely related to the RIF, he wrote a letter referencing all of his letters and all of their letters or orders and sent it off to BuPers. He did that with every letter they sent and he found out about.
He sent them hundreds of letters, page after page of them were references to every letter he had sent or that they ever wrote. The average officer with twenty years of service has a file about two or three inches thick. His file took up four file drawers or about fifty inches of space. BuPers finally surrendered and recommended him for a Regular commission. He wrote them another letter; it had only one reference, and that was to the letter awarding him his Regular Commission, the body of the letter was succinct, it read:
'Thanks'."
They all laughed. They had a nice dinner and then danced for a while.
Billy Marker told them that the North American factory had found the problem with the fuel control and the FJ-2s were cleared to fly again after the fixes were finished. After being grounded for a week and a half they were going to be able to get back in the air.
Mica danced with Melissa and told her he was very happy that she was pregnant and that they had to go home and call both sets of future grand-parents. She looked up at him with a little grin. "Please don't be angry with me. I already called our folks, they were very happy and were going to call each other."
"Hummm! You are a bad girl, I am going to have to turn you over my knee and spank you when we get home." Mica led her back to the table. As they sat down Melissa said, "I'll bet you can't do it."
"You have a bet."
Dawn giggled, "Oh goodie a bet. Who bets what?"
Melissa smiled at her husband, "Mica says he will spank me when we get home because I went ahead and called our parents and told them we are going to have a baby. I bet him that he can't do it."
Dawn laughed, "What is the wager?"
Mica and Melissa looked at each other. Mica said, "If I win she will have to be my slave for a week."
Dawn giggled, "That's no good, she already does anything you want her to do now."
Mica looked at his wife and said, "You are right about that, I'll have to think of something else, I've got it, she has to give me 4 BJs to atone for her indiscretion."
'Lissa blushed and smiled at him sweetly, "That is not a punishment, I love doing that and all you have to do is ask."
Mica looked at his wife, "You win."
"What? We haven't settled anything yet."