Sweet Sweet Sound

Posted on 23 Jan 2023 @ 0:15 by Liam Knight & Lieutenant Isabel Castillo

Episode: E1: A Historic Voyage
Location: Starbucks, New York City
Timeline: Date 2025-05-09 at 2100

The first half day of tours had gone off, largely, without any unplanned or unaccounted for drama. With the exception of Jon Demir's appearance in the line for the first round of tours--something she was desperately curious about--it had been a fairly repetitive day. Folks came across the gangway onto the boat. She or any number of other crew members gave them the highlights reel tour, and then they climbed back out and went on their way. She'd spent the last three hours settling short term resupply and doing her daily checks on levels.

Though it was 9 pm in New York and already into the dusky not-quite-dark of New York City at night, she knew that by now Liam should be just getting home from his shift at the garage. She hadn't told him to expect a call. Really she had told him very little, something she hoped he'd forgive her for. There had hardly been time to tell him all the things a submariner's significant other ought to know in the rush of confession and their extracurricular activities afterward.

Now, though, she sat in a Starbucks a few blocks down from where the Arizona was moored. She was clad in her blue service dress uniform. It was a sharp look, but she had never fully cottoned on to an appreciation for the partial wool fabric and her thighs itched. The white cover on her head was also unmissable and she noticed more than a few other customers surreptitiously trying to hide their staring. A painfully boujee latte sat in front of her along with a chocolate chip cookie that the barista had ever so kindly offered to warm up for her. If she hadn't just come from the belly of the Arizona clad in full sailor garb she might have felt as if she were just there for a regular visit instead of stealing away on liberty.

To make the call easier she'd brought a pair of in-ear headphones that sported a mic. They were easy to pack and small enough that it made sense to have them. She'd used them to call her parents a few times in the past. Despite herself, she could feel her heart racing and a lump starting up in her throat at the thought of hearing Liam's voice on the other end of the line. She was worried, despite herself. What if he'd regretted what he'd said that night. What if it was just the moment and now he wished he hadn't agreed. Worse... what if he didn't pick up.

Letting out a slow steadying breath she shoved the earbuds into place and, with a few quick taps on her phone's screen dialed Liam's number.

Halfway across the country In Bremerton, Liam pulled his truck into his small driveway before putting in in park. He'd had a fairly busy day at work, and he'd opted for a relatively light day at the gym before heading home for the day. As he shut the motor off he slapped the steering wheel remembering that he'd told himself to stop by the grocery story so he could get some items to make a quick dinner. He sighed before opening the door and grabbing his gym bag and walking the small distance to his back door. Fishing his keys out, he unlocked the door and stepped into the small utility room before tossing his bag on top of his old washing machine. As he stepped through the threshold into the kitchen, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He briefly closed his eyes, hoping it wasn't Charles calling to as Liam to cover his tow truck duties for him, when he stopped and stared at the phone. On the screen was a picture of Isabel and Liam as her name scrawled across the top.

He felt his heart skip a beat as the phone continued to vibrate. He hadn't expected a phone call from Isa. She had left before they'd had a chance on working out how often they'd stay in contact. Since his talk with Jon, he'd tried to send her an email but he wasn't sure it had made its way through. He slid his finger across the screen before bringing the phone up to his ear, a smile starting to spread across his face as he did so.

"Hey babe. I hadn't expected to hear from you for awhile," he said closing his eyes and imaging Isa's smile on the other side.

It felt like the phone rang for an age and with each ring Isabel's heart leapt and plummeted in turns, worry and excitement warring with each other. But when his voice came over the line, as familiar as the sunrise, she found herself grinning so hard that her cheeks heart.

"Hi," she breathed. "God I've missed your voice."

"So have I," he said before pausing as he held the phone to his ear. "So, can I ask where you're at? Or can you not say," he said remembering her saying there would be times she wouldn't be able to tell him where she would be going.

She chuckled, an odd feeling against the lump in her throat. She had missed him, but somehow she hadn't really put together just how much. "I'm in New York City," she said, swallowing back the emotion. "We're docked here for a couple days. PR stuff. Folks can tour the boat. We get a bit of Liberty." She drew in another deep breath, still trying to stave off the rush of feelings that wanted to come out in an a bundle of ungainly words. Did he still feel the same? Had he ached for her like she'd ached for him? Did he wish he hadn't said he loved her? She stumbled ahead, ignoring the worries. "That's kind of like leave, but not," she explained. "We're at liberty to leave the boat and visit the port we're in."

Her hands wrapped the paper cup that held her latte and she brought it quickly to her lips, sipping quickly before asking, "How... how are you?"

New York City, she was all the way across the country, yet Liam felt she was there with him. He leaned against the counter and closed his eyes imagining her being across from him. "I'm good, though I miss you terribly. How are you," he asked.

Her heart constricted at his words and for a moment she had to breathe. "I miss you too," she almost whispered into the microphone. It was true. So very true. But it hurt to say all the same. She took another deep breath and pressed on. "I'm doing good for someone whose been cooped up like a sardine for a few weeks." She chuckled, trying to add some levity to the intensity of emotion just hearing Liam's voice was evoking. "I got my blue nose."

Isa paused a moment as she remembered he would need her to explain what that is. "Every Navy officer who crosses the Arctic Circle goes through a sort of made up ceremony. They get us in our shorts and t-shirts and send us topside. The COB was all decked out like he was Polaris and he gave out assignments. Mine was a question about Down Periscope. And then they paint your nose blue and send you inside to drink hot chocolate and make sure none of your fingers or toes are frost bitten."

She grinned as she recalled the event. It was, for most, a rite of passage to participate in something like this and as one of the few officers who hadn't been on a submarine before most of her peers were on the other side of the ceremony.

"Mierda, Liam," she said with a laugh, "it's cold in the Arctic."

Liam laughed slightly, "I hope that means you're more used to the snow though," he said as she told him about this blue nose ceremony. He loved when she talked about things like this. "I take it you also found the small gift I left for you," he asked.

Her expression softened at his mention of the small bottle of aftershave she'd unearthed while unpacking her first day. "Yeah," she said, her voice turning a bit husky. "I may be dabbing a bit of it on my pillow every night. Feels a bit like you must be nearby as I'm falling asleep. I've certainly had some," here she coughed as if clearing her throat, "interesting, dreams. What about you? Did you find mine?"

Liam smiled into the phone as he looked back towards his bedroom. Lying under his pillow was one of her night shirts she had left from their last night together. It still had the scent of her hair on it, and every night since he had fallen asleep with her on his mind and the smell below his pillow. "I did, and I also keep it under my pillow so I can have plenty of dreams of you," he said softly. He heard her laugh and he imagined her features through the phone. A moment of silence passed between them before he spoke again into the phone, "I've been thinking a lot about that last night...what we said to each other."

In New York, Isabel's heart constricted. She had been picturing his smile, remembering how he curled up on his side with one arm under his pillow to sleep. Her arms craved wrapping around him and holding him close. But at his admission, she felt worry flare anew. He missed her, she reminded herself. She'd heard nothing but happiness at her call in his voice. Pressing a breath out through her teeth she nodded, not even thinking that he couldn't see her, before adding, "Me too."

He could hear the tiniest tone of worry in her voice, but her words were sincere. Even though there were so far apart, the energy between them still felt charged. He closed his eyes for a brief second and thought back to that night. The way he felt her cling to him, how she always seemed to be there next to him. It was a feeling that he had sorely missed since she was gone, and that feeling of loss was proving to be difficult to manage. He reopened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes seemed to become slightly moist, but he focused on blinking that thought away. He gripped the phone tightly before speaking the words that were on his tongue, "Isabel, I....I still feel the same as I did then. I love you." His voice was soft and when he didn't hear a response at first, he worried that his voice had been too soft to be heard by the speaker.

Isabel was not a crier. At least not normally. And that was what she was repeating to herself over and over as her heart swelled and her eyes pricked at hearing his words. She wasn't sure if she could answer him without bursting into tears and so though she opened her mouth to speak it was a long moment before any sound came out. "You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that," she finally said, swiping at her eyes with a hand, her voice thick with the torrent of emotion she was trying to hold at bay. "Te amo tanto me duele el corazon," she said in a rush. "I love you Liam Knight. I love you." Her words felt like relief--like the sun piercing clouds to light the sky in brilliant warm tones. Her whole body ached with the distance between them and she wrapped an arm around her middle hugging herself as if doing so would keep her from flying apart.

Liam smiled into the phone, a warm sensation coming over him as he heard her voice in Spanish before she translated it. The dread he had felt before was instantly gone, and in its place the firm belief that she loved him. He laughed slightly before placing a hand in the countertop and looking down, "You know I wish you would've told me you were going to be in New York, I've never been to the east coast before," he said before pausing and looking up with a thoughtful look, "Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been east of the Rockies."

"Normally where we're going to be isn't publicized," she admitted with a bit of regret, thinking again of running into Jon earlier that day. "I should have told you, though. You wouldn't have had a ton of time to come out. We're only here for 3 days and I'm still on duty for a lot of that." The thought of having him there, though, made her heart ache. "You would've come, though?" she asked. "I mean... I would never expect you to..." She sighed quietly and whispered again, "I love you."

"I love you too," he said as he heard the anguish in her voice. He wished he could've put his arms around her then and pulled her close to reassure her. He knew she was probably wrapping her own arms around her wishing the same. "And I would have, I've got enough vacation time it would be no issue," he said before pausing, "Though I wouldn't really know what to do in the big city."

His consternation made her laugh, a warm happy sound that pealed out of her despite herself. "You say that like you aren't a hop skip and a jump from Seattle," she said, laughter dying off, though her grin remained before a thought occurred to her. "Close your eyes for a moment," she told him, not waiting for confirmation before she spoke. "You'd arrive at the airport and get a cab to wherever you were staying. A hotel in midtown. And then you'd come to the submarine. Maybe meet me on the pier. I'd be in service dress blues. I'll send you a selfie in a minute so you can see." She paused, picking up her phone and thumbing the photo app, turning it to selfie mode. Striking a quick pose she snapped a few selfies, smiling, sipping her coffee, blowing a kiss to the camera, and then sent them off to him just as quickly. "You can open your eyes to look if you want..."

He had started to reply with someone offhand remark about how Seattle had no allure for him, but he sighed and closed his eyes like she said. He smiled to himself as he listened to her voice and imagined the images she was describing. He knew she wouldn't be able to see him actually closing his eyes, but he did so anyway. The images she described made his heart ache for her even more. He felt his phone vibrate a few times before he opened his eyes and saw the notification that he had received some selfies. He flicked through them, focusing on Isa's smile in each one. He smiled again before turning his own camera on and attempting to recreate some of the poses. His hair was still damp from the shower he had at the gym, and the olive drab tank top he wore had a slight bleach stain on the collar. He sent them along before returning to the speaker phone. "Babe, you look smoking in that uniform. Too bad I can't compare," he said into the phone.

Not waiting for permission Isabel eagerly flipped through the pictures he had sent and sighed. Her arms ached with the desire to wrap around his neck and her skin itched for him to wrap her back in a hug. To be held. "You look perfect," she said into her microphone, sighing with the weight of the longing she felt like a physical presence sitting on her chest. "Besides, you wouldn't believe how much gel it takes to get my hair to do this." She gestured at her head then, before remembering he couldn't see her. "Anyway," she continued, "you'd meet me on the pier in that uniform and the minute I'd see you I'd run. It's a good thing you work out, because I'd be wrapping my arms and legs around you just to hold you. And then..." she sighed, "well there's lots of things we could do here, but honestly, none of them would matter as long as we were doing them together." The sharp twist of missing him wrung at her heart, making her chest hurt even more. "As soon as we can..." she whispered. "We'll do that as soon as we can."

Liam smiled as he pictured the moment she was describing to him. He felt a pang in his chest as he wished he could do that now, hold her close and not let her go. "Babe, any time spent with you is time well spent. You'll have to take me back to the city sometime and show me where all you went," he said into the phone as he held it closer to his ear.

The buzz of a text drew Isa's attention, making her brow crease. "I'd love that," she answered, letting her mind wander back to the scene she had created for Liam. The phone buzzed again and this time she sighed. "I'm due to call my parents."

The longing in her voice was unmissable and she felt her throat tighten at the thought of hanging up. "Maybe I can call again... later?"

"Of course. You can call me any time you know that," he said. He was hoping that he could draw the conversation out more, but the thought of hearing her voice again gave him hope.

"Ok," she said, wistful this time. "Liam..." She pulled his name out, making it sound like half of a question. "I love you."

"I love you too Isabel," he said softly in response. He waited until the line was silent before he pulled his phone away from his ear. The familiar pang of Isa's absence returned. He started at his phone as the screen lit up showing the selfie of the two of them he had set as his home screen. He smiled at the picture before looking around his bare kitchen.

Her finger hovered over the end call button for a moment and then, with a sigh, she tapped it. For a moment she sat there, fingers slowly shifting along her drink, turning it in place. And then, lifting it to her lips again, she took a long sip, took a deep breath and dialed her parents number.