Early November

 

Peter made arrangement to close up the Florida house. In early November Peter, Bernadette, Jack and Rip went to the cabin to rest and recover from Terry’s death. Bernadette always felt safer at the cabin. Bernadette and Peter placed a bronze plaque inside the hidden room Terry helped build to honor his life of service. The Nguyens stayed behind to complete the job and take their own brief vacation before joining the family at the Pennsylvania cabin.

Living in the Pennsylvania Allegheny Mountains in the winter, left little time for remorse. Peter was in charge of cutting and hauling wood to heat the cabin. Bernadette helped him and did all the cleaning and cooking with Jack’s help. Mostly, Jack and Rip romped in the snow and slid down the hill on a small toboggan Peter bought in Somerset. Rip wouldn’t get on the toboggan but loved to chase it down the hill and jump on Jack at the bottom. The Nguyens arrived three weeks later, just in front of a big snowstorm. They went right to work.

As soon as the roads opened up and Peter had cleared the driveway with his new John Deere tractor, he decided to leave Jack and Rip with the Nguyens and take Bernadette to visit Terry’s grave-site in Arlington. He also made an appointment to see Lee Jensen in McLean. After some serious thought, he and Bernadette decided maybe McLean would be a good place to settle in, so he had asked Lee to keep his eyes open for a house with some land.

It was a four-hour road trip from the cabin to McLean in good weather. In their new Jeep Station Wagon they made good time over the snow-covered roads. Near Tysons Corners, they checked into a Marriot Hotel. The next day was overcast and threatening additional snow. Arlington Cemetery was a lonely, forlorn place. It fit their mood. They found Terry’s grave after a little trouble and Bernadette knelt and talked to her Uncle Terry while quietly sobbing. When she finished, Peter took her arm and they walked back to the Jeep.

After lunch at the McLean Deli, they went to Lee’s office. Lee told Bernadette how sorry he was about Terry. “Terry saved my life in Vietnam more than once. He was a great and compassionate warrior and the nation needs more people like him.”

Lee told them Peter’s seed money had turned into a fortune. A number of technical IPO’s they had heavily invested in had paid off far beyond expectations. Lee had managed to convert half of the diamonds into cash through several steps. Peter was now a legitimate businessman with real tax obligations!

Lee also had some houses he wanted to show them. Both of them loved the second house they saw.which overlooked the McLean Public Library with an acre of fenced land backing up to a local park. Peter told Lee to make it happen.

After making arrangements for a move into the new house in a few months and playing tourist in Washington, Peter and Bernadette drove back to the mountain cabin. The day was sunny and bright. Bernadette was able to smile and laugh again. Both felt the imminent danger they had been living with had faded into the background.