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Very Sharp, Marine

11/29/2025

Gary pulled into his usual spot at St. Casimir’s Church of Pine Hollow.

Abby looked around in confusion. ‘There’s nobody here. Why doesn’t he park closer if we’re just here for committee meetings?’ She pulled Teddy from his seat and wrapped him in a blanket. “Go ahead. I’ve got to feed Teddy before the meeting.”

He passed her the keys and headed inside. There were a few familiar faces in the narthex. “Good morning, Staś. Who’s missing?”

“Well, Abby, for one. I thought she was going to be on the fundraising committee this year.” He extended a hand.

“She wanted to feed Teddy so he wouldn’t be fussy in the meeting.” He shook Staś’ hand. “So, what’s this about new vestments?”

“They’re a surprise gift from Mrs. Wojciech. Let’s go find a seat.” Staś led Gary past a group of women. He reached out to give his wife’s hand a squeeze as he passed by.

Elka turned to smile at him before returning to the discussion. “No, I don’t think Grace will be coming home this year. Something came up at the Institute, and she’s very invested in the place. Maybe a little too invested.”

“Good thing you have an extra daughter.” Mary said. “Will she be working at Maslov’s again this year?”

“Yes, but her schedule is flexible. She should be able to help often enough to keep the Jarmark Kazimierz staffed. Oh, here comes Abby.”

“Good morning, honey.” Arletta Maldonado turned to meet her at the door. “How is the most gorgeous little man this morning?”

Teddy reached out, and Abby handed him over. “Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

“Think nothing of it, Abigail dear. Let’s go into the Vilnius Room. I believe the discussion of Mrs. Wojciech’s new vestments is occurring in Kraków.” Mary smiled at the baby and waved.

“They should have had it in the auditorium so we could sit in the stands and throw popcorn.” Elka smirked. She peeked into the rectangular window on the door of the Kraków Room as they passed by.

Staś was already turning an alarming shade of Pentecost. “What does it matter if the vestments match the drapery? They’re all purple, and this is a handmade gift from Mrs. Wojciech. Do you want her to take them back until she’s sewn every stitch of a match set?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary.” Father Tom said. “As Staś says, it was a gift. It was given kindly and freely as an act of devotion. I see no harm in honoring the spirit of–”

“Yes, I think we’re all agreed on the kindness and the effort.” Gary said. “Maybe we should see everything together before we decide.”

Murray sighed. “What’s to see? I already know the vestments clash with the altar linens. It’s like trying to blend Art déco with Art nouveau simply because they both have Art in the name. Being purple doesn’t mean they look aesthetically pleasing together.”

Staś gasped as he ran his thick fingers through his blond flattop. “It’s a big church. From the middle to the back, you could have purple stripes and purple plaid together and nobody’s any the wiser. I think the donation should be honored in the spirit in which it was given. That’s what I have to say.”

“Of course, Staś. We want to honor the devotion Mrs. Wojciech has put into this. Without question.” Murray said. “It’s just that it’s going to look awful with the existing set. We cannot mix and match here. If we use the new vestments, we’re going to need different paraments that don’t clash. Do we have a backup set?”

“Yes, that’s a very productive suggestion, Murray.” Father Tom said.

Gary gritted his teeth. “Well, yes, as long as we have some to pick from. Is there another set in storage?”

“There must be,” Staś said. “I don’t remember the current set from when I was a kid. I thought we had very simple ones.”

Murray wagged a finger. “You’re right. There was a solid color set and there was the set with the bound edges, but where are they kept?”

Father Tom scratched his chin. “I think they’re in the closet of the Vilnius Room.”

“Well, that’s perfect.” Murray said.

“How do you figure?” Gary asked.

“The girls are meeting in the Vilnius Room. If we bring the new vestments in and we lay out the other linens, they can help us decide on the best combination.”

“I don’t know about you, but if I go break up Elka’s meeting to involve her in ours, I may not wake up for church tomorrow.” Staś laughed.

“Nonsense, asking a group of women for their opinion is like throwing raw meat into the wolf pit. They’ll be mad if we don’t include them.”

“Murray, you’ll probably want to remember that crack when you come to confession next.” Father Tom shook his head. “If you live that long.”

“Disturbing as that simile was, Murray has a solid point. We need to get at those paraments, and the ladies will almost certainly enjoy having a voice in the final combination.” Gary shrugged.

“It may be true, but Murray and I are definitely sleeping on our couches tonight.”

“What are you doing after this?” Staff Sergeant Kohn jogged alongside Corporal Jozsa.

“Shower and breakfast were the plan. What should I be doing after this?”

“Shower, yes. Breakfast can wait until you get your dress blues on and muster at the Chapel.”

“Congressional oversight visit?” Matt shook his head to disperse the lake of sweat from his forehead.

“Better. Video Christmas cards home. The USO people record them and send them to whoever’s going to show them back home. Pretty sure ours are going to wind up on EWTN.” The sergeant huffed under the punishing risen sun.

“Perfect. I can email my folks, and they’ll set a notice for Isidore to let them know when it’s playing. It’s the next best thing to being there, I guess.”

“Believe.” The sergeant nodded, but the motion unleashed a torrent of perspiration into his eyes. He growled with bitter determination. “One more lap.”

“I can’t believe you guys just barged in like that.” Abby giggled as she slid Teddy into the seat of his exersaucer. She spun the colorful rattle to grab his attention. He batted at it merrily.

“Murray may be brash, but he was right. We were talking in circles, and we needed your opinion on which linens to use with the new vestments. Do you want chicken noodle or tomato soup and grilled cheese?”

“I think there’s still half a pizza in the fridge if you want to split that. I’m going to get a jar of veggies for Mr. Popularity here.”

“Who can resist that little face and those amazing green eyes? I’ll bet his dad’s a real looker.”

Abby rolled her eyes. “Play with Teddy for a minute. Do you want one slice or two?”

“What was it? Plain cheese or pepperoni?” He sat cross-legged next to the baby’s contraption and squeezed a squeaky toy.

“Supreme. Veggies and sausage kind.”

“Ah, sounds good. Grab me two if there are enough, and a mug of cider.”

She smiled as she breezed into the kitchen. “You sold me on that.”

Gary played peek-a-boo with Teddy, who slapped his circular desktop in glee and giggled loud enough for Abby to hear in the kitchen.

“What did we have to stop for? I almost had Teddy asleep?”

Gary switched to ‘got your nose’. “We were low on milk, and I wanted to print that picture of us at the giant presents in Roosevelt Center for the frame on the mantel.”

“Oh, I want to see that. Did it turn out nice?”

He slid his hand up and down in front of his face, alternating between smiles and frowns. Teddy bounced in his swivel seat and smiled. “Yeah, it’s a great picture.”

The sound of microwave buttons sang through the kitchen doorway.

“So, did we leave you alone long enough to decide what you’re selling at the Christmas Market?”

“Barely. We’re having a follow-up meeting after church tomorrow to finish up.” She poked her head out of the kitchen. “And we’re locking the door.”

Gary played patty-cake with Teddy, moving the baby’s hands up to meet his. “Mommy is a sillyhead. She thinks locks can keep her from being interrupted. Ha, ha, ha. Isidore?”

Sanctus bells jingled. “Hello, Gary.”

“We need a little Christmas now. Cue the tunes.”

“Absolutely. Enjoy your holiday music.”

Gary sang Jingle Bells to Teddy as the microwave beeped, and they could hear the door closing.

“Okay, bring him out to the highchair and we’ll have some lunch.” Abby called out.

“Here we go, big boy.” Gary got up and picked the baby out of his seat. “Mm, pizza.”

Abby took the baby from her dad and slid him into the highchair. “You’re such a good boy.”

Gary waited for her to take her seat. “Let’s bow our heads. Abby?”

“Bless us, O Lord, and thank you for this food. Amen.”

Gary said, “Amen.” He crossed himself and looked over at Teddy.

The baby had decorated his face with pureed green beans and grinned at his grandfather with those two tiny teeth.

“He’s all set to go out hunting.” Gary chuckled.

Abby looked at Teddy and giggled. “You’re my little camouflage baby. How’d you get so silly?”

Matt stood in line with the others. The USO personnel had set up mirrors near the front of the line, so you could make final adjustments before going on camera. He was close enough to get most of his reflection, and he was looking good. Mom and Dad would be proud as heck, and he couldn’t wait to tell them to be on the lookout for it.

The young lady took the card containing the information for his lower third and scrutinized his uniform. “Very sharp, Marine. I can’t improve on perfection here.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Wow, those eyes. Are those contacts?”

“No, ma’am. I work with what God gave me.”

“Well, it’s working for you, Marine. Step over here with me. My word, I’ve never seen such green eyes. Those are really striking.” She looked at the card. “Jozsa? Is that…”

“Hungarian, ma’am. My grandparents came over in ‘56 when the Soviets invaded.”

“Huh, I can’t say that I’ve met somebody with Hungarian ancestry before. Are they all as handsome as you?”

“Results may vary, ma’am. I guess I got lucky.”

She bit her lip and gave him side-eye as she helped him to a videogenic pose on the stool in front of the backdrop of the Marine flag. “You very well just may, Corporal Jozsa.”

“Well, at least I’d have something entertaining to confess to the chaplain next week, ma’am.” He winked at her.

She shivered and turned to the cameraman. “Ready for Corporal Jozsa?”

The tally light illuminated, and the cameraman gave her a thumbs up. She stepped out of the way and gave Matt the thumbs up.

Gary wiped his lips with a napkin before crunching it onto his paper plate. “That was just what I needed.” He drained his mug of cider and took it to the sink. “Just toss everything in here. I’ll wash up. You go play with Teddy.”

“Thanks.” She wiped the baby’s face and hands, much to his chagrin. “Come along, Captain Camouflage. Let’s see you do some crawling.”

‘Camouflage? Crawling?’ Gary ran the water and added some detergent. ‘She said his dad was a hero. Is he in the Army?’

Abby carried Teddy out to the living room.

“Abby?”

“Huh?”

“Is his dad in the Army?”

“Nope.”

“If he were, would you tell me?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not time yet.”

He pursed his lips as he dug around in the water for silverware. ‘Yet? So, she is going to tell me. When?’

“Look at my itsy-bitsy spider boy. You’re such a good crawler. Yes, you are.”

“Is he a SWAT guy?” He rinsed and dried a fork.

“Hmm, I don’t think so. We’ll have to ask him when he turns up.”

“You’re expecting him to? Is he one of those guys who fight forest fires?”

“That would be cool, but I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think he’s turning up, or you don’t think he fights forest fires?”

“No, probably not.” She giggled. “Grandpa is so silly to be impatient. He knows everything happens in God’s time. Yes, he does. He knows it.” She pattered on the floor to encourage Teddy’s crawling.

‘Touché. She’s blocking me with stubbornness and theology. Well played, girlie. Well played, but I will wear you down, eventually.’