“And ready for sea trials?”
“All systems look good, I’m told.”
“I thought the North Dakota already had her sea trials,” Loren said.
“Yes, that’s right, dear,” Pitt said, tightening his lips.
At the podium, the North Dakota’s honorary sponsor was introduced and sang out the traditional commissioning first order. “Man our ship and bring her to life!”
The crew and officers of the North Dakota stepped aboard the submarine to the cheers of the attending crowd. Pitt’s eyes looked beyond the vessel, focused on a motorized barge surrounded by numerous red-and-white warning buoys.
“Where is she?” Ann whispered.
“By the barge on the other side.”
Loren noticed that some of the Navy officials also seemed more interested in the barge than the newly minted North Dakota.
“What’s with everybody?” she asked. “You all act like there’s something more important going on here than the North Dakota’s launching. And why is everyone staring at those buoys by the barge?”
Pitt smiled at his wife and squeezed her hand.
“The sea doesn’t always reveal all her mysteries,” he said. “Even under the threat of a rusty butter knife.”