Redemption
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| The Marine Corps Ball was magical. |
My life that had been so fun just a few months ago, was going downhill. If that was part of being an adult, I wasn't really interested in being one. I basically was just working and going home, talking on the phone to Shelley and Judy but keeping my business to myself. I was bored out of my mind. I was watching tv, and there was a knock at the door. My mom answered it and closed the door. There was no sound until she said my name. And then it happened. "Sherrie." Oh, crap, it was Mike, and she had let him in. I don't know what it was that she liked about him so much. There was no way that I was going out that door or out of that room with him. Whatever he had to say, he would have to say it in front of her.
I gave him five minutes. Speak! Oh, he was so sorry, he had made so many mistakes, he would never really hurt me (he already did). He would do anything, anything to have me back. Blah, blah, blah. And then my mom intercedes with her "wisdom." Was this planned? I think it was. Poor boy (he wasn't a boy anymore), couldn't I see that he was doing everything in his power to apologize to me. Why was I such a bitch? Yeah, her popularity dropped fifty points by calling me that in front of him. All he wants is to be with me and take care of me. Yeah, like, put me in the grave? Why don't I just accept his apology and work on starting over? She went on and on; I thought I was going to scream. She was such a poor judge of character, always. Then they were both pleading his case at the same time. Enough! I'm going to my room alone, and I don't want anybody to bother me. Nobody. Exit, stage right.
I turned out my light and went to sleep. When I am depressed, there are two things I always do, sleep, and sleep. It offered no solutions, but it was an escape from everything. When I fall asleep in that depressed mode, I always feel like I'm falling through a kaleidoscopic tunnel, similar to Alice in Wonderland, I guess. Falling and falling and then nothing. I'm gone.
Unfortunately, I would have to wake up. But not willingly. What was I going to do? I felt like if I didn't take Mike back, he would be more threatening to me than if I was with him. I know that sounds crazy, but it was the lesser of two evils. At least I would know where he was. He wouldn't stalk me, oh wait, technically, there were no stalkers back in those days. I would know where he was and should be and not have to be paranoid about him catching me by surprise somewhere. This had better work.
And so we were back together, with rules—no alone time. We would see how it went. He lived by the rules and was well-behaved; he wasn't drinking, at least not at my house. We were going to go to the Marine Ball in a couple of weeks, and I was looking forward to that. First, we had to see how he would behave at my homecoming. Judy and Shelley would be going along, a triple date, so I wasn't concerned. This would be the first test for him. I pretty much figured he would drink since the other guys would be around us. Hopefully, he would maintain his level of decency.
We went to homecoming, and everything was fine. We didn't stay very long, it was actually a little boring compared to the previous year's activities. I worked, so I didn't get to go to the game, and I really was disappointed about that. We had pictures taken of the six of us; none of us knew that would be one of the last few times we would all be together. I guess we were outgrowing the school camaraderie and ties.
The Marine Corps Ball was a big night. We would be around who knows how many drunk Marines. And we would run into some of the guys in the group that I hadn't seen in a few months. And we had to act like adults, the females, that is. It was fun; it was something that just "a few good girls" get to go to with "a few good men." It was held at the Marriot Hotel by National Airport, a place that has since ceased to exist.
He seemed to be under control as far as I could tell. He was attentive and well mannered again. He was working his way back into my heart. We picked up where we had left off a few months ago. I became sick with the Hong Kong flu in late November. It was a particularly vicious strain, and people of all ages were dying from it. I was very sick for about a week, very high fever, respiratory difficulties, and body pain. When he wasn't at the barracks, he would come and take care of me, waiting on me hand and foot. When I was better, I went back to work, but I was still fragile; it took a while to go away.
December was a very busy and hectic month at work, but it was enjoyable because we were always doing something. The commission was going to be great. Mike hadn't been home for the whole time that I had known him. He decided to go to Ohio for about 10 days. After he was in Ohio, his family was all over him to have me fly up for Christmas. I didn't have 10 days off, but my boss allowed me to take off for 3 days. I made my reservations and would be flying to Columbus, Ohio, the day before Christmas Eve,
This was going to be my first time flying. I was a little nervous. I left from Friendship Airport in Baltimore. It had started snowing on the way to the airport, and it was frigid. When I boarded the plane, it was packed with military guys flying home for Christmas. I sat in between two Army guys, obviously experienced flyers. One was reading the paper, the other trying to take a nap. I was trying to be cool, but apparently, the two guys smelled my fear. One gave me a book to look at. I didn't open it, and the other one gave me a lecture about the safety of flying. We were on the runway waiting for takeoff; I looked at the snow sticking to the tarmac. The flight attendant gave her little safety speech, and we were off. I liked the takeoff speed, but as soon as the wheels left the ground and we started banking and the plane started making all of "those noises," I was scared. I guess I visibly was scared; one of the guys gave me a barf bag and told me how to use it. He said if I felt sick to turn towards the other guy and use the bag. Then they both laughed. I didn't.
I don't know how long the flight was, but it seemed like it took forever. Both of the guys started talking to me to keep me distracted. Every time the plane made a noise, I would tense up. When we started making our approach to Dayton, I could see nothing but white everywhere. That worried me a little. When we began to actually land, I was terrified. It was so fast and jerky, and things were just flying by the window, and everything looked distorted. The plane was shaking, and then "thump," we were on the ground. The two guys were kidding with me, and one of them carried my carry-on bag off the plane for me. When we made it down the stairs, he continued to carry it until we got inside. I thanked them both for being nice, and then we all went our separate ways. My exit procedure was not missed by Mike, and he asked me question after question about the two guys. Sheesh!
It took us a long time to get to Ottawa because the roads were so bad. We went to his brother's house for our first family meeting. I couldn't help but notice how tiny the town was; actually, it was a village. It was old, and small and white, in all aspects. The population, including the outlying area, was 4,000. Salute! It could almost be featured on Hee Haw. It was a Polish, German community. The Catholic Church in the town had rescued and taken in hundreds and hundreds of immigrants, saving them from Hitler's grip during the war. Many of the people there spoke with strong accents. With all of the old houses, it looked like a Christmas card from Courrier and Ives.
Now all I had to worry about was meeting his gigantic family. After hearing all of his "poor Mike" stories for months, I was anxious to find out the truth.
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