Mike and Mary

I am Mike. I grew up in a small town that was so far out in the middle of nowhere that we were heading back in on the other side. If you farted on the south side of town, they knew about it on the north side within 5 minutes. We did not have a stop light in town, just a 4 way stop at the square.

I was never a person that someone would notice. Average is the best way to describe me. Height, weight, looks, you name it, YEP I was average. I could stand alone in the middle of a stadium and no one would take notice. I was however smarter than most, and my sense of humor was top notch. I had a few good friends, but we all were about the same, average.

I graduated high school somewhere near the top of my class, and went to work for a local photographer. He worked as an industrial photographer, would only do a wedding as a favor to a good friend. I was just a go-fer for about a year, learning the equipment, helping to set up shoots and carrying the extra equipment on jobs. The pay was OK, but nothing to get excited about. Since I lived at home with my folks, I did not need a lot of money, so I saved as much as I could.

The fellow I worked for was getting on in years, and did not want to be out on a limb with his customers if he ran into a health problem. He taught me the same way he had learned; slow but sure, master one thing and then go on to the next. He was happy with my progress and had started to allow me to shoot some simple jobs. Life was good!

Then in 1991 we had that awful day, September 11th. To say I was angry that it had happened is an understatement. I had to do something, so I decided to sign up for the National Guard. Except for church on Sunday my weekends were free most of the time, so why not. And the extra money went right into savings. I wanted to buy my own place, just needed a little more for the down payment.

Life was still good; I had a job, a car, money in the bank and some true friends. What else could you want?

Well, I like girls but never met any that took to me. Mom and Dad married in their early 30's, so I figured that it would be that way with me too.

When I returned from basic training my friends threw a party to welcome me back. No one had thrown a party like that for me. Birthdays in my family were a quiet dinner at home, your favorite meal of course. And, you got to choose the dessert. My sister and I always loved mom's cakes. I always chose yellow with butter cream frosting, my mouth is watering. My sister loved German Chocolate. On my father's birthday he was quite partial to Mom's Rhubarb Cream Pie, warm with vanilla ice cream of course.

Dad always stopped of at the bakery and got Mom a dessert for her birthday; I do not remember him ever getting the same dessert a second time. They were all good, but not as good as Mom's. Dad also fixed dinner for Mom's birthday, it helped that her birthday was in July as he always fixed something in the charcoal grill. No gas grill for Dad, this was his day to show Mom how much he loved and appreciated her. He had to do it right. As my sister and I got older we were allowed to help prepare the side dishes.

At your birthday dinner you could bring a guest, I always brought Scott. He and I had been best friends since before kindergarten. For the last few years my sister brought her boyfriend "Du Jour". She was never promiscuous; she just went through boyfriends faster than anyone I ever met. Mom and Dad, on their birthdays, always set an extra place and left the seat vacant because, that was their way. They said it was to allow for growth.

Where was I?

Oh yes, The Party. My friends planned and threw it, everyone we and they knew was invited. There were friends, relations, in-laws, out-laws and a few persons who just happened to be in town to visit the other people who were invited. They rented the pavilion in the park. Everyone was told to bring a favorite side dish to share and the guys supplied burgers, dogs and chicken for the grill. Everyone brought their favorite drinks.

That was the day she walked into my life, sort of. Mary! She was the niece of neighbors on the next block from our place. I remember her from years back, I delivered the paper to her Aunt and Uncle, and she would sometimes be there with her family. We had never spoken, and I doubt if she ever noticed me as I walked my paper route.

She sat with her Aunt and Uncle across the table from Mom and Dad. When I stopped to check on my folks, we were introduced. Later I ran into her at the dessert table. I told her "...She should try some of Mom's cake, it was the best! Her hands were full; I was raised to be a gentleman, so I helped her back to the table. Not much else happened because she was even shyer than I was. Her Aunt noticed the way we looked at each other and smiled.

The next time we met was around 6 months later. She was passing through town on the way home from college for Christmas break. We ran into each other at the gas station and said hello to each other and spoke about our families. The next day her Aunt sent her over to our house with a plate of cookies. When she got there Mom was the only one home, they visited for about an hour, until I got home from work. It was dark by that time and she needed to get back. Being the gentleman, I walked her home. As we got there I, on impulse, asked her if she would like to go to a movie or out to the drive-in for a soda the next evening. Unfortunately she had to leave early the next morning to finish the drive home. I started to get embarrassed before she responded that she would love to do so, on her drive back. We smiled at each other and she said she would have her Aunt let me know when she would be back. I thanked her Aunt for the cookies and walked home, just a little happier.

On the 2nd Sunday following Christmas I saw her Aunt after church and was told that Mary would be back in town the following Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday. I had to work late on Friday, so I called on Saturday morning and asked if she was available that evening. I now had my first date since my high school prom. Not that that was much of a date, I took my cousin. Mom's brother has 2 daughters, 1 of them was in my class.

Let me tell you about the local theater; one of the deacons at our church owns it. It was his folks' before they passed it to him. If a movie has a"Hell, Darn or anything worse" it will not show in his place. As a result, he mostly shows Disney and that sort of movie. Considering our town, it is a good fit. He makes a good living and the place is always near full. He only opens for business Thursday through Saturday, except for the summer when they open for 6 days. The theater is always closed on Sunday. If you want anything else you need to drive 30 to 40 minutes in any direction to another town.

The theater was showing Fantasia that week, I love the dancing hippos. We walked to the theater, it was only 3 blocks. Afterward we stopped at the drive in and had some coffee and talked. Before we knew it, we had been there for 3 hours, they were closing. We talked on the way home. When I dropped her off I saw her Aunt, she smiled. We apologized to her for being late, but she said she knew where we were and what was happening. I told you it was a small town, didn't I?

I found out that Mary attended a college about 2 hours to the north, was majoring in Math and wanted to become an accountant. She was in her junior year and on the Dean's List. She grew up about 5 hours to the south and passed through town when she went home on breaks. Her folks did not want her to drive more than 5 hours so the stopover was well placed.

The next morning in church her Aunt smiled at us, so did a lot of other people. I was happy, and I think Mary was too. That evening, after she left, I felt like something was missing for the first time in my life.

As spring approached I started to look for a place to call my own. Finally, after about 2 months, I found a place that I liked. It needed work, and had been on the market for too long, so they accepted a lot less than the listing price. Mom and Dad approved of my decision, and offered to help fix it up.

5 weeks later I had my house and 10 acres of mostly wooded land. I managed to put down half of the cost and still not deplete my savings too badly.

My new place was about 15 miles north of town, about halfway between home and work. There were 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room, and eat in kitchen. The covered front porch ran the entire length of the house. The previous owners used it as a vacation home. They did not plan to use it much in the winter, so they did not insulate or put on storm windows and doors. They did use the best materials they could get.

The first job was to replace the roof. My family bought the materials, as a house warming gift, and Dad taught my friends and me how to do the job. After that, we replaced a few bad and missing boards, and painted the outside. With that done I could start on the inside.

I was 23 years old, had my first place and was eager to move in. I was allowed to take the bedroom set that I grew up with, and some friends and neighbors had tables, chairs and living room furniture they no longer needed. The house was sparsely furnished, but livable. I set myself up to live in the kitchen and a small bedroom. I started to fix up the living room and other bedrooms. The paneling they used was old, heavy and dark. It needed to be removed so I could insulate. My friend Scott is an electrician; he knows lots of construction guys. We rewired the place to meet codes, insulated and I paid a guy he knew to drywall the place. I gave a coat of paint to the bathroom and new walls and the front part looked great; I only needed to fix the kitchen and little bedroom.

Mary and I had written letters every few weeks, so she knew of the house and my progress. We had not seen each other since she returned to school. One letter told me she had an internship with an accounting firm nearby. She was going to stay with her family.

On her first weekend back I called and set up a date for the following Saturday. When the day arrived it was cold and rainy, not a good day for the picnic we had planned. She thought otherwise. We set up and had the picnic in my living room, with the blanket in the middle of the floor. She got the grand tour, during a break in the rain I showed her a little of my forest. That evening when I took her home we held hands and I kissed her cheek when we said good night. Her Aunt saw and she smiled.

Mary and I began to see each other every weekend and occasionally during the week. She went with me to Scott's wedding, I was best man. By the end of the summer I had a new best friend. I think Scott understood.

The weekend before she had to return to school she called and said she wanted to drive up to my place. When she arrived she told me to wait in the kitchen while she brought something into the house. When she called me out she had a beautiful Dalmatian puppy in the living room with a red bow around its neck. She did not want me to be lonely while she was away. I named the little girl Stripe, short for Stars and Stripes. I now had 2 girls in my life. I told you I have a sense of humor.

When Mary returned to school I felt that "missing" feeling again. Instead of letters we called each other every weekend, and once a month I drove up to see her for a day or so. Stripe was a handful at first, but she helped me feel better when I missed Mary. She, Stripe that is, was crate trained and house broken within a month. Mom and Dad took care of her when I went to visit Mary or had a training weekend. Yes, I was still with The Guard.

I knew by Thanksgiving that I was madly in love. When she asked me to visit her parents over Christmas I jumped at the chance. Work was slow, so I took 2 weeks of vacation. We had Christmas Eve with my family and her Aunt and Uncle. We took off early the next morning to see her family. That evening, her father and I went for a short walk while Mary and her mother did the dishes. He asked me what my intentions were, I told him I was in love with Mary and showed him the ring I had bought. I asked if I could marry her, he said yes. The next morning Mary could not figure out why her mother had taken such a liking to me. She found out on New Years Eve. Mary and I called Mom and Dad and broke the news to them. Everyone was happy.

Mary was scheduled to graduate in the spring; we set the wedding for June 31st. We decided to get married in my hometown. Her folks came up for a week and made all the arrangements. Life was good.

I became a partner in the photography firm, had a place of my own and a good dog and was getting married in about 2 months. Mary was offered a job with the firm where she did her internship; she accepted and was scheduled to start the 1st week in June, with the understanding she would have time off for our honeymoon.

Then I got THE NEWS, my Guard unit was going to be called up on July 1st. We would spend 2 months training and 9 months in Iraq. I was getting married one day and shipping out the next. Mary's folks tried to reschedule the wedding earlier but it just did not work out. Life became crazy.

I was still sleeping in the smaller bedroom; I had not furnished the master bedroom yet. When we decided to marry, I wanted Mary to help choose the furniture for that room. We spent 2 days looking for what we wanted. We finally found what we wanted at an Amish furniture store. Their furniture was made to order, you chose every detail. They assured us it would be delivered by the 25th of July. We chose the paint, wallpaper, bedding and curtains together and I got to work making sure it was all done. The furniture was delivered and all was ready.

The weather on our wedding day was cool, sunny and bright. The wedding was over way too fast. My partner was the photographer, Scott was my best man, and Mary's roommate in college was her maid of honor. Stripe, to her dismay, was the ring bearer. She had a pillow strapped to her back, with the rings tied on. She did her job well and went to sit with Mom and Dad. After the wedding Mary's Aunt and everyone else smiled.

The reception was a blur; I do remember we had fun. We went home to sleep in our bedroom for the first time. We barely had time to cuddle when exhaustion over took us and we fell asleep.

Damn, the alarm was going off. We had time for a quick breakfast and I had to report for duty.

Mary and our families were all there to see us off, as we loaded onto the busses to head for 2 months of training and 9 months in Hell.