Chapter 2
"A Phone Call from Daphne"
My time of reflections began on a cold early December day in 1988. Daphne and I were seniors at Syracuse University and we were in the process of studying for out finals as part of our Political Science majors which would be held the following week. I was in the process of studying for my finals when NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw came on and it seemed that the news was urgent.
"Good Evening," he said as I got up from the table and walked over to the television. "US Intelligence is reporting that there was a terrorist threat made to the United States Embassy in Helsinki, Finland today regarding transatlantic flights operated by Pan American World Airways flying between Frankfurt, West Germany and the United States. At this time, the US State Department and a representative from Pan Am are investigating the matter at this time."
Hearing this news was not surprising to me as there had been threats made against commercial aviation before. But, at the same time, it brought back memories of another fateful day three years earlier. In June of 1985, Daphne and I were returning home from a trip to Greece aboard TWA Flight 847 when our plane was hijacked while en-route from Athens to Rome, where we would have made a connecting flight back to New York City.
For five days we were shuttled between Beirut and Algiers and witnessed the brutal murder of a US Navy diver. During this time, the hijackers had their eyes set on violating Daphne. Shortly before we were released along with the purser, Uli Derickson, they forced Daphne into first class and made her strip naked and I heard the screams and cries that she made as they violated her. However, they eventually stopped and we were released back to the United States.
But, my thoughts were soon interrupted when my phone rang and I walked over to pick it up. I didn't want to bring up the memories of that day, so if it was Daphne that was trying to call me, I had to remember my P's and Q's.
"Hello?" I asked, speaking into the phone. I could tell that it was Daphne on the other line.
"Hey, Freddie," she replied, her voice exhausted from the workload of studying. "I guess we both were doing the same thing, studying for our finals, I suppose."
"Yeah, I am almost done," I said, sitting down at my kitchen table. "I'm just looking forward to the fact that we don't have to do anymore studying until mid-January. Another step towards graduation I suppose."
However, Daphne was starting to pick up on my jittery voice and was wondering if I was becoming nervous.
"Hey, Freddie, are you feeling all right?" she asked, confusingly. "It sounds like something is bothering you."
"No," I replied, trying to control my sexual feelings towards her. "Nothing's wrong with me, I was just wondering if you wanted to get together before you see your sister in a few weeks."
"Okay, but that doesn't explain why you are feeling awkward," said Daphne, confusingly. "If you have anything you want to say to me, please tell me. Remember, I don't like it when people keep secrets from me."
"All right," I replied. "Do you want to meet at that dressy restaurant tomorrow night?"
"What, the Venus De Milo?" asked Daphne. "I'd rather not spend so much money, Freddie. How about the Malt Shop? I promise you that I'll wear something nice."
I had to chuckle slightly at this, knowing how much of a fashion queen that Daphne was. After all, the Venus De Milo was a very expensive location, perhaps the most expensive on Campus. Besides, we both liked Malt Shops and they were very cheap in terms of money.
"You want to shoot for 7:00 tomorrow night?" I asked and it didn't take long for Daphne to respond to my suggestion.
"You've got yourself a deal, Freddie," she replied. "See you then."
"All right," I said. "I love you."
"Love you, too, Freddie," Daphne said back and we hung up our phones, getting back to our studying.
However, I knew that Daphne needed to know about the threat that was just on the news. She was going to visit her older sister Deliah who was a Marine stationed in Germany and I knew that Daphne would be flying on Pan Am, since it was the premiere US airliner to Europe.
But, before I could try to call her again, I realized that I still had a bit of business to take care of at the nearby jewelers. They were still open, but only until 9:00pm. So, I grabbed my coat and dashed down to the jewelers. I had purchased a large diamond ring and once I purchased it, I dashed back to the apartment and quickly placed in one of my brown sport coats. As I stuck it in the coat, I knew that everything leading up to this moment was starting to take shape. Daphne and I were in love and no one was going to take it away from me, not nobody, not no how.
The next night, I dressed myself in my brown sport coat and a nice shirt and tie. With the ring tucked safely in my pocket, I made my way to the Mystery Machine and started the short drive to Daphne's apartment on the far west side of campus.
"Here goes nothing," I thought to myself as I arrived at the apartment and nervously began to make my way up to her apartment door. How things were going to turn out remained to be seen as I knocked on the door and hearing the sounds of high heels, I saw the door swing open and I saw Daphne wearing a purple coat over a pink dress with purple high heels on her feet. It was the same outfit Daphne wore on that cruise with Shaggy, Scooby and Flim Flam she told me about.
"You look great, Daph, as you always do," I said nervously, my eyes wide open much to Daphne's confusion. "You, uh, ready to go?"
"Sure," she replied, grabbing her purse and shutting the door behind her. "If you think you are going to survive tonight before finals."
We both shared a chuckle as we made our way back to the Mystery Machine for the short drive to the Malt Shop, where I would put my plan into action.
Little did I know at the time that this would be our last date together…