Brought to you in living color.
So much of our life is defined by what is expected of you. From society, from your friends and family, even from what you expect of yourself. A whole lifetime of goals and dreams placed upon on your shoulders early and carried within us as time rolls on. Some are fairly placed while others are brandished unjustly.
When you first started out, life was about keeping up with those standards and expectations. Then as you become older, you begin to realize maybe life isn't about what the world expects of you, but what you expect of the world.
Of course, you did always say price is the cost, but value is what your willing to pay for. And our expectations were no different. The stock we placed in happiness was paid with long hours of hard work and desperate savings.
But what happens when those expectations aren't met? When our hopes and beliefs are put to question? In those moments, when life catches you resting on your laurels and blindsides you, how did we get by?
Maybe it was in these moments of the unexpected that the expected triumphed and carried us through. When the familiar absolute held us glued together and made us whole again…
April 1968
"Hello?" Kate asked walking through the foyer as she slipped her gloves off.
She rounded the corner leading into the living room, but stopped when she saw man kneeling on the floor in front of the newest piece of furnishing in their home.
"Oh, good," She smiled. "It's finally here. I feel like I've been waiting ages for it to arrive."
"Yup, it's here alright," Betty's cool tone drew Kate's attention as she looked up to find Betty, Vera, and Carol all standing behind the man, watching him fiddle with nobs on the new piece. A cloud of cigarette smoke hung heavily around them like a building storm as Betty nervously blew out another round of billowing clouds.
"Oh, Betty, I was hoping I'd beat you home. I wanted this to be a surprise... well, surprise! I bought us a brand new color television!"
Betty rubbed the back of her neck as the man in front of the television looked back and forth between them before turning his attention back to the set in front of him.
The wooden box sat in the middle of the living room with its broad sideboards stretching out obnoxiously, while their old smaller black and white television sat pushed into a corner.
Sensing Betty's uneasiness, Kate continued.
"Doesn't it look lovely?"
"Not sure those are the words I'd choose…" Betty grumbled.
"Than how do you think it looks?" Kate said, her smile faltering with Betty's mood.
"Expensive."
"Oh, don't worry about that silly," Kate smiled again, hopeful that she could quell Betty's uneasiness. "With my new gig at the Blue Note, I can swing a few luxuries for you now."
"Mmm, lucky me," Betty replied, her mouth tight as she turned away from the TV in question and the stranger who was working on it.
"Betty, they call it a super screen, it's suppose to have superior sound and picture. I thought you might like that for when Marco or the boys come over to watch the fights."
Betty only gave a grunt as she stared out the window in front of her.
"Oh, I think the fight will come in crystal clear today," Vera nervously whispered over to Carol, who nodded and pushed her horned trimmed glasses up as she watched the two in front of her.
"I think that'll do it," The man behind the set said, looking up at the women behind him with an anxious smile. "This nob controls the color contrast and this one, the volume."
He turned the dial to show the difference as the picture on the screen blended in a range of warm red, green, and blue hues.
Vera chuckled at the sight of the man on the screen changing colors before her eyes.
"Look at Gordon Pinsent, he's a dreamboat even when he's as green as a martian."
The man behind the TV stood up and handed a rectangular object to Kate. She turned the odd object over in her hand.
"That's the clicker. The two buttons on it allow you to change the channels from a few feet away."
Kate looked down at the item that was about the size of her hand with a smile. "Well, isn't that clever? What will they think of next?"
"Did I hear you say you work at the Blue Note, does that mean you are the same Kate Andrews who use to sing at the Jewel Box?"
"The one and the same," Kate said, smiling at the memory of a club long gone. It was the place Kate got her first real start in her career. A place where it seemed so many things began.
"I thought the name on the order form sounded familiar. My wife Rue is going to flip when she hears where I delivered to today. We practically fell in love dancing to your voice back in the war. She made sure we spent every Saturday evening at the Jewel Box for you."
"Aw, well aren't you sweet Mr…?" Kate said, extending her hand to the gentleman with a warm smile.
"Grey, but you can call me Benny."
"Benny, you should treat that lovely wife of yours for a night out and bring her to the Blue Note sometime soon. Tell the boys up front you're old friends of mine and I'll make sure you'll have the best seat in the house."
It wasn't uncommon for Kate to be recognized these days. She was somewhat a local celebrity with her solo act at the Blue Note taking off. She and Betty were still getting use to both being in one place again. She had spent the better part of the previous decade traveling from one venue to the next as part of whatever show she could land.
"Swell, that should get me bonus points the next time I'm in the dog house," The man joked as he gathered his tools. He turned and nodded to Betty before stepping towards the door to leave.
Kate let the deliveryman out with a small wave and turned to find that Betty was still rooted by the window, grounding her cigarette out in the ashtray beside her.
"I can't believe you bought a color TV, I've been hounding Marco to buy us one for months now."
"I know. I've been envious of Hazel MacDugall ever since she landed one last spring. I'd simply kill for one," Carol said matter-of-factly.
"You don't have to kill for one, just marry for one like Hazel," Vera teased. "Just wait until we can lord it over her head this time."
"So, Betty?" Kate asked, hoping the others enthusiasm would catch on. "Don't you think it's pretty neat?"
"Since when did keeping up with Hazel become a priority?"
Kate flinched at Betty's cold tone and sighed as the blonde turned around with her arms crossed.
"What? No, it's not. It's…it's just that now that I have a steady gig with the club, we can afford a few luxuries."
"Well, isn't that swell, between this nifty behemoth and Carol's TV dinners, we're really blazing through the 20th century now, aren't we?"
"Oh, for Pete's sake, Betty. It's a television, not a Buick," Kate shot back.
"No, it's just the size of one. Besides, a Buick would have been more useful, at least we can get somewhere in that. Where are we gonna go with that?" Betty shrugged towards the new TV.
"Anywhere in the world it shows us. I thought you'd enjoy watching the news or your stories in color. It's supposed to have a great picture."
"Well, this is going down hill quickly," Vera muttered. "Why don't we get on with cards, shall we? I'll keep track of the score this time."
"What's wrong with our black and white set now?" Betty said, ignoring Vera's attempt to steer them away from the uncomfortable fight brewing.
"That rickety old thing? Poor Jamie had to practically re-build the antenna with wire and foil last weekend," Kate said, her voice growing agitated.
"It's called building fortitude!" Betty explained.
"It's called unnecessary!"
"You know what? We're just gonna take off," Vera said, nudging Carol towards the front door. "We're not really needed for this conversation."
"Sit!" Both Betty and Kate turned and barked at them.
Vera and Carol froze at the unison order.
"We can still play cards," Betty said, nodding for them to take their seat.
They obeyed by plopping heavily down onto the love seat behind them.
"How far is this going to set us back?" Betty turned back to Kate and asked with her lips perched tight with stubborn indignation.
"I told you, the price tag wasn't a problem…" Kate shook her head as Betty rolled her eyes. "Is that the problem? That I was the one who could afford to buy us a new television this time?"
"Don't be absurd, of course not."
"Then what's the problem?"
"Why are you trying to cast out our perfectly fine television for this new fangled thing?"
"Hey, is that the Flintstones in color?" Vera asked out of the blue.
Kate and Betty both turned to the TV to see the cartoon was indeed in color.
"Hey, look Betty," Carol smiled, pointing to the TV. "Wilma has red hair. You oughta like that!"
Off of Betty's glare, Carol shrugged. "What? I'm just trying to be helpful by stating the obvious."
"Maybe you could try to be a little less helpful sometimes," Vera offered while patting the other girl's hand.
"We'll be the first ones on the block with a color TV," Kate said as if it were a selling point.
"Great, because that's all we need," Betty said with a shake of her head. "The neighbors traipsing through the yard, looking through our windows, just to get a glimpse of the wonder that is Wilma Flintstone's hair color."
"Oh look, there's Gladys pulling up now," Vera laughed nervously. "Thank the heavens. She'll know how to diffuse this keg or save the survivors one."
Betty and Kate were still facing off with their arms crossed, glaring at each other as their friend ambled up the front steps and through their front door. She was never one to knock or announce her presence before barging into their home as if it were her own, but this time her entrance was a little different. Instead of gliding into the room like she was accustomed, she rounded the corner and stopped in the doorway to stare despondently at the floorboards stretching out before her.
Vera raised her eyebrows at the peculiarly hopeless entrance. She was use to the heiress usual eloquent demeanor. Now she stood looking pale and stricken.
"You okay, Hun? You look like you've seen a ghost."
This got Kate and Betty's attention as they both turned towards their distraught friend.
Gladys shook her head and looked up at them with a world of hurt shining on her face.
"Jamie is going to Vietnam."
The air in the room shifted as the news struck each one of them. Betty's folded arms fell limply to her sides while Kate took the statement with a small step backwards.
"What? To do what?" Carol asked, astounded by the news.
"To fight in the war. He volunteered," Gladys shrugged helplessly as Kate stepped over and gently guided them to the couch, sitting down beside Gladys to place a soothing hand on her back.
"How is that possible? Canada doesn't even have a dog in this fight," Betty incredulously asked after rebounding from the initial shock of the news.
"They do if the Canadian marches across the border and lists Plattsburgh, New York as his place of residency, just so he can enlist in the 1st Marines Division."
"This is absurd. Canada is supposed to be non-belligerent or whatever the hell that means."
Betty's arms were crossed once more as she tried to make sense of it all.
"He just came home and told us over lunch. We had a huge row over it. He said he feels like it's his duty to help and I said otherwise, but it was all wasted breath. Now he's set to ship off for Fort Bliss, Texas in two weeks for basic training."
They sat in silence as reality set in while Gladys sat despairingly on the couch. It was an unusual pose for the normally cool and composed woman, who now happened to be one of Canada's first women CEO's as the head of Witham Foods Corporation, a company that offered whole food sales to grocery stores chains across Canada and parts of the United States. Now it would seem she'd be offering one son as well.
"Do you want his Aunt Betty to go talk to him? He'll listen to her, he always does," Kate offered softly.
"Yeah or I'll knock some sense into him for pulling such a boneheaded stunt," Betty huffed, knowing full well she was only giving an empty threat for the boy she and Kate considered like a son.
"Not sure it would do much good. I'm afraid he's being awfully stubborn about this one," Gladys said, smiling sadly at Betty. "I think he gets his stubbornness from you."
"I dunno," Betty said, returning the small smile as she sat down on the other side of Gladys. "Running head first into a war without a second thought, all in an effort to better the world… kinda sounds like the annoyingly tenacious apple doesn't fall far from the annoyingly tenacious tree to me."
Gladys nodded to acknowledge the truth she couldn't deny. He was definitely her son.
"How about your boys, Vera," She asked, looking up in desperate hope that the blonde could explain the reasoning for such drastic actions. "Are they as hot headed about the war as Jamie?"
"Hot headed? Yes, unfortunately with Marco and I as their parents, it only comes as natural as breathing, but they're take on the war seems to be quite different than their friend Jamie's, much to Marco's displeasure."
"How so?" Carol asked.
"It seems Michael and Louie are all too ready to embrace their inner free spirit and oppose any and all military involvement in the conflict. They are a product of their time, I guess. They've even helped a few draft dodgers cross over the border. And let's just say Marco hasn't exactly been pleased with this viewpoint. Something that brings up snubbed memories, I guess."
"I could imagine. With as much trouble Marco went to enlist in the Canadian forces for our War, I'm sure he's been thrown for a loop by all this anti-military sentiment," Betty said.
"Yes, you should see it when they visit home. It becomes a war zone in itself. Weapons in the form of words like hippies and warmonger are thrown around like bullets. It seems Marco has a hard time understanding this new generation's way of thinking and vice versa."
"How about you?" Kate asked cautiously.
"A part of me understands that some wars are necessary. The costs are entirely too great, but their efforts should be respected. Like back in our day."
"But?" Gladys asked, knowing there was more.
"But I'm also a mother now, these are our boys this time, so I'm torn," Vera sighed.
They all fell into silence as they thought of the differences between the two eras.
"The man he was named after died in a war he never wanted to be a part of," Gladys finally said, looking up with tears in her eyes. "James only volunteered because he thought it was something I wanted him to do. He died because he was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. And now my little boy may be facing the same fate."
"We don't know that," Kate tried, trying to ease her friend's worry. "We'll be there when he leaves and when he returns. And, of course, we'll pray for all the days in between."
"And what if he doesn't return?" Gladys threw out the one question no parent wanted to ask.
The silence in return was heavy and fraught with uncertainty.
"Then we'll be there for that day too," Betty said finally, reaching over to slip her hand into Gladys'.
Gladys closed her eyes as tears slipped down and leaned into the comfort of her two friends on either side. They sat in silence knowing that times were changing faster than anyone ever expected, but their friendships remained the same.
After a long moment, Gladys finally looked up.
"…Is that the Flintstones in color?" She asked, her voice raw from the emotions of the day. They all turned to look at the television set and the argument that had long been forgotten.
"Yeah, we have a new set now," Betty said, finally acknowledging the new TV as theirs.
She looked over Gladys' back and met Kate's eyes, the silent truce floating out between them. The warm look exchanged made it clear that neither could stay mad at each other for long.
"Turns out, even the Stone Age was in living color," Betty offered with a small smile. "Kinda neat, wouldn't you say?"
"I don't know…" Gladys sniffled. "It's kind of… weird."
"Oh, we've been down this road before," Carol deadpanned, shaking her head as if she were giving a warning. "Don't bring up Wilma's hair color, it's a touchy subject for some."
"Once again, less is more," Vera said, leaning into Carol with a smile.
The glow of the television casted pale blue hues across the darkened room. As the last bit of sunlight faded into the night, Kate laid stretched out on the couch with Betty comfortably tucked behind her, propping her head up with one arm while her other held Kate close to her chest as they both watched the colorful images flash before them.
They were watching the news and just as it had night after night for the last three years, the images of a far away jungle warfare with fresh face boys in dirty uniforms filled the broadcast. This newscast was different though. This time the fresh face boys mirrored the one boy they knew, the one who had the kind eyes and heart of his mother. This same boy, whom they had spoiled and helped raise would soon be marching through those dense jungles looking as despondent and lost as the ones reflecting back on the screen in front of them. A thought neither one of them could shake.
"It does have a nice picture," Betty softly said, leaning down to kiss the back of Kate's shoulder. The only response she received was a small nod.
"Delta Company, 2nd platoon faces enemy machinegun fire on the other side of the hedgerow, perhaps 20 yards away…"
The deep voice of the newscaster echoed in their empty living room.
The others had left an hour before and now it was just Betty and Kate lying in the dark with only the glow of the television illuminating their anxious hearts and hold on each other. Even though Kate's back was to her, Betty knew the exact expression Kate would be wearing. It was a look that took years to learn and one that Kate only trusted Betty with as she let the sadness finally shine through.
Betty also knew the meaning of that look by heart. There was some part of Kate's day, some small bit of reality that brought back the memories of a horror long ago. When they first got together, Kate would sometimes wake with a start unable to breathe. It took Betty some time to learn that she couldn't reach out and battle those dark dreams for Kate. It was a struggle Kate would have to conquer by her own methods. And during those times, when her past followed so closely behind, Kate would turn to Betty in need of peace and control. It was times like this where Betty knew it was Kate's show. Her time to conduct the passion between them in order to save herself from whatever memory she was running from. She would direct every move, every kiss, every touch and all Betty could do was sit back in awe as Kate took the lead and allowed her desire to reign over the repressed misery of another time. Tonight would be no different.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Her voice was quiet and somber as she watched the screen in front of her.
"I dunno," Betty sighed and answered truthfully. "I hope so. It's Jamie."
"Yeah..."
On the screen, a formation of helicopters hovered a few feet off the ground as young men poured out of the aircrafts on both sides. The pale green color of their uniforms clashed against the blue sky.
Kate slowly turned around, maneuvering herself carefully to keep close as she turned towards Betty and laid her head on the bend of her elbow, staring up at Betty with a look of desperate hunger.
"I don't want to see this anymore," She whispered as the pictures on the screen behind them showed boys bloody and bruised from some unseen battle. "I don't want to know this anymore."
Betty swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, "Okay."
Kate leaned up and kissed Betty on the lips passionately, pressing herself closer to Betty as the TV flickered on in the background forgotten.
If Kate was lost in the sea of her past, Betty would always be the fixed point on the horizon that she could set her sails to and she would always be the safe port in the storm.