Chapter 11 – Game Plan

"Lieutenant Wentworth."

"Yes, ma'am?" Frederick raised his hand in a mock salute.

"You have a grand total of 24 hours to enjoy MIT and Cambridge before you fly off tomorrow. What would you like to do?"

This day was like an intermezzo, a link between their two lives: the college days they were leaving behind, and the adult world that lay ahead of them. They spent the day visiting all their favorite landmarks on campus and in town, ending off with a final run, which eventually trickled into a stroll, along the Charles River.

"I've got it." This time, it was Frederick who had the idea.

"Got what?"

"We'll make it a fait accompli. That way, your folks can't say anything or do anything to stop us. When we go to see them, we'll already be wearing our wedding rings. Let's do it next year, after I graduate from my UPT. That way, we'll both be able to show them. I'll be a full-fledged pilot, and you'll have your job at Boeing. They can pour as much cold water as they want, but it won't make one bit of difference when we're able to stand on our own."

"Why not? That's a pretty good idea. But how about making it two years? Like you said, we've got to show them. And somehow, I feel safer if I had the chance to build up my career somehow first, just to have something to fall back on. I don't want to give Liz, or Father, the last laugh by having them jibe at me for being a housewife, living off you on base. I don't mind that kind of life at all - in fact, nothing could make me happier in the long run. But in the short term, I still need to earn the right to my life with you, by proving my ability to survive on my own without depending on my family or leeching off you. It's very important to me, maybe even more so because no Elliot in this generation has made it outside the family business.

"Tell you what - one year from now, we'll get together and announce our engagement to both our families. Then, we'll have one full year to prepare after that, and we can have a more proper wedding. I want us to be respectably married, not just running off together into the night. If we prove that we're stable and have a good future ahead of us, I'm pretty sure I can talk some of my folks around to supporting us - Grandma, and maybe Mary. Besides, I'm sure your family and our friends will also want to be there with us on our big day."

"Well, I did think a lot before I asked, about whether I was asking too early. Or too late, actually. If I'd asked much earlier, maybe we'd be married by now and I'd be bringing you on base with me."

"Not on your life, you won't. Just concentrate on getting those wings, and as for the other stuff, we'll sort it out when we've established ourselves. We've got our game plan, and that's good enough for now. Deal?"

"Deal. Are you going to suggest we spit in our hands and shake on it?"

"No way, Jose. That stuff's for kids. Since we've graduated now, surely we qualify as adults, don't we?" Besides, Anne thought, they'd been holding hands all this while, and spitting to seal a pact had to be one of the dumbest reasons to let go.

It wasn't a teary farewell, even though deep down inside, Anne felt that way. For Frederick's sake, she pasted a peppy smile on her face as she waved him off at Boston Logan Airport; after all, she wanted him to start his Air Force career on an upbeat note.

They had time for one last, long embrace after he checked in, and then Anne hollered redundantly, "You'll write and call me, willya?" as Frederick walked through the security gantry.

Frederick hadn't left much behind for Anne to clear on his behalf. Over the past few months, he'd dutifully sorted out what he wanted to throw out or ship to Sophia, so the Pontiac was the only thing remaining for Anne to deal with.

"Just junk it", he'd told Anne. "I won't need a car in the foreseeable future, and by the time I do need one, I'll be earning enough to afford something better. Besides, after you move in with me, you could be my chauffeur."

But when Anne looked at the bumper sticker she'd given him so many years ago, still able to make out the words though it was now streaked and peeling, she just couldn't do it. She'd drop her own car off at the Elliots', and ship the Pontiac to Everett for her to drive there instead.

Anne made one last visit to the Elliot home before moving to Everett; going back to say goodbye seemed like the respectful thing to do.

When she'd gotten the job at Boeing, she'd already informed Walter and Grandma via e-mail, so none of it was a shock to anybody. Walter took it surprisingly benignly; after all, she was "only Anne" to him; and after so many years of her not being around, he'd grown quite indifferent to her comings and goings, as long as the Elliot reputation remained intact.

"Well, Anne. You'll be representing the Elliot name, so be sure you don't do anything to disgrace us while you're over there. And now that you've graduated, all the more you've got to start paying some attention to your attire and comportment. That hairstyle and dress of yours is completely not befitting of an Elliot woman. You should talk to Elizabeth – I'm sure she'll be happy to give you some advice about that."

Mary was the biggest surprise of all. Anne couldn't imagine that of all the people at home, Mary would actually miss her. But fresh out of boarding school and facing the prospect of attending community college from home in the fall, Mary was sorely in need of someone to be her friend.

"Anne, I wish you weren't going to work so far away. It's lonely here, and I need you. Can't you come home soon?"

"You'll be fine, Mary. You've been fine for eight years now while I was at high school and college, haven't you?"

"It's different. At school, I had friends, but now everyone's going to different colleges and it totally sucks, being stuck here at home. You know how much of a pain in the ass Liz can be. Nobody's ever as nice to me as you. And before you went to college, you used to come home all the time for weekends and holidays. But now you're going off to work and you won't be coming back again, ever. Without you around, there'll be nobody around here for me to talk to."

"Don't be silly. I'll still come back to visit from time to time. Family will always be family."

So in the end, the family member who disapproved the most of Anne's decision to get a job outside the Elliot family was Grandma.

"Anne, do you remember what I said about coming back to ELMSCO? You young people are always talking about seeing the world, but it'll be just a matter of time before you find out that there's no place like home. You don't know it now, but nobody outside will treat you as well as you'll be treated at ELMSCO, because they won't recognize you for being an Elliot daughter elsewhere, not the way we would."

"Grandma, I don't need anyone to recognize me for being an Elliot daughter. The world works based on ability nowadays, and if I can't prove myself to be capable, I'm perfectly fine with accepting the consequences. That's only fair."

"That's what you think now, you're young and idealistic. A few years down the road, you'll realize what you're giving up. You were born with an advantage in life, and yet you don't want to make use of it. How do you think you can compete with all the others who've made full use of what they've got?"

"I don't need to earn that much money. Just enough to live on will be fine. In fact, I'm happier with a simple lifestyle. That's what I found out these past four years in college. What's more important to me is that I'm doing something I like, something which excites me. All the money and promotions in the world won't give me any satisfaction if I'm bored stiff with my job every day."

"Mark my words, you'll come back to your roots sooner or later. Everyone does."

Everett didn't disappoint – it was the closest Anne could get to an extension of her college life at MIT. Lorin had gotten a job at Boeing, too, and they were sharing an apartment. As entry-level engineers, their work was comparatively menial, consisting mainly of collecting and analyzing data; but the community more than made up for it. Being able to get to know other young people fresh out of college, all sharing the same interest in aviation and all having the same energy and zest for life, that was the best part of it all. They had parties, they spent weekends exploring Seattle and its environs, and in general, they worked hard but played just as hard.

During her time in Everett, Anne got invited on dates by a fair number of her male colleagues as well; after all, women engineers still weren't all that common, and Anne was actually a very attractive girl in her own right. In the beginning, nobody believed her when she turned them all down on account of her engagement; after all, she never wore any ring. But as they got to know her better, the signs were obvious: the sacred time she kept every Saturday when nobody could touch her because it was when Frederick called; the graduation photo of the two of them which she brought with her everywhere she went; the collection of fighter aircraft posters which adorned the walls of her room; and that Pontiac she insisted on driving despite its completely disreputable condition.

If there had to be a break before the time she and Frederick could get back together again, Anne couldn't have thought of a better way to spend it than her stint at Boeing. She was more than just content; in fact, she was thriving.