August 1972
"Wake up, Jeremy!" Laura said as she gently shook her son awake. "It's the first day of school!"
"Hm?" Jeremy mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"You start school today." Laura shook her daughter awake. "Wake up, Jennifer."
"Are we goin' to the place with the big yellow slide?" asked Jennifer.
"That's right!" her mother told her. "Now, come have your breakfast."
She led the children into the kitchen, where Amon and Jakob were fixing their breakfast. She got out two bowls and two cups for the twins. She poured Count Chocula (Jeremy's favorite) into one bowl and Frankenberry (Jennifer's favorite) into the other bowl. Then she poured milk over the cereal and orange juice into the cups and served her children their breakfast.
After she and the twins had eaten, she dressed the twins in matching red and blue outfits, put on one of her new dresses, and then drove the twins to the Head Start building. It was made of red brick and had a chain link fence around it. To the left of the building were several trees surrounding an area with playground equipment. Laura parked and led her children into the building, taking one child by each hand.
The door opened right into the classroom from the outside. Inside, the walls were painted white, and a row of cubbies was down the middle of the floor. There were several white tables with blue chairs for the students to sit in. A smiling Miss Sawyer came to meet Laura and her children.
"This is Jeremy and Jennifer Bishop," Laura told her.
"Hello, children. Welcome to my class," said Miss Sawyer. Jennifer stepped inside, looking around with wide eyes. Jeremy hid behind his mother's skirt.
"Oh, don't be shy," Miss Sawyer said to him. "We're gonna have lots of fun!"
"It's OK, Jeremy." Laura put her hand behind his back and gently guided him forward. "Go on inside with Jennifer."
"Come on, Jeremy." Jennifer reached for his hand, and he took it and let her lead him into the room.
"Goodbye, kids," said Laura.
"Bye, Mommy," said both children.
Laura returned to her car and drove the short distance to the vocational school. She felt her stomach tying in knots as she parked and got out of her car. It's been so long since I was in school. What if I can't keep up?
She knew Ginny had attended the same vocational school, but that had been right after she'd graduated high school. Everything had still been fresh in her mind.
So much has happened since I graduated high school, Laura reflected. I'm not the same person I was before. I've married, become a mother, become a widow, had to move back in with my parents. I feel like a thousand years have passed since the last time I was in school.
With trepidation, she entered the building and was immediately taken right back to high school in her mind. She saw young adults coming and going past her, their chatter floating into her ears. She caught bits and pieces of it as she found the door to Mrs. Odom's class. She pulled it open to see rows of seats with typewriters on desks in front of them. She found an empty spot and sat down. Mrs. Odom brought a couple of books to her.
"These are your typing and shorthand books," she said. "We have a spelling test every Friday, but other than that, you students go at your own pace. Have you ever used a typewriter before?"
"In high school, but that was over four years ago."
"You can start at the beginning, then." Mrs. Odom smiled. "It'll all come back to you."
Laura spent the morning pecking away at the typewriter. She was so absorbed she didn't even realize how hungry she was until the bell rang and Mrs. Odom announced it was lunchtime.
She went to the cafeteria with the other students, just as she had in high school. Lunch turned out to be pigs in blankets, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. She paid for her lunch and was looking for an empty seat when she heard her name being called and turned to see Annie White!
"It's so good to see you again!" she said. "How long have you been back?" Annie had eloped right before graduation and followed her new husband to Greenbelt, Maryland, where he enrolled at Capital Bible Seminary.
"Only a few weeks." The two women found a spot where there was enough room to sit down and took it. "Jimmy was offered a job as assistant pastor at Kingdom Baptist Church. We found a nice house only five minutes away from there, so here we are!"
"How is he?" asked Laura, taking a bit of her biscuit-wrapped wiener. "I haven't seen either one of you since we graduated!"
"He's doing fine! We have twins, Jamie and Amy. They'll be four in February. Good thing we get free child care at the church, or I wouldn't be able to do this."
"I have twins, too," said Laura. "Their names are Jeremy and Jennifer."
"What a coincidence! And how is Stephen doing? Does he still work for Volkswagen?"
"Stephen - " Laura gulped, feeling the tears well up behind her eyelids. "Stephen passed away over three years ago. The twins were only a couple of weeks old. He got hurt in Vietnam and never completely got over it, and then he got pneumonia on top of that, and it was all just too much for him."
Annie gasped, shocked. "Oh, Laura, I'm so sorry! I had no idea!"
"I didn't write and tell anyone. It was just too painful."
"I'm sure it was! Well, how have you managed since then?"
"My parents have helped me a lot. I had to give up the house and move back in with them. It's pretty crowded, since Amon and Jakob are still at home. The boys share Max's old room, and the twins sleep in my bedroom with me."
"That does sound awfully crowded. Well, maybe someday you'll be able to get your own place."
"That's the whole point of my going back to school. How's Timmy?"
"He's fine! He married my cousin, Jackie Brooks. How's Max?"
"He's doing all right, working for Volkswagen in New York City now. He's married to a girl named Toni, and they have a baby daughter named Erika. How's Merry?"
"Doing great! She's in eighth grade this year. We have a lot to catch up on, don't we? Why don't you come over this weekend? We can have a barbecue!"
"Sure - that sounds fine."
I'll bet her house is really nice.
Suddenly, an intense depression settled over Laura.