To respond to an inquiry about chapter one, about bathing in steaming hot
coffee grind – I don't know if they exist on this side of the pond, but
they do have such coffee spas in Japan. I read about them more than twenty
years ago in National Geographic, in an investigation they were doing about
the coffee trade. Here's the next part ...
Chapter Two
"Can I see Ruthie, please?"
Those words came from a young gentleman, in dress Marine uniform, and were addressed to the dressmaker and owner at the local bridal shop.
"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding," said the dressmaker pointedly.
"Oh, I'm not the groom, I'm the best man," laughed Rod.
"It's okay, Cathy," said Ruthie from the next room. "He's telling the truth."
The dressmaker obliged, and let Rod go in. He saw Ruthie being fitted in her wedding dress; this being her second fitting session. It was only April, but with the wedding coming in just two months, she wanted the loose ends tucked in as soon as possible.
"Wow, Ruthie, you look great!" said Rod, smiling.
"It's good to see you again, Lieutenant," replied Ruthie.
"It's Rod," said Rod. "Our unit, 2/5, just finished our tour in Okinawa, and I'm back in town to visit my Dad. Since I'm here, I just wanted to see how you're doing."
"How did you know where I was?" asked Ruthie.
"Lucy, over at the church," said Rod. "I was a little surprised when she told me that she was going to be the minister marrying you and Peter. Why not your father?"
"One, he's semi-retired. Second, he's already married Matt and Luce, so it's someone else's turn to do the weddings in my family. Third, and it's kind of weird, Peter actually likes Lucy better than Dad."
"Wasn't Eric hurt by that?"
"No, not at all," said Ruthie, as the assistant dressmaker was tightening a hemline around her waist, while the bride-to-be herself was adjusting her veil. "Dad understands this is my wedding, not his, so it's perfectly okay if Lucy officiates."
"Well, there's another reason why I'm here," said Rod. "As the best man, I have to get a gift for you and Peter. I wanted to get your input on what you and your fiancé would like. Are you registered?"
"Sure we are. Look in my purse, Rod."
"What?"
"Just look in my purse," repeated Ruthie. "You'll see a stack of business cards next to my wallet, wrapped in an elastic band. They're all identical, so you can take one. It's the list of all the places where Peter and I are registered. Go to the websites of each of those stores, log in the password we've provided, and you'll see the items we still require from those places. We've got just about everything we need for furniture, kitchenware, carpets – you name it, although there's a few items left from each of those places. But we still need lots of stuff from the home improvement registry."
"Power tools, that kind of stuff?" asked Rod.
"Yes," said the woman. "I can't believe that everyone on our guest list seems to have forgotten that Pete and I still volunteer for Habitat. Plus, it would be nice to have that stuff in advance, even if we're going to be living in residence for a few years."
"I agree," said Rod. "Well, tell you what. The wives and husbands of all the other Marines usually pitch in for that kind of thing, when one of our own is getting married. Since I've always seen you as a distant relation, Shelby and I can see if they'd be willing to help a friend, too."
"Shelby?" asked Ruthie. "Lucy's old friend? The one who came to our house all those years ago, just because she was hungry?"
"Yes, her. Besides, didn't Lucy tell you?" replied Rod. "She's a Marine now too – and my fiancée."
"Oh, my God, congratulations!" said Ruthie, stepping down from the platform and giving Rod a hug. "Since when?"
"Well, she kind of pulled a Sadie Hawkins last week, when she popped the question to me. I was going to wait till summer to propose to her, but I figured, what the heck?"
"Incredible," said Ruthie. "When's the big day?"
"In the fall," answered Rod. "But anyway, is there something you and Peter could really use? Something Shelby and I could offer as a gift?"
Ruthie thought about it for a few seconds.
"Well," she finally said, taking a seat and pushing the ten-foot long train to one side, "if you and Shelby really insist – we could use a tool and socket set. The kind auto mechanics use – the kind with everything available in it. You never know when you're going to need a special screw- head, nail driver, or bolt cutter. For example, Pete and I like using Robertson's – you know, square recessed nails – to do finishing jobs on cabinets. They're so much better resisting strip-offs than Phillips. But here in the States, you can only find the squares in craft shops, and the odd home improvement superstore. In Canada, by contrast, they're so ubiquitous it's not funny. Having a tool kit like that would be so handy – it'd allow us to finish our shift for Habitat in half the time, or less."
"Oh, come on, Ruthie," said Rod, "anyone could get that for you, and that would be only a few hundred bucks. You deserve something more than that – after all, I'm supposed to be best man."
"Well," said Ruthie, "I told you what I want. But the registry lists everything Peter and I need. So you and Shelby have fun with it. If you want to save it as a surprise for our wedding day, be my guest."
"All right, we'll have a look," said Rod. "Thanks. By the way, you and Peter might want to get your marriage license now, before the big rush. June is always the busiest month for weddings, and you don't want to get stuck in line at the last minute down at the county clerk's office."
"I've been meaning to tell Peter that," said Ruthie, "but we're so busy preparing for final exams and this that it's totally slipped our minds."
"Well, don't," said Rod. "The permits are good for up to three months, and you know the saying about the early bird."
"I know," said Ruthie. She looked her old friend, who she once comforted with genuine compassion when his mother died. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Rod, and if you don't want to answer ..."
"You've been wondering how Shelby and I linked up?"
"Yes," said Ruthie.
"After all that business, and she and I having to go through the hell of having to say what happened to both of us at the trial, I guess we were both looking for comfort. We testified practically one after the other, and afterwards, I asked her out to coffee. She offered to go Dutch for supper. And so, we just went out to dinner and relived our experiences for hours and hours. By midnight that day, she invited me over to sleep in her bed and we made love. We've been together ever since."
"I hope you're not getting married for the wrong reasons," worried Ruthie. "I know you have common ears and a common tormentor, but ..."
"We have more in common than that, Ruthie," said Rod. "If we didn't, we would've had just a one night stand; which from our viewpoint would've been okay, because we both wanted to have sex with someone, anyone, just to get back at that bastard."
"And what made her want to join the Marines?" Ruthie was really curious about that. "She seemed more of the thinker type. I know you and her were best friends in high school, but from what Lucy told me, it was just that – you never really dated each other then because you were total opposites."
"It's a fair question, Ruthie. Short answer: It's hard to explain what you're doing out of the country when you have a security clearance – a fairly high one – and the love of your life doesn't, and you can't tell her what you've been up to or what you're going to do next, even during pillow talk. So she put herself up for basic training, vowing if she couldn't make it she'd never ask me about my job ever again. She enlisted and then went down to Parris Island, South Carolina. Shelby passed with flying colors, leaving a lot of the men in her class in the dust. As they gave up one by one and left, wondering how in the hell they ended up playing second fiddle to a woman, she so wanted to taunt them by saying 'A few good men, my ass!' But it wasn't her style. She was just glad she made it through."
Ruthie laughed so hard she fell out of her chair. Rod helped her back up.
"So you've been in now for, what, almost five years now."
"Six."
"And for Shelby, this will be ..."
"It's been two years now; a little more than that now, actually. In fact, it has been just long enough that we're now posted together, on the same base, year round. While she was on probation, we had to live separate and apart just to make sure our relationship wasn't getting in the way of our duties. I understand the reason for that, and so does my fiancée, but it really got to the extreme. At one point, she was in Saudi Arabia training to blow up enemy missile batteries, while I was down in Australia, on post guard at the American consulate in Sydney. Somehow, we managed being apart."
"I'm glad," said Ruthie. "Well, send her my best, and Peter's. Make sure you and her show up for the rehearsal in six weeks – and I hope you figure out what you'll get by then."
"By then," said Rod, "she and I might even elope. We might not be able to wait that long."
Rod grinned, gave Ruthie a military salute, and left the bridal shop. As soon as he did, Ruthie called Peter, saying it was probably time they got their marriage license. They went to the clerk's office, paid their fee, and got the precious piece of paper, which Ruthie then put in a safe deposit box at a bank on the way home. They then returned to his apartment and made out until Lucy knocked on the door and told them that supper was served.
Chapter Two
"Can I see Ruthie, please?"
Those words came from a young gentleman, in dress Marine uniform, and were addressed to the dressmaker and owner at the local bridal shop.
"It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding," said the dressmaker pointedly.
"Oh, I'm not the groom, I'm the best man," laughed Rod.
"It's okay, Cathy," said Ruthie from the next room. "He's telling the truth."
The dressmaker obliged, and let Rod go in. He saw Ruthie being fitted in her wedding dress; this being her second fitting session. It was only April, but with the wedding coming in just two months, she wanted the loose ends tucked in as soon as possible.
"Wow, Ruthie, you look great!" said Rod, smiling.
"It's good to see you again, Lieutenant," replied Ruthie.
"It's Rod," said Rod. "Our unit, 2/5, just finished our tour in Okinawa, and I'm back in town to visit my Dad. Since I'm here, I just wanted to see how you're doing."
"How did you know where I was?" asked Ruthie.
"Lucy, over at the church," said Rod. "I was a little surprised when she told me that she was going to be the minister marrying you and Peter. Why not your father?"
"One, he's semi-retired. Second, he's already married Matt and Luce, so it's someone else's turn to do the weddings in my family. Third, and it's kind of weird, Peter actually likes Lucy better than Dad."
"Wasn't Eric hurt by that?"
"No, not at all," said Ruthie, as the assistant dressmaker was tightening a hemline around her waist, while the bride-to-be herself was adjusting her veil. "Dad understands this is my wedding, not his, so it's perfectly okay if Lucy officiates."
"Well, there's another reason why I'm here," said Rod. "As the best man, I have to get a gift for you and Peter. I wanted to get your input on what you and your fiancé would like. Are you registered?"
"Sure we are. Look in my purse, Rod."
"What?"
"Just look in my purse," repeated Ruthie. "You'll see a stack of business cards next to my wallet, wrapped in an elastic band. They're all identical, so you can take one. It's the list of all the places where Peter and I are registered. Go to the websites of each of those stores, log in the password we've provided, and you'll see the items we still require from those places. We've got just about everything we need for furniture, kitchenware, carpets – you name it, although there's a few items left from each of those places. But we still need lots of stuff from the home improvement registry."
"Power tools, that kind of stuff?" asked Rod.
"Yes," said the woman. "I can't believe that everyone on our guest list seems to have forgotten that Pete and I still volunteer for Habitat. Plus, it would be nice to have that stuff in advance, even if we're going to be living in residence for a few years."
"I agree," said Rod. "Well, tell you what. The wives and husbands of all the other Marines usually pitch in for that kind of thing, when one of our own is getting married. Since I've always seen you as a distant relation, Shelby and I can see if they'd be willing to help a friend, too."
"Shelby?" asked Ruthie. "Lucy's old friend? The one who came to our house all those years ago, just because she was hungry?"
"Yes, her. Besides, didn't Lucy tell you?" replied Rod. "She's a Marine now too – and my fiancée."
"Oh, my God, congratulations!" said Ruthie, stepping down from the platform and giving Rod a hug. "Since when?"
"Well, she kind of pulled a Sadie Hawkins last week, when she popped the question to me. I was going to wait till summer to propose to her, but I figured, what the heck?"
"Incredible," said Ruthie. "When's the big day?"
"In the fall," answered Rod. "But anyway, is there something you and Peter could really use? Something Shelby and I could offer as a gift?"
Ruthie thought about it for a few seconds.
"Well," she finally said, taking a seat and pushing the ten-foot long train to one side, "if you and Shelby really insist – we could use a tool and socket set. The kind auto mechanics use – the kind with everything available in it. You never know when you're going to need a special screw- head, nail driver, or bolt cutter. For example, Pete and I like using Robertson's – you know, square recessed nails – to do finishing jobs on cabinets. They're so much better resisting strip-offs than Phillips. But here in the States, you can only find the squares in craft shops, and the odd home improvement superstore. In Canada, by contrast, they're so ubiquitous it's not funny. Having a tool kit like that would be so handy – it'd allow us to finish our shift for Habitat in half the time, or less."
"Oh, come on, Ruthie," said Rod, "anyone could get that for you, and that would be only a few hundred bucks. You deserve something more than that – after all, I'm supposed to be best man."
"Well," said Ruthie, "I told you what I want. But the registry lists everything Peter and I need. So you and Shelby have fun with it. If you want to save it as a surprise for our wedding day, be my guest."
"All right, we'll have a look," said Rod. "Thanks. By the way, you and Peter might want to get your marriage license now, before the big rush. June is always the busiest month for weddings, and you don't want to get stuck in line at the last minute down at the county clerk's office."
"I've been meaning to tell Peter that," said Ruthie, "but we're so busy preparing for final exams and this that it's totally slipped our minds."
"Well, don't," said Rod. "The permits are good for up to three months, and you know the saying about the early bird."
"I know," said Ruthie. She looked her old friend, who she once comforted with genuine compassion when his mother died. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Rod, and if you don't want to answer ..."
"You've been wondering how Shelby and I linked up?"
"Yes," said Ruthie.
"After all that business, and she and I having to go through the hell of having to say what happened to both of us at the trial, I guess we were both looking for comfort. We testified practically one after the other, and afterwards, I asked her out to coffee. She offered to go Dutch for supper. And so, we just went out to dinner and relived our experiences for hours and hours. By midnight that day, she invited me over to sleep in her bed and we made love. We've been together ever since."
"I hope you're not getting married for the wrong reasons," worried Ruthie. "I know you have common ears and a common tormentor, but ..."
"We have more in common than that, Ruthie," said Rod. "If we didn't, we would've had just a one night stand; which from our viewpoint would've been okay, because we both wanted to have sex with someone, anyone, just to get back at that bastard."
"And what made her want to join the Marines?" Ruthie was really curious about that. "She seemed more of the thinker type. I know you and her were best friends in high school, but from what Lucy told me, it was just that – you never really dated each other then because you were total opposites."
"It's a fair question, Ruthie. Short answer: It's hard to explain what you're doing out of the country when you have a security clearance – a fairly high one – and the love of your life doesn't, and you can't tell her what you've been up to or what you're going to do next, even during pillow talk. So she put herself up for basic training, vowing if she couldn't make it she'd never ask me about my job ever again. She enlisted and then went down to Parris Island, South Carolina. Shelby passed with flying colors, leaving a lot of the men in her class in the dust. As they gave up one by one and left, wondering how in the hell they ended up playing second fiddle to a woman, she so wanted to taunt them by saying 'A few good men, my ass!' But it wasn't her style. She was just glad she made it through."
Ruthie laughed so hard she fell out of her chair. Rod helped her back up.
"So you've been in now for, what, almost five years now."
"Six."
"And for Shelby, this will be ..."
"It's been two years now; a little more than that now, actually. In fact, it has been just long enough that we're now posted together, on the same base, year round. While she was on probation, we had to live separate and apart just to make sure our relationship wasn't getting in the way of our duties. I understand the reason for that, and so does my fiancée, but it really got to the extreme. At one point, she was in Saudi Arabia training to blow up enemy missile batteries, while I was down in Australia, on post guard at the American consulate in Sydney. Somehow, we managed being apart."
"I'm glad," said Ruthie. "Well, send her my best, and Peter's. Make sure you and her show up for the rehearsal in six weeks – and I hope you figure out what you'll get by then."
"By then," said Rod, "she and I might even elope. We might not be able to wait that long."
Rod grinned, gave Ruthie a military salute, and left the bridal shop. As soon as he did, Ruthie called Peter, saying it was probably time they got their marriage license. They went to the clerk's office, paid their fee, and got the precious piece of paper, which Ruthie then put in a safe deposit box at a bank on the way home. They then returned to his apartment and made out until Lucy knocked on the door and told them that supper was served.