Thanks for your patience in my weekly posts. Here's more.
45. All Things Come to an End
When I emerged, freshly showered and ready for work the following morning, I was met with one of my favourite scents. Blueberry pancakes. While I was showering, Carlos must have dashed to the store and bought a few essentials. With the help of Molly, we now had fresh blueberry pancakes. We ate and talked, and then went our separate ways. Carlos took the car and went home, I went to work, and Molly stayed at the apartment to finish getting ready to head to New York and to collect Jimmy from the hospital.
Work went by quickly, and before I knew it, I was making arrangements with Christie to be at the new apartment in New Brunswick so she could let the delivery guys in. I offered to go and help, but Christie insisted that I spend the day with Carlos.
The next thing I knew, it was Sunday and I was at the Manoso's for dinner. During dinner, the subject of a going away party came up. Carlos seemed to like the idea, but he said it might be worth talking to some of the other guys who were leaving.
Maria agreed and promised to get in touch with all of the families and plan one big party. Carlos looked a bit pained, but cheered up a bit when Ricardo mentioned that Abuela Rosa would be back in time to see him off.
When I left the Manosos' that night, it was with the knowledge that I had 2 more days with Carlos at work. It was also my last week working, and Carlos would be leaving the following Wednesday. There wasn't much time left, so I needed to make the most of it.
When I got back to my apartment, I laid out my clothes for the next day and had a bath. As I soaked, I tried not to think about how much I was going to miss Carlos. I tried to think about my classes starting, setting up the new apartment, and finally, Mary Lou's wedding.
I sat up with the startled realisation that there was nobody left to take me to the wedding. I had planned on asking Lester, and if he was busy, either Bobby or Vince. Now none of them would be around. I panicked a little and decided to call my dad. He was really helpful with the car. Maybe he would have some good advice.
It was 9:30 when I called my dad's cell phone. I was pretty sure that my mother would be upstairs reading, but my dad liked to stay up and watch the news. When he answered, I said, "Hey Dad."
"Steph, how's the car? More importantly, how are you holding up? Your young man will be leaving soon, won't he?"
I chucked and said, "The car is fine and I'm holding up as well as can be expected. Carlos leaves next Wednesday morning. That's kind of why I called. Originally, I was going to take Carlos' friend Lester to Mary Lou's wedding as my date, so Mom wouldn't see it as an opportunity to set me up. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the country, Lester and 2 other of Carlos' friends have gone and joined the army with him. That leaves me dateless."
My dad was silent for a moment and then came up with a genius idea. "Why don't you invite Ricardo? It will shut your mother down and he can sit with us while you're up at the head table."
"That's a great idea dad. I knew it was a good idea to call you."
"I do my best. I think your mother has it in her mind that you should date that ass Joseph Morelli. I'll tell you right now, there is no way that I would let that happen. Look what he did to you the last time you were involved."
"You don't need to remind me, Dad. I was there remember? Anyway, it's not going to happen anyway. Mom can try all she wants. I'm going to marry Carlos."
After talking to my father, I felt a lot better about the wedding. I got ready for bed and made a note to talk to Ricardo as soon as possible. If he could not make the wedding for any reason, I wanted to have time to find an alternate date. I thought about possibilities and decided that if Ricardo couldn't make it, I'd beg Roger, Carlos' friend and the other trainer from the gym. He knew Carlos well and would be well aware of our relationship. I would explain the situation and he might be willing to be my date.
When I got to the office the following morning, Carlos was already at his desk. Today was his last day in the office, and I was pretty sure that there would be some sort of leaving party, but I decided to greet Carlos and focus on my work. If I dwelled to long on the fact that today would be the last time I saw Carlos at work, I might lose it.
With that conscious thought, I smiled at Carlos and tucked in to work. Looking back, that is also the moment that it started. Time seemed to move at before unknown speeds. The next time I looked up, it was lunch time. I had a hasty sandwich with Carlos in the park, and then it was time for his party. And that was only the beginning of it.
Time moved at such a speed that before I knew it, I was having my own leaving party at work. Sometime during the week, Ricardo agreed to attend the wedding as my date, for which I was extremely grateful.
Next, I moved out of the apartment in Newark and into my new apartment in New Brunswick. I saw as much of Carlos as possible, and we spent a lot of time with his family. Rosa was back and she wanted to spend time with her Carlos as well. That meant that most of my days were spent with the Manoso family. My nights were split between my apartment in New Brunswick and the Manoso's.
I never slept alone that whole time. No matter where we were, Carlos was with me. This morning, I didn't want to get out of bed. Partly because Carlos and I had been up late the night before talking and making love, but also because tonight was the big party with the friends and family of all the guys. It would be a bitter sweet party. It also meant that there would be only 3 more days before Carlos leaves.
The party is actually being hosted at the Santos' house in New Brunswick. They have a huge back yard, a pool, and a pool house that would house all the food and drinks. We were all looking forward to the party, but nobody was really excited about what it represented, except maybe Carlos, Tom, Lester, Bobby and Vince.
Carlos and I arrived a little early to help set up. Carlos' family was already there. We greeted each other and dove in carrying trays of food, bottles, and whatever else needed transported. By the time we were finished, we were all sweaty and looking at the pool with longing. Lester broke our stares by saying, "Why don't we have a quick swim to cool off. The rest of the guests shouldn't arrive for at least another 30 minutes or so."
Both Carlos and I smiled, and we quickly went to change. I tied up my hair so it wouldn't get wet, and then changed into my most modest one-piece swimsuit. Carlos looked a little disappointed when he saw me. I guess he was hoping I'd wear a bikini. I did think about a bikini, but there would be a lot of young and older people here. I thought the more modest, the better.
After a quick dip, I felt a lot better. I changed back into my clothes and spent the evening having a great time with my friends and new family. One of the guests, a cousin of Lester's just finished his first tour of duty in the Army. He explained to the guys that they would get 20 - 30 minutes of phone time each Sunday evening. That is assuming that phone privilege is not lost for any reason.
After this revelation, Maria and Ricardo pulled me aside and suggested that I continue to visit them for Sunday dinner. That way, Carlos would only have to make one phone call and he could talk to us all at the same time. I agreed tentatively. There may be times when Carlos can't call, or when my course work makes it impossible to take the evening off. We all agreed to the plan and we would be flexible as needed.
When everyone was leaving that night, Carlos and I had to decide where to spend the night. We were closer to my apartment, but Maria had a huge breakfast planned. In the end, we slept at my apartment, but headed into Newark bright and early. Breakfast was a lot of fun and both Maria and Rosa went all out. It was their last Sunday morning with Carlos and they wanted to make it memorable for everyone involved.
We were so stuffed afterward that we ended up staying over that night. I had to register for classes on Monday, so I had to get up early and leave Carlos in his parent's capable hands. I didn't get back until just before dinner time. We ate and then Carlos and I went back to my apartment. Christie was visiting her parents and Molly was at Jimmy's so we had the place to ourselves. That was good because we ended up making love on every horizontal surface in the apartment, apart from the other bedrooms.
Tuesday went by in a whir. We ended up back in Newark and the Manosos took me and Carlos out for one last meal. Celia and her family even flew in to join us. We went to the restaurant where Lucia worked. She didn't cause a fuss and even wished Carlos luck. She smiled at me with a smug look, but I chose to ignore her. I wasn't going to let her ruin my last night with Carlos.
Tuesday night, we expected to stay at the Manosos', but with Celia in town, there wasn't really much room. We decided that we could get up super early on Wednesday morning and get to the recruitment office by 08:00, the reporting time. It meant an early night and a stressful day. Luckily, we still had the rest of dinner to get through before we had to head home.
After dinner, each of the Manoso family pulled Carlos aside and had something special to say to him. When he came over to me, he had tears in his eyes. His family loved him so much, and loved them in return. I could imagine what he was feeling right now. I was feeling the impending loss of him. I wasn't sure if I could get through tomorrow.
Luckily for me, Christie and Molly would be around tomorrow for moral support. Not just for me, but for the guys as well. Jimmy would also be there to say goodbye to his friends. He probably wishes he was joining them, but his health needs to come first. I probably forgot to mention it, but Jimmy needs to have surgery on his heart. They need to wait until some additional tests are run, but once they're done, they'll schedule him for surgery to repair the damaged valve, or whatever it was that is not working as expected.
Anyway, Carlos and I said goodnight to his family and headed back to my apartment. Carlos had to get up very early the next day and he didn't want to go into basic training exhausted, so we didn't stay up very late. We made love one last time, taking our time and showing each other how we felt. It was a very heart-wrenching yet uplifting experience.
Afterward, I lay in Carlos' arms and we talked quietly before falling asleep. I slept fitfully, and when the alarm went off at 6AM the following morning, I was desperate for a coffee from the get go. My first act once up was to turn on the coffee machine and make us some coffee. My second act was to have a shower. When I was rinsing the shampoo from my hair, I felt a cold draft and opened my eyes to see Carlos join me. We didn't have a lot of time, so we stuck to getting clean, but we were both tempted for one last shower tryst. For Carlos' sake, I climbed out of the shower when my hair was done, leaving him in peace.
I dressed in a simple outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. Carlos was dressed in a similar fashion. He'd been given a duffle bag by the recruitment office. In that, he packed a few changes of clothes, socks, underwear, toiletries, and a few photos of family and me. He wasn't allowed much else. We ate toast and cereal for breakfast, and after brushing our teeth, we were on our way.
Carlos decided to drive, so I sat back and relaxed. Carlos and I talked about how often we'd be able to communicate, but the truth was, he wouldn't know until he got there. Some drill sergeants were very strict and limited the recruits to 10 minutes every other week. Others allowed email access for a period each day. Most likely, he'd have more access to email than the phone, depending on how well he got along with the officers.
We decided to meet Carlos' family at the recruitment office rather than the house. Things would be hectic and we didn't want Carlos to be late because we got distracted. We were the second car to arrive. Molly, Christie and Jimmy were already there. I went to talk to my friends and Carlos pulled Jimmy aside and had a quiet conversation.
A few moments later, the Manoso clan arrived in 2 cars. They were followed by a stream of other cars that carried Lester's family, Bobby, Tom and Vince. The atmosphere was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Everyone was excited, but a cloud hung over us as well. These men were leaving and it was possible that they may never return. That fact alone terrified me.
Carlos and I agreed that we'd get married after his first tour. By that time, I'd almost be 21. What if he didn't make it through his first tour? I started to panic and looked around for someone to help me calm down. I didn't have to look far. Rosa had seen the change in my expression and was already making her way towards me.
Rosa took my hands and said, "He'll be back my dear. He's the most stubborn and determined young man I've ever met. He loves you more than anything, and that alone will bring him back to you."
I smiled at Rosa and said, "I know he's strong and determined. I just had a mini panic attack at the thought of going so long before I see him again. I'm going to miss him terribly."
At this point, I was fighting back tears. I didn't want Carlos to see so I turned my back and did my best to calm down. Rosa helped by handing me a tissue from her handbag. I calmed down and thanked Rosa for her help and kind words.
I decided that I needed to spend my last moments with Carlos, so I sought him out and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close as he spoke to Lester's mother. Carlos seemed calm and excited. All of the guys seemed excited. I always thought that they would be nervous or apprehensive in some way. If they were, they hid it very well.
Carlos leaned down and whispered, "We are nervous. I just think we're more excited and that shows more."
I looked at Carlos with disbelief. Had he just read my mind? "No, Babe. You're face is like reading a book. I know what you're thinking a lot of the time, without you ever uttering a single word."
I grimaced and then smiled as Carlos leaned down and kissed me on the temple. Lester's mother started talking with another person so Carlos moved on to talk to Tom and Vince. They were talking about rumours they had heard about the physical training. Carlos listened intently and added information he had heard as well, here and there. Lester joined them and added stories he'd heard from his cousin. All were pretty scary to me.
They get woken up at all hours of the night and expected to run for miles. Then, after next to no sleep, they have to perform very tedious tasks the next day, with no margin of error allowed. If I ever had a doubt, that conversation confirmed that the army was not my calling in life. It also made me respect the men and women who did join all that much more.
At exactly 08:00, a bus pulled up and a very stern looking man in uniform came out and said, "Load up boys. We leave in 10 minutes."
Carlos looked a little panicked at this announcement and rushed over to his family, dragging me by the hand. He hugged everyone and told them that he'd keep in touch as much as he was allowed. Unfortunately, he had no idea when that would be. He would find out and let them know as soon as possible.
I watched him hug his family with growing dread. He then turned to me and we just stared at each other for the remainder of the time. When the bus horn honked, Carlos gave me a quick kiss and hug, and was gone. He threw his duffle over his shoulder and walked onto the bus. He waved out the window and was gone before it really hit me.
Maria put her arm around my shoulder as we watched the bus drive out of sight. Once the bus was gone, Maria turned to me and said, "Carlos will want you to get on with your life dear. You have classes tomorrow and a new apartment to set up. Why don't you go home with your friends and join us for dinner on Sunday. Feel free to call me or anyone here at any time, even if all you want is to cry on someone's shoulder."
I smiled at Maria. I was miraculously tear free, but I knew that wouldn't last. I looked around and saw Christie standing a little ways away from Jimmy and Molly. She looked like she felt like the 3rd wheel, so I would offer her a ride home so that Molly could be alone with Jimmy. I said goodbye to the Manosos, collected Christie and made it all the way home before the first tear fell.
And that's the last proper chapter of this story. Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for at least one epliogue chapter. It will be posted at the regular time next week. If more is needed, it will follow the week after. CHeers and thanks for all your support.
L.