Disclaimer: see chapter 1

AN: Thank you for the reviews. It's been a heck of a week at work. I want to say I'm gonna try to keep up with weekly posting sometime between Friday and Sunday, I only had the first 5 chapters written, but I'm working on more. It just seems to be super slow the last couple of weeks.

I also should've added at the beginning; I'm dedicating this to my dear friend Margaret who passed away a couple of years ago. She was very active in the community & supported many of the writers past & present. She'd have a few things to say about book 31.

Chapter 2 – A New Life

The next morning, I woke up and packed for my trip to the beach. The Molnar's were picking me up in the afternoon and we would leave when Mr. Molnar came home from work. I had some chores to do before I left because Val complained that I was going away for a week. Val was working at the front desk of a nursing home before she returned to Mercer County Community College, she was getting her associate's degree in nursing. She was living at home and working around her classes. Too bad she will meet Steve at a party next weekend at Princeton then abandon her idea of a nursing career after she graduates. Steve is in his final year of law school; he'll accept a job in LA and take the bar exam in New Jersey and California. They'll have a long-distance relationship for a few months because Val can't move until after the wedding, insert eye roll here, it wouldn't be proper.

Mare and I spent the week at the beach laughing and enjoying ourselves like typical teenage girls. We spent a lot of time on the beach getting a tan, going to the boardwalk and attending a bonfire with other teenagers almost every night. I had a bit of freedom when I went away with Mare and her parents. She was an only child so they would bring me on their vacations. I even went to Disney and Universal Studios with them.

Mrs. Molnar had a hysterectomy after giving birth to Mare. She almost died and had to undergo an emergency c-section. Mare said they wanted to adopt but people in the Burg made rude comments about it so they never did. They didn't want the child ridiculed for something that wasn't their fault. Especially after seeing how I was treated when I did something considered different. Mare never got treated the same way. I think it was because of how my mother reacted and Grandma Mazur liked to feed gossip. It made her feel important.

When we got back there was a rumor Joyce had gone to live with her showgirl mother. A few months after Joyce left her best friend, Amanda, told everyone that Morelli had gotten Joyce pregnant. Joe refused to marry Joyce so she had an abortion. She was going to stay with her mother in Vegas.

It was our senior year of high school and I decided to join the Army. On my 17th birthday I announced my intentions. Well, you can imagine my mother's reaction. My grandparents, both sets, weren't thrilled either.

"I would learn skills and I won't have to take out student loans. I mean even going to a community college, look how much Val's tuition is," I said.

"Stephanie," my mother said in a condescending tone, "it's not what a good Burg girl does. You get married and have babies. If you work it's as a nurse, secretary or teacher or at one of the factories until you have kids. That's how we do things here."

"Helen, can it. It's 2008, women have careers. Women join the military. She won't be in combat. Plus, we don't have a lot saved for the girl's college. We're only paying half of Val's tuition. She was lucky to get a scholarship to pay for part of it," my father argued.

My grandparents grumbled but did see my father's point. It was getting harder to maintain the Burg lifestyle due to rising prices. We had already seen a housing market crash and there were a lot of families in the Burg worried about getting kicked out of their homes. The factories were downsizing. People were losing their jobs. Dad went down to the recruiting office with me and signed the paperwork as I was under 18.

I was taught how to put my hair in a tight low bun instead of my higher messy bun by a woman at the recruiter's office. She also helped me with an exercise and diet program to get me ready for basic training. Her name was Susan Greco. She had grown up on the outskirts of the Burg and knew I faced a tough road because of where I lived. I was grateful for her help.

Mare was understandably upset; she wanted me to have children at the same time as her so our kids would grow up together and maybe marry. She was hoping to get engaged to Lenny on graduation day; they had a plan. She would go to the community college to get an associate's degree in accounting so she could be a bookkeeper. Lenny would apprentice in the plumbing union and work for his father. He already helped after school and during summers. He would eventually take over the business. Mare could help his mom with the books and even do some outside work. Bookkeeping lent itself to having a small business or even working from home. That was something we had begun to hear about as an option. That would be a game changer for the women of the Burg.

My senior flew by, it was so different than my first time around. I dated; nobody tried to take advantage of me. I went to parties, hung out at the mall and went with Mare's family to Puerto Rico for Spring Break. I went to the prom with Jonathan Demarco, Vanessa's older brother, who was home on leave from the Army. He was impressed that I had enlisted. He told me about what I could expect in basic and then you go to Advanced Individual Training (AIT) before moving on to your Military Operations Specialty (MOS). I already knew I'd be doing basic at Fort Jackson in South Carolina.

I get up early and go for a run every morning before school. In the winter, I use the indoor track at the New Jersey Athletic Club near the mall. It really sucks getting up and driving there before school but I'm able to shower there and get dressed. After school I go to use the weight machines as well as Zumba and yoga classes. Both sets of grandparents along with Uncle Mark, paid the steep monthly fee. My cousin Katherine, at the suggestion of Uncle Mark, gave me her old car to use. He didn't trust my mother, fearing she would refuse to let me use her car, to prevent me from using the gym. I went every day; I didn't want to waste everyone's money. On the plus side I was toned, more flexible and stronger than I ever felt in my life.

I still worked at Tasty Pastry on the weekends and a couple days after school. I used that money to pay for gas, car maintenance and new clothes. I was also saving to buy a few shares of Apple stock which was around $4 a share. My parents bought me a blue iPod for my birthday and Val had given me an iTunes gift card to download music. Several people gave me iTunes gift cards for Christmas. I loved my iPod when I was at the gym. I ripped all our CD's to my iTunes, including some that Mare, Lenny, Carl, Shirley and Eddie had.

It was a good thing, my mother bought boring white underwear and bras for me. I was provided with a packing list by the recruiter so I bought items that would be acceptable for the Army during the months before I left. I didn't buy anything sexy or lacy except to wear with my prom dress. I had jeans, shorts, capri pants and plain T-shirts in white, black or grey. I added a blue and purple that I would wear if given a pass. I bought sports bras with good support. I had a new toothbrush and case, new bar of Dove soap and case. I picked up travel size shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste. I had a purse case for tampons that I would fill up before leaving. I would bring a full-size Secret deodorant. I couldn't forget moisturizer and sunscreen. I had new brush, comb and bobby pins in my bag already. I bought a white washcloth and bath towel which was packed. When I arrived at basic, they would lock up my phone, which was a graduation gift, and iPod.

My parents had a yard sale in summer, so I was able to raise some additional money before leaving for basic training. In the yard sale I sold my lava lamp, CDs, DVD's, my clothes that were too big or I figured I wouldn't wear again and my prom dresses. Katherine and Uncle Mark told me to sell the car so I had extra money in the bank when I went to basic training for incidentals.

I had fun during the summer attending graduation parties, going to Point Pleasant for bonfires on my nights off from the bakery and helping Mary Lou plan for school. She was attending Mercer County Community College and living at home to save money. She was able to get a scholarship so all the money her parents saved in her college fund could be used if she wanted to obtain her bachelor's degree or master's degree. They had a separate wedding fund so she could have the wedding of her dreams. She went shopping with me for my essentials and I took her to the gym as a guest for some yoga and Zumba classes as a guest. She decided to continue yoga at a local studio.

I left for basic training in August 2009 and graduated in November. It was 10 weeks of hell and I made a few friends. I learned how to defend myself. I wondered why I didn't do that when I worked as a bounty hunter in my first life. My mother wasn't happy I wouldn't have access to a phone every day. I could only call on the weekend and not every weekend. I swear she is the reason I didn't grow up before.

My mother and grandmothers cried when I left and again at my graduation. My dad and grandfathers were proud of me. I had a couple of weeks off before moving to my AIT training and was home in Trenton. I visited my friends and family but had to leave right after Thanksgiving. Again, my mother was upset. I will be away for Christmas. I realized that my mother was controlling while I was away, she wasn't happy I didn't fall in line. It actually explains a lot about my previous life.

My MOS was cybersecurity and I excelled at this. I stayed in the Army for 10 years. I obviously dated, but nothing serious. I knew some guys who moved over to Special Ops and began to hear about the top guy R. C. Manoso, an Army Ranger. I smiled inwardly every time I heard his name. I wasn't going to meet him while in the Army; he was frequently deployed. He retired from active duty before I did and was working as an independent contractor. I heard he started a company called Rangeman in Miami.

I did some sports betting off base before I was 21, we weren't supposed to, but a lot of the guys ran some type of betting pool. When I turned 21, I pulled out the sports almanac and was able to place some bets in Vegas and Atlantic City. I didn't do it often but was able to make a few bucks so I had a nice little nest egg. I was really careful so I wouldn't be tagged for committing fraud. I also bought stocks that were low that I knew would increase in value.

I lived frugally while in the Army, I didn't need tons of makeup, FMPs or clothes. The Jersey girl look didn't work in Georgia or in the Army. I didn't buy designer clothes, but did buy clothes that were good quality so they would last and didn't have a closet that was stuffed full. I moved off base and rented a room from one of the girls who owned her own townhouse. My stipend for housing covered my rent which allowed me to save as much as I could. I paid my credit card off monthly and had a car loan. I pay my car insurance in full every six months. The only debt I had was the car loan.

When I was on leave, I went on vacation with friends to visit places like Europe, the Caribbean islands and Hawaii. I also had to visit Trenton to see my family as well as Mare. She did marry Lenny; I was her maid of honor. She was a Burg housewife but not like my mother. Val married Steve and lived in LA with Angie and Mary Alice. I was the maid of honor in her wedding as well as a bridesmaid in my cousin Shirley's wedding to my best friend Eddie. Their weddings were a week apart.

I couldn't believe how different my life was. I was physically fit and a whiz with computers. I had experienced many things in my life that I hadn't experienced the first time around. I didn't want to sign another contract with the Army. I knew Ranger would be in Trenton soon and I needed to be there so we could meet. I would meet him sooner than I originally did but my next contract would be for five years, that was too long to wait. This time, I was choosing him.