Chapter 5

For normal people, leaving on a honeymoon is as simple as getting on the airplane and going. Sure, you may need to have someone watch the cat or feed the goldfish, but in the end it’s just you and your honey and your tickets to wherever you’re going. Paul and Andi chose not to go the easy route, and took the twins along. To watch the twins while they were otherwise engaged, Lucy was enlisted to come along on the trip. Since it was a cruise, Lucy asked Gus to come along. But Gus still had work commitments, and Lucy and Gus needed to return to Western New York shortly after the new year started. Because of this, Macy was asked to come along and watch the twins, to which she agreed, and she would bring John, and he would return to Western New York with Lucy and Gus. Irma Hirsh would take care of the chickens and Veronica would keep Wonka company and mind the house until John returned.

It was planned that the newlyweds would leave first and spend the day in the Magic Kingdom, then head over to Port Canaveral and check out the boat. Paul had something to do at Patrick AFB, so maybe they could pick up snacks before heading out. They would head out to sea and test the boat, then pick up everyone else in Melbourne the next day.

This was all decided on Christmas afternoon before dinner without Paul, John, or Gus’s knowledge.

When Tuesday dawned foggy and cold, Paul loaded up his brand-new family in his Ranger and headed north and continued north past the airport and up into Niagara Falls NY. “Ok, here’s our first stop,” said Paul.

“Can we see Anna?” called Sandy from the depths of her comfy child seat.

“And Ella?” called Madeline.

“Not here,” said Paul as he pulled up to the entrance to the Niagara Falls Air Force Base. At the main gate, a guard stopped them, and Paul handed the guard his ID card. The guard snapped to attention and gave Paul a sharp salute, which he held until Paul returned it. They chatted for a bit. The guard gave him directions, and they headed on to base. Andi was full of questions. “Why did he salute you but not the car ahead of us?”

“Because I am an officer and he had to salute me, the people in the car ahead of us were not.”

“You asked him how to get to Sea Beau. What’s that?” asked Andi.

“Sea Beau is the lazy way of saying CBPO, which is the Consolidated Base Personnel Office.”

“And the deer’s you asked him about aren’t real deer’s?” said Andi.

“Correct. DEERS stands for the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. It is the personnel database which we are entering you and the girls into, so you will be listed as my dependents. That way you have access to things like Tri-Care, the BX, and the Commissary.”

“What is that?” Andi was used to being bombarded with jargon and acronyms, but these were alien to her.

“Tri-care is the medical insurance benefit I receive from the military, including prescription coverage. The BX is the Base Exchange, a large department store on base, and the commissary is a large grocery store on base.”

“And why would I go out of my way to go shopping on base?”

“It’s tax free.”

Andi smiled; he could see her eyes glinting behind her sunglasses. “There you go talking all sexy again...”

Inside the personnel office, away from the snow, rain and the stifling humidity, the air was warm and dry. Even the sounds were muffled and quiet. For the first time in her life, Andi realized the meaning of “Hurry up and wait.” Paul had called the personnel office and reserved “a slot” before they were married when they first figured out their honeymoon plans. They showed up dead on time, quite early in the morning, but the wait remained.

She was sitting in a waiting room filled with people in and out of uniform. Many of the people were obviously retired, like Paul, here for one reason or another. A big screen TV showed a list of names and their status in line. A block of the screen was showing either “Did You Know” trivia about the personnel office, or videos of C-130s taxiing around the air base. “I can see why you insisted on bringing crayons and coloring books,” she whispered to Paul. The girls were laying on the carpeted floor, furiously coloring the Disney characters they had recently made plans to speak to.