Chapter 11

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” Helen Keller

One aspect of Mindy asking how I met Julie led me to start remembering exactly how we did meet, and our incredible first day (and night) together.

Up to now, I had always done everything I could to try NOT to remember. It just HURT too much. Anytime I thought about Julie, and Joseph and Jason, the thoughts would always end at the hospital, with my seeing them all after they had been killed.

Even after all these years, the pain was like a white-hot knife in my brain.

For a couple of days, I tried my best, but I simply could not get Julie out of my mind.

If you are still reading this, you know how much I love Mindy. But the fact of the matter is, no matter how hard I tried to not think about it, I still loved Julie as well.

I told Mindy I was going to go down to the basement and work out, then practice my violin, so I would be a while.

Once in the basement, the memories came rushing back.

I can still remember it all so well...

I had been in the Marine Corps for a year-and-a-half, and was on leave, and I decided to go to the reunion. I hadn’t been in a couple of years, so thought this would be an ideal time to renew some friendships. I put on a pair of old, rather baggy blue jeans, and a nice shirt.

My Dad had left the day before for a short vacation in the mountains, so I was by myself for the next few days, possibly even a week. His vacation had already been planned before I had requested leave, so I insisted he go and enjoy himself. I know he felt bad about not staying, but I also knew how much he looked forward to his trips to the mountains.

Everyone would start gathering for the reunion around 10 in the morning on the designated Saturday. Everyone would bring food. I stopped at KFC and picked up a bucket of chicken.

We would start eating around 11, then at 1 we would have a short business meeting where someone would announce all the marriages, births, and deaths since the last reunion. Then we would decide on the date of the next reunion.

After that, it was pretty much whatever you wanted to do.

Usually the older folks (to me, back then, that was anyone over 30) would stay for hours, and the real young ones would stay as well, since their parents were still there.

The people in the middle, like me, could either stay and talk, or just leave.

I was getting ready to leave, just spending a few minutes walking around when I saw Julie.

Four things stood out at first.

Julie had the most muscular legs I had ever seen on a woman.

She was wearing a very, very short pair of running shorts and had one of the hardest and firmest butts I have ever seen. I could immediately tell she was, like me, a hard-core runner.

Her hair hung below her waist, and it was red!

And she was almost as tall as I was.

I am sure all of us have seen, at some point, someone who looks very attractive from behind, but once you see their face, you realize the person has a face that would make a freight train take a dirt road (another old Southern expression).

I started circling to my right, trying to get a glimpse of this woman’s face.

She, however, seemed to keep turning ever so slightly to her right, so I could never get a good look.

I finally walked up to her and said “Hi!” to her back. I had my favorite pickup lines ready, in case. I already knew no one in our family had hair that red!

She turned around, and I was completely lost.

I already knew she had a body a female Olympic athlete would kill for, and now I was looking at a face that was model perfect. She was extraordinarily beautiful.

But what really got me was her eyes. She was the first woman I had ever met with green eyes. Incredible, deep green eyes!

I just stared. My mind was completely empty, completely unable to come up with anything to say. While staring into those eyes, I wasn’t even sure I remembered how to breathe.

I think I finally managed to stammer, “Y-y-y-you’re b-b-b-beautiful!”

She laughed.

She stuck out her hand. All I could do was look down at it.

She finally reached down and grabbed my hand, and I swear I could feel an electric shock! I think Julie felt it too. She shook my hand and then said, “I’m Julie, and you are... ?”

I couldn’t remember.

She was still holding my hand, and I was lost in those beautiful green eyes!

Finally one of my cousins came up and said “Hey, Julie, have you met Alan yet?”

Julie started laughing, and said that she was trying to, but I seemed to be having trouble remembering my name.

“The only two times I have ever seen Alan when he couldn’t talk,” my cousin quipped, “was when he was eating, or thought he was in love!”

I could feel my face turning red!

Julie and Sam, my cousin, started laughing, and she finally let my hand go. I told Sam to go perform an act upon himself that was actually impossible!

I found out Sam was Julie’s brother-in-law. He had married her older sister last year, and Julie had been down for a visit and decided to come to the reunion.

“Be sure to get Alan to tell you about his favorite t-shirt from when he was a kid,” Sam told Julie, with a big grin on his face. “His Mom always told that story about him.”

Feeling my face starting to turn red again, I repeated my earlier comment to Sam that he go perform an unnatural act on himself!

After Sam left, laughing out loud, Julie reach down and grabbed my hand. Again I could feel an almost electric shock, and I think Julie could feel it too. We began walking around, holding hands.

“So, what about your favorite t-shirt?” she inquired.

I explained when I was about six or seven, my parents had taken me to the North Carolina Mountains where we spent a day at Fontana Dam. Fontana Dam was simply incredible. It was one of the largest dams in the world, and the biggest thing I had ever seen in my young life!

My parents bought me a t-shirt with a picture of the dam on it, and I loved that t-shirt, wearing it every chance I had.

A few weeks later, a large group of ladies from the church were at our house on a Sunday afternoon. They were still wearing their “Sunday go to meeting clothes,” and were all in the living room, drinking, I guess, tea and eating, “well, whatever church ladies eat.”

Several of the women had brought their kids over to the house and we were all playing outside, when I wanted to show off my favorite t-shirt.

I ran inside, but couldn’t find it!

One of the rules, when the church ladies came over, was I was supposed to stay outside and not bother my Mom, or any of the ladies.

Distraught over not being able to find the t-shirt, however, I ran into the living room, crying out in a very loud voice in front of all the church ladies, “Mom, where is my dam shirt?!”

“My Mom had a lot of explaining to do that day,” I said.

Julie laughed and squeezed my hand.

Now that I could finally talk again, I asked Julie what she was going to do the rest of the day.

She immediately said she was thinking about going for a run, to work off all the food she had just eaten.

I asked if I could join her. She asked if I ran a lot.

Obviously I knew Julie was a hard-core runner. All hard-core runners can tell other hard-core runners just by looking at their legs. Remember, I was wearing baggy blue jeans, so she couldn’t see my legs.

I wasn’t ready to tell this beautiful woman just how much I ran, so I told her yes, I ran. Why, just the day before I had run a mile! I tried to act like it was a big deal! And it was the truth, about the distance. Remember my running schedule from earlier?

Wednesday, six to 10 miles, Thursday three miles, and Friday one mile.

She smiled the little “hard-core runners” smile reserved for people who couldn’t run like “they” could. Yes, I had that same smile also.

Then she asked about my time.

“Under five minutes,” I bragged, like it was really supposed to be impressive.

My actual time had been 4:17. That is less than five minutes!

When Julie said she was planning on running at least three miles, she asked if I thought I could keep up with her.

I acted like three miles would be the most difficult thing in the world, but said I would like to try. She then warned me her time was always under 15 minutes, and she usually ran about 14:45 for three miles. I asked what her fastest time was, and she said 14:30.

I kept telling her how incredible that was.

I explained there was a school track just a couple of miles away, and if she was ready, she could ride over with me. She had ridden to the reunion with her sister, so did not have her car with her.

She agreed, but asked if I was planning on running in blue jeans?

I told her yes, that was what I usually ran in. That was the first actual lie I told her.

When we got to the track, we warmed up for a couple of minutes, and I acted like this was all new to me, and just tried to copy everything she did.

Once we were on the track, I asked if we should make a bet or anything, on who was faster.

I am sure Julie thought this would be like taking candy from a baby.

If she won, I would have to buy her the most expensive meal at the most expensive restaurant in town.

“And what if I win?” I questioned.

Julie looked at me for a minute, smiled her hard-core runner’s smile, turned on her mp3 player and put the ear buds in, then said “If you win, then you can have me for 24 hours! I will do anything you want!”

And she took off running.

I let her get about 10 feet ahead, then started running. What a beautiful sight! Watching her long legs and firm butt!

She was actually setting a very good pace. I guessed a little under five minutes for the first mile.

She never looked back. I guess she just assumed I would soon either be lying beside the track, or so far behind she wouldn’t even be able to see me.

When the first mile marker came up, she finally looked back.

She was so surprised to see me 10 feet behind that she stumbled.

I immediately started acting like I was dying, that I couldn’t breathe, and was ready to collapse.

She then picked up the pace. I had my stop watch, and the first mile was completed in 4:45.

I again matched her speed, which I am guessing was about 4:20 if she maintained it.

When she reached the mile-and-half marker she looked back.

I was still 10 feet behind, and started acting like I was really dying now.

When she reached the two mile marker, she looked again.

I was still 10 feet behind. She stumbled again, then started running even faster.

I checked our time on my stopwatch, and the second mile was completed in 4:25 so that gave us a combined total for the first two miles of 9:10.

I knew she wasn’t going to be able to maintain the pace she was running now, not if her fastest time was 14:30. Indeed, a five minute mile would surpass her fastest time ever.

A quarter-mile into the last mile, she looked back again. I was still 10 feet behind her.

She stumbled again, then started doing everything wrong.

Soon she was leaning forward into the run, meaning her center of gravity was no longer balanced. This would put more stress on her legs, and make it even harder to keep up any kind of pace. Her arms were also swinging too much, and swinging away from her body.

I quickly caught up with her, then used my hands to show her she was leaning forward, and needed to straight back up.

I have always heard about redheads’ fiery tempers, and I could see that temper flaring in her eyes! She was giving me a look that would probably have been the same if she had been a wild cheetah running fast and free and some old rabbit suddenly had come up beside her and started to offer advice on how to run!

But she did straighten up and started running more comfortably.

I guess her temper also gave her some additional stamina, because she was back to a 4:30 pace, but by the time we were within 100 yards of the finish line she was breaking stride, and stumbling.

I moved a couple of steps in front of her for two reasons.

One, obviously, was the bet we had made!

And the second was I was getting concerned. She could easily fall, planting her face firmly into the track.

After Julie crossed the finish line, in second place, she did lose her balance. If I had not caught her, she would have fallen face first.

When you are running like we had been, you can’t simply stop. If you do, you can easily get cramps. So I stepped up beside her, put one hand under her left elbow, and reached around her back and put another hand on her right elbow.

She immediately tried to shake me off. Another sign of that fiery temper, but when she tried, Julie almost fell again. I could tell she didn’t like it, but she did let me take on some of her weight.

We walked nearly a half-mile without talking. Indeed I don’t think Julie could have talked if her life depended on it, she was having so much trouble catching her breath.

Once I saw she had cooled down some from the running, and was breathing a little easier, I headed over to a shade tree where I helped her sit down with her back against the tree.

“Who,” pant, pant, pant...

“the hell,” pant, pant, pant...

“are you?” pant, pant, pant, was about all she could say.

I told her my name was Alan, and we had met at the reunion.

If looks could kill I would already be dead!

“I thought,” pant ... pant...

“you said you only,” pant ... pant...

“ran a mile?” pant ... pant, she asked.

I told her that, no, I had only said I ran a mile the day before. She didn’t ask if I had run three miles on Thursday, and nine miles on Wednesday!

If looks could crucify I would have been nailed up already!

“And your under,” pant...

“five-minute mile?” pant, she asked.

I told her yes, it was under five minutes. Actually 4:17.

If looks could turn your body into liquid, I would be melting now!

“You do realize I am going to have to kill you now?” pant ... she asked.

“Well, first you are going to have to catch me!” I exclaimed, with a great big smile.

If looks could cause a sudden explosive decompression of your body, then I would be in a million-and-one pieces!

“Aren’t you going to ask me how fast you ran?” I asked.

I could see that immediately got her attention. If you are a hard-core runner, then you are absolutely ecstatic if you can better your old best mark by just a few seconds.

I handed Julie my stop watch. She had run the last mile in 4:45, giving her a combined time in the three miles of 13:55.

If a few seconds can make you ecstatic, imagine what 35 seconds can do, especially if it also meant you have just run your first sub-14 minute mark for three miles!

She was so excited she actually threw her arms around me and gave me a hug, and I could feel her breasts pushing against my chest. I think then she remembered she was supposed to be mad at me.

She pushed me away like I was the one who was trying to hug her!

“See,” I smirked, “you just met me and already I am being a good influence on you!”

We talked for a few minutes about running, and eventually I asked if she thought she could walk back to my truck yet.

Again, I could see that fiery temper starting to take hold, as she struggled to stand up.

If you aren’t a runner then perhaps you don’t understand, but after making that kind of physical effort your legs can’t help but be a little shaky.

She nearly fell again, so I just reached over and picked her up.

She immediately ordered me to put her down, but I demurred, saying she had two choices since I knew she couldn’t walk yet.

Either I could carry her in my arms, or I could carry her over my shoulder!

She stopped struggling, and resigned herself to her fate!

Julie was anything but a petite woman. I don’t think she had an ounce of fat on her body, but she had to weigh at least 140 pounds.

By the time we got to my truck I have to admit I was struggling a little, and mentally upgraded her weight to about 150! I grabbed a couple of bottles of a sports drink I always keep there. We both needed to replenish our electrolytes, plus we both needed sodium, or salt, that we had lost from sweating.

While she was drinking, I stepped to the other side of the truck and changed my blue jeans, putting on a nice pair of shorts.

When I walked back around to Julie and she saw my runner’s legs she immediately accused me of cheating.

“Hey,” I protested, “wasn’t it W.C. Fields who said you can’t cheat an honest man, or in this case, honest woman?”

Again, I could almost see lightning forming in those beautiful green eyes!

“You thought you had an easy meal coming your way, and didn’t bother asking any questions,” I teased her.

“Now what?” she demanded, probably thinking I was going take her back to my place and ravish her body.

I certainly wouldn’t have minded doing exactly that, but first I wanted to make her day with me even more unforgettable.

I just told her I had a “surprise” for her as we climbed in my truck, and I began driving.

We talked for an hour, before arriving at our destination. Throughout the drive, she kept asking where I was taking her.

I found out Julie was attending the University of Virginia on an athletic scholarship, where she was on the soccer team, and also played volleyball. Honorable mention All-American in soccer, and leading scorer on her team.

Her father was also a professor at the university, where he taught economics.

Julie had been born in South Carolina, and moved to Virginia when she was about 10.

I immediately groaned, and said I should have known!

“I finally met a beautiful girl, and now I find out she has this terrible secret!” I said.

She immediately asked “what on earth are you babbling about?”

“One of my favorite quotes is by Zebulon Baird Vance, former governor of North Carolina,” I continued.

“‘North Carolina is a valley of humility, caught between two mountains of conceit,’ meaning South Carolina and Virginia,” I told her. “And you are a misguided product of both!”

I glanced over at Julie and could see her temper manifest itself in the tightening of the skin around her green eyes!

Then she smiled ever so sweetly, and said, “Well, maybe North Carolina just has a lot more to be humble about!”

What???????

I laughed, and she did too. I made a mental note to remind myself to be more careful when trying to exchange witticisms with Julie.

We talked much more on the drive, until I pulled into the parking lot of Carrowinds, which is an amusement park similar to Six Flags. The park is located on the state line between North and South Carolina.

“An amusement park!” Julie exclaimed. “You brought me to a frigging amusement park?”

I reminded her she had to do anything I wanted for the next 24 hours!

“Alan, I am hot, sweaty, sticky and smelly,” she protested.

I parked, got out of my truck, walked around to her door and opened it, then offered her my hand!

“Come, m’lady,” I said, “your day of fun awaits!”

At first she looked at my hand like it was a rattlesnake, but finally reached over and I helped her out of the truck.

She continued to hold my hand as we walked across the parking lot. Yeah!

After paying, the first stop we made was White Water Falls. At White Water Falls, you sit down on a cart, which then plunges down a 45-foot waterfall, then through a wave of water.

“You just said you were hot, sweaty, sticky and smelly,” I told Julie, as we were waiting in line. “Well this will take care of the ‘hot, sweaty, and sticky’ part, but I can’t do anything about the ‘smelly’ part.”

Again I could see a slight tightening around her gorgeous green eyes. We were still holding hands, and now Julie slipped her hand down until she just had four of my fingers clasped in her hand.

Earlier I said Julie had the most muscular legs I had ever seen on a woman.

Now, I was about to find out she had the strongest grip I have ever felt on a woman!

She began crushing my fingers, all the time smiling so sweetly!

I swear I could almost feel the bones breaking!

I managed to last for almost 30 seconds, before my knees buckled and I politely asked ... make that begged ... for her to stop.

“Ohh,” she said, “did I squeeze too hard and give you a boo-boo?” she asked.

But the most important thing to me was she continued to hold my hand after she stopped squeezing. I really couldn’t feel ANYTHING anymore, my fingers were numb, but it was still so nice to be holding hands with her!

I made a mental note to myself to perhaps be a little more circumspect when joking with Julie!

On the ride, I made sure Julie rode in the very front, beside me.

We were both absolutely soaked from the ride.

Her long red hair was now plastered all over her face. We were both laughing.

After exiting the ride, I was helping her remove the wet strands of hair from her face when I leaned in and kissed her!

The kiss itself couldn’t have lasted more than two or three seconds. Both of our mouths were open from laughing, but I made no attempt to stick my tongue in her mouth. Just a very brief, open-mouth kiss.

It was incredible. Both of us had our eyes open, and I was convinced Julie felt something too, from the way her eyes widened. It was almost like an electric shock, but now a shock to your soul.

After getting all the hair from her face, Julie reached down and grabbed my hand, then led us back to the line to the water fall again. Again, we rode in front. And again got drenched!

This time, as I was helping Julie remove the strands of wet hair from her face, she leaned in and kissed me!

Again, no tongue or anything, just an open-mouth kiss. But again I felt such an incredible shock, and I could tell Julie felt it also. Her kiss to me lasted a little longer, perhaps four or five seconds. It was the most incredible four or five seconds of my life.

This time, when we had all the hair off her face, Julie made no attempt for my hand. Instead, she linked her arm through mine, and I could feel the side of her breast pressing against my arm.

Julie led us back to the same ride, and again we rode in front.

It would not be possible for either of us to get any wetter then we already were, but we again got drenched.

This time, as I was helping remove the strands of wet hair from her face, we both leaned in and kissed. And yes, this time there was some tongue involved. We both had our eyes closed. The kiss was not particularly long, perhaps 30 or 40 seconds, but it was one of the most passionate kisses of my life, at least up to that point.

The rest of the day was absolutely magical. Well, a couple of times I did manage to invoke that fiery redhead temper, but it was still magical!

We rode just about every single ride at Carrowinds. And when we weren’t riding we were usually walking arm-in-arm, with my arm pressed against the side of Julie’s breast.

We continued, throughout the day, to exchange little kisses. Most were very brief, just a few seconds long, but occasionally we would really enjoy a toe-curling kiss!

After getting off one ride, Julie said she couldn’t believe she was enjoying herself so much at an amusement park.

“I haven’t been to an amusement park in at least three years,” she said, “not since the summer before my freshman year!”

Wait! Did I hear correctly? I mean we had talked a lot about college, and the different courses she was taking, and about soccer and volleyball, and I had talked a lot about the Marine Corps, and of course about running, but I didn’t actually recall her saying what year she was in.

“When you go back to college this fall,” I asked, “what year will you be in?”

That was when she told me she was going to be a senior.

“How old are you Julie,” I asked.

That was when I found out she had just turned 21. I was 19 and a half.

I immediately started laughing.

“You know,” I laughed, “I have always been attracted to much, much, MUCH older women!”

That earned me another finger squeeze. This time I only lasted about 20 seconds before my knees buckled, and I had to politely request Julie to stop (that means I begged again).

I made a mental note to myself to NOT discuss age with older women!

Julie was shocked to learn she was a year-and-a-half older than I was.

“How does anyone become as aggravating and annoying as you are in just 19 years?” she inquired, with a smile. I was quickly learning to love her smile! Julie didn’t just smile with her mouth. When she smiled her eyes smiled as well.

“Well,” I answered, “they say some people have it and some people don’t, and they have always told me I was full of it!”

Julie started laughing, and said that was the most honest thing I had told her all day!

Hours later, we were both getting a little hungry, when we decided to get something to eat.

Unfortunately, amusement park food is not particularly healthy.

As we were trying to decide what to eat, Julie complained about the selections, saying they were all too fattening!

“Don’t worry Julie,” I told her, “anything unhealthy you eat today you can work off tomorrow trying to catch me!”

I saw the little tell-tale tightening around her beautiful green eyes before she shifted her hips to one side, away from me, then gave me a soccer-style hip-check that should have knocked me about four feet away.

Unfortunately, there was a flower pot almost the exact same height as the back of my knee only three feet away. As the back of my knees hit the flower pot, I went tumbling head-over-heels over the flower pot onto to the ground, landing on my back!

Julie was immediately on her knees beside me, asking if I was all right.

“I think I might need some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” I told her.

She gave me a quick kiss, and it did help revive me!

Julie then stood up and now she held out her hand to help me regain my feet.

I actually winced a little as I stood up, and she immediately asked what was wrong.

Where the flower pot caught me, I had a small scrape. It was bleeding a little, but I could tell I was going to have a pretty good bruise the next day.

Despite her concern, I assured Julie I was fine, and just needed to walk a little. After a few minutes, the pain was mostly gone and we got a Band-Aid from the first aid station, which Julie put on my leg. We finally got something to eat, then continued to ride the different rides at Carrowinds.

Of course, we kept going back to White Water Falls. It was the best thing at the amusement park on a hot summer day. Plus I got to keep pulling Julie’s wet hair away from her face, and got to keep kissing her!

I could tell Julie was actually having a very good time, but there was also, at times, hints something was troubling her as well.

No one had ever accused me of being particularly sensitive. Indeed, I doubt anyone has ever accused any Marine of being particularly sensitive, but I think almost anyone could have picked up some clues things were not always rosy with Julie.

While we were riding the different rides, and while we were sharing kisses, I felt I was seeing the “real” Julie, but at other times she seemed to be trying too hard.

Sometimes she would laugh too hard at some stupid joke I told her. Other times she seemed to be forcing herself to carry on a conversation.

Whatever was causing Julie’s troubles, I would usually make some inane comment about her not being able to keep up with me while running, or about “older women and younger men.” I could immediately see the skin tightening around her eyes as she would glare at me. Several times I earned a finger squeeze, but not anywhere as tight as the first or second time!

At one point during the afternoon, we were taking a break, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the ground leaning up against a wall. Neither of us was talking at the moment, we were just enjoying each other’s company – or at least I thought so at first.

I looked over a Julie and she was just staring – at nothing. Then I saw a small tear coming from her eye. Just a single tear.

I immediately thought of a painting they had shown us while I was attending Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Geiger, an off-shoot of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The painting had been done by World War II artist and war correspondent Tom Lea, and was entitled “Marines Call It The 2,000 Yard Stare.” You can find it on the Internet if you are interested.

The portrait of a Marine had been painted during the Battle of Pelielu, and is now most often associated with post-traumatic stress syndrome.