Chapter 1

By the time I finished my last exam that semester, Bill was already in New York starting his internship at Time, Inc. Although he had made arrangements to have his car in New York, the price he had planned on paying for parking was for a month, not the summer as he thought. Living and working in New York City, particularly near Penn Station, the need for an automobile was minimized. Unless you absolutely had to drive to a place that had no train, bus or subway service, it was a foolish endeavor. Although Bill was to start on a Tuesday, he, along with his Mom and his Dad went to New York on a Friday night and spent the long weekend seeing New York, and doing New York things. A ballgame, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the World Trade Center and all the standard tourist things to do. The only thing he didn't do was, CALL me. I was freaking out between exams checking my messages to get one word from him. I should have been happy that he and his parents were having such a great time, but I really hoped to hear from him and get some encouragement about exams. I wasn't totally freaking out, but until the first time I saw him at my doorstep in Baltimore, I would never really believe that I would see him all summer.

My last exam, Art, was on the Wednesday after Bill started in New York. I had little luck reaching him when I tried to call, and had left a pile of unanswered messages. I received one message on my answering machine Wednesday just before I packed up to leave home. Henny, Maria, Russell, Mark and myself chipped in for a storage unit close by, to keep our dorm belongings for the summer. Refrigerators, TV's, microwaves and some furniture and other items seemed crazy to cart home, when we were going to move it back in a few months again. By the time we figured what we really had to bring home, I called my Dad and told him that Russell would bring me back. We had envisioned a truckload of things, but with the 5 of us planning on returning, and staying as roommates, Henny, Maria and myself, Russell and Mark, the move seemed un-necessary. I just brought home tons of clothes and boxes of HBA, leaving Russell to comment that it looked like we had robbed a GAP and a drug store overnight, with all the clothes and health-beauty aids in his car.

Russell had turned into a good friend after our mis-understanding. He realized what a resource I was for advice as he went through girlfriends and relationships. I was no Dear Abby, but he sometimes failed to see the difference between a person seeking a bedmate for the night, or a lasting relationship. Russell had a tendency to fall in love with any girl who would drop their undies for him. When I would break the news to him that she was doing the same thing he was, trying to get laid for the night, and that's it, he would label her a tease and a whore. After having his heart broken more than few times, he finally began to "get it".

Once home on Wednesday night I called and left more messages for Bill, but I still heard nothing. I was beginning to worry. I really hated to call his house in fear they would tell me to leave him alone to work, not to spoil his opportunity, blah, blah, blah. I was sick of hearing the whole spiel. Damn it, he was my husband and I had not heard from him in days!

I moped around the house afraid to leave, not wanting to miss Bills call. I knew I was driving my mother crazy, and my Dad called that afternoon from work to say he was taking the 3 of us out to dinner that night. Not wanting to hurt his feelings I told him I would be happy to get out with them. In reality I knew I couldn't digest any food until I knew he was OK.

As it got close to 4 o'clock my Mom asked if I wanted to get in the shower first to get ready for our date with Dad. I had just agreed when the phone rang and I shot down the stairs to answer it. It was Bills Mom and she had wondered if we had heard from him since they left him on Monday evening. I was in total freak out now. I was sure he was mugged and dragged into a subway tunnel to die. Bills Mom asked me to repeat the work phone number I had for Bill and she compared it to hers, they were different. We compared his home numbers and they were different too. My Mom took out the letter Bill had sent them and the numbers he gave them were a third set altogether. Totally confused, Bills Mom was going to call the intern office where Bill had his original contact, and got his keys and ID badge when they went there last week. She had the man's card.

"Mrs. Wilson, err Mom (Bill had insisted), would you mind if I called instead of you? Could you give me the name and number?" I asked.

"Carree, you may be going to marry him, but he will always be my son, and I am worried." She protested

"Mom, he will always be your son, but he will always be my husband, too. Do you think he would be embarrassed if his Mommy called looking for him because he hadn't checked in?" I asked her.

"Oh, damn Carree, I suppose you're right. I was ready to go to the mat on this one, but you ARE right. He would hold his head and say "GEEZ Mom!!" I'm sure." She admitted.