Chapter 16

STEVE -- APRIL 1961

As Sandy's train pulled out of the station, I was saddened by her departure, but happy that we had had the weekend and overjoyed about our love. Slowly, I walked along the platform back to the station, and took the streetcar that went in the general direction of the agency. I got off, and went in to work. There was a large envelope for me from IBM; when I opened it, I found a preliminary spec for the Reaper assembler from Sarah. She had done a good job for the most part, but I found a couple of problems that would need to be corrected. I pulled out a ruled pad and started writing the draft of a memo to her. I then went back to my program; I wanted to do some more work on it before I completed the memo and sent it off.

That evening, I went back to my apartment, which felt empty and forlorn without Sandy's presence. I picked up the phone and called her. When she answered, I said, "Sandy, I'm so glad that you came!"

"You silly dear! Our time together was wonderful for me. Can you know how much?"

"Yes, my love, as long as you know that it goes both ways."

I could see her face light up as she said, "Oh, Steve! We're so lucky to have each other!"

I said, "Mmmm. This place seemed so empty and gray when I came in tonight, and you weren't here."

"I know, dear. I'm already missing you."

We talked a little bit longer, each of us cheered up by the call. I told her, "I'm going to start looking at cars tonight and tomorrow, although I may not get very far before Saturday. I really like your Sprite, but it's not completely comfortable for my long legs, and I think I want something just a bit bigger. I may have to settle for a recent model used car."

Sandy answered, "I'm sure you'll find something you like. Make sure it's in good condition, because you absolutely must drive it up here to show me and give me a ride."

"Try and keep me away! I'll keep you posted."

Just then, I heard another voice in the background at the other end of the line, and she said, "Mom just got home. I'll talk to you later, my dear - I love you very much."

I said quietly, "I love you too, Sandy. Bye for now."

The next day, I continued with my programming, and then read through Sarah's spec again. Finally, I made some changes and additions to my memo, and arranged to have it typed and mailed to her at IBM.

My search for a car went slowly at first, as I looked at various models to see what I liked. I knew that I could afford a VW beetle, but wanted something with a little bit more pizzazz. One day at lunch, I sought out Rodger, and asked him what he knew about buying used cars. He was actually quite knowledgeable, and told me the kind of dealer to avoid, suggesting that if I knew what I wanted, I should check out a new car dealer for the same brand who might have a good low mileage trade-in. He also suggested watching the classified ads for a private sale. He told me, "Whatever you end up wanting to buy, you should have an independent mechanic look it over carefully before you close the deal."

He went on to tell me how to inspect and test drive a car to see if it had been in an accident or had any obvious mechanical problems. He even gave me the name of a mechanic he knew and trusted, telling me that his charge to evaluate a car would be very reasonable.

Armed with that, and having done some reading in car magazines, I decided after a week that a Triumph TR3 roadster looked like it might suit me nicely. The next Saturday, I went to the Triumph dealer. I pulled myself together and went inside, where I was greeted by a salesman, who, surprisingly, seemed to be fairly low key. I told him that I was interested in the TR3, and he replied, "Let's take one out for a spin."

I said "Sure," and soon he had a demo car ready with dealer plates. I got in, immediately noticing how much more room there was than in Sandy's Sprite, and remarked on that. He said, "Yes, the Austin Healey Sprite is an excellent value, and a neat little car. Of course, we like our Spitfire better, but the TR3 has so much more to offer. Go ahead; drive it. Take a left out of here, and we'll go over to the parkway for a short drive."

I started the engine, which made a lovely throaty roar. I drove out of the lot, following his directions, and loved the way it handled and accelerated. I knew that this was what I wanted! We got back to the dealership, and when he mentioned the price, I said, "Well, that's a problem. I'm a junior officer in the Navy, and don't have a great deal saved up at the moment. What can you show me in a low-mileage used TR3?"

"Well, we have one that just came in after one year's use; the owner likes to trade every year. He really takes good care of his cars. Let's go look at it."

We walked over to the other side of the lot. Of course, the first thing I saw was a Sprite, which made me think fondly of Sandy, her car, and the places we'd gone together. The salesman pointed out the used TR3. It was a lovely shade of gray, and I couldn't help thinking how nice it would look next to Sandy's blue Sprite. We went for a short drive, and it felt just as good as the new model. We got back to the dealership, and the salesman offered me a cup of coffee. We sat down at a table and started talking price. He quoted me a very good price, but it still was more than what I had saved up. When I voiced my concern, the salesman said to me, "Look, if you are Navy, you need to go to your credit union and check on a car loan. If you can come up with most of the money, you can get a short-term loan for the rest at a very good interest rate. Don't say that I told you this; I'm supposed to push our own financing program, but you will definitely do much better at the credit union. I served in Korea, and my brother is in the Air Force; I know that you guys need all the help you can get."

"OK, I'll take it, contingent on my having my mechanic look over the car, and my getting a suitable loan."

He stood up, shook my hand, and said, "Good, we have a deal. Your timing was perfect; I'm sure this car would have been sold by the end of the week. I know that you'll enjoy it."

Soon, the paperwork was formalized, and I left a check as a deposit.

Monday I started the paperwork for the loan I needed through the Federal Credit union, and arranged for insurance. A few days later, I got a report from the mechanic, who had nothing but good things to say after his inspection of the car. The loan processing took a week, but I finally had the approval and the check. I stopped by the dealership on Monday evening and finished the paperwork, arranging to pick up the car the next day after work.

Of course, I called Sandy that evening to tell her that I now had a car, and asked her, "How would it be if this weekend I drove to Poughkeepsie?"

Sandy sounded happy, and said, "Of course! When will you come, and how long can you stay? And what did you get?"

"Well, what I bought will be a surprise. I'll leave Friday lunchtime and get there around nine o'clock in the evening. I can take one day off, but should leave by mid-afternoon on Monday. What about you?"

"Well, damn it, I'll take Monday off also. I can't wait! By the way, you can stay here; Mom's going over to Ithaca again. It doesn't sound like things are going well with Mary right now."

"That doesn't sound good. I'm looking forward to meeting your sister some one of these days. At any rate, I'll be careful with the toilet seat this time."

Sandy giggled, and said, "Silly! You know Mom doesn't mind; in fact, I don't think she'd mind your staying here even if she were here."

"Well then, give her a hug from me. Dearest love, I'm so looking forward to Friday!"

"Oh, Steve, dear, I can't either! It will be so good to see you again," and we reluctantly ended the call.

The next day I had a letter from Sarah, who had modified her spec to reflect my changes. She also said that an early version of the program would be available for me to test the following week. I called her and asked if a card deck or tape could possibly be available by Monday afternoon. If so, I'd arrange for it to be picked up at the lab. I didn't want to let on that I would be there myself, knowing that would raise a lot of questions, especially if Sandy was not at work that day. She agreed that she could have something by Monday, warning me that there would almost certainly be some bugs, but that I'd be able to find them easier than she could. I told her that I could live with that, but that I was anxious to see how it would work on the code that I had written by then.

The rest of the week I took some short drives to familiarize myself with the car, and spent my days coding furiously. I was beginning to get the hang of using Reaper effectively. I was quite pleased with how powerful and flexible it was, even though at first it was hardly intuitive to program. I'd have to talk to Sarah about creating a programming course sometime; I certainly didn't want to be the only person around who could write the code. I also got a set of the road maps I would need for my trip, and, with some help from Rodger, planned my route.

Finally, Friday rolled around. I left the agency late in the morning, rushed back to my apartment, put my bag in the trunk of my new car, and headed out of the city, on my way towards Baltimore, then on to the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State parkway, across the Tappan Zee bridge, and on to Poughkeepsie on the Taconic parkway. The car was a joy to drive! I discovered that it had a tendency to want to go faster than the speed limit, and had to pull back my speed more than once. I definitely didn't want to spoil this trip with a ticket. I stopped for gas twice and grabbed a tasteless sandwich at one of the service areas, which I ate as I drove along the monotonous Jersey Pike.

It got dark just after I got into New York, and I had to slow down on the parkway, mostly because I was worried about deer. Finally, I got to the turnoff from the parkway that Sandy had told me was the easiest and quickest way to her place. I followed her excellent directions, and pulled up in her driveway next to her Sprite. Before I was out of the car, she had rushed out of the house, stopping dead for a moment when she saw my car. I went over to her, and gave her a bear hug and lots of kisses. Eventually, I unwound myself, and she said, "Wow! I'm jealous of that car. Let's take a nice ride tomorrow, but right now..."

I interrupted her, saying, "Yes, Sandy! Oh yes!" and grabbed my bag. We went inside, and soon were hugging and kissing each other hungrily, murmuring loving words in each other's ears. Slowly we made our way upstairs, and slowly we undressed each other, with lots of gentle caresses. We got in Sandy's bed, and I just held her for a long time, saying quietly, "Dear love, this is so good!"

She said, mischievously, as she rolled vigorously on top of me, "You know it is for me, too, my darling," and started kissing and caressing me all over. Naturally, I reciprocated, paying special attention to the spots I knew would delight her, and things just got more delightful and intense after that.

We lay quietly for a while afterward. Sandy said dreamily, "Steve, love, we're lucky! It's only been a few weeks, and we're back together again. What's more, much as you may hate the prospect, it looks like you'll be back in another month. I talked to Sarah today and she thinks the simulator is coming along really well, and may be ready for you to test by mid-June."

"Oh, how horrible! I guess I'll just have to manage it somehow, stuck up here in the wilderness of upstate New York."

"I'll try to make it less difficult for you!"

"Sandy, dear, I know. By the way, speaking of wilderness, have you ever done any backpacking?"

"No, I haven't, but it sounds like it might be fun. Why?"

"This summer, maybe we can take take a couple of days off around July Fourth four-day weekend, making a very long weekend, and head up to the Adirondacks. My father took us there once when I was young, and the mountains are beautiful. We can even swing by and visit with my family for a night."

"Lets do that."

I thought of something, and said, "Damn! My suitcase is downstairs. I guess I'll have to pull on my pants and go get it; I don't want to give the neighbors a show."

"Well, my robe won't fit you, but I'll slip it on and get it for you" as she rose out of bed.

"Do you have a bite for me to eat? I've only had one horrid sandwich since lunchtime, and I'm still hungry, especially now."

When she came back with my bag, I fished out my sweat suit and slipped it on. We went downstairs for a sandwich and then returned to bed, happily falling asleep in each other's arms.

SANDY — May 1961

Friday, I was waiting impatiently after I ate dinner by myself, hoping that every time I heard a car on the street, it would be Steve. Finally, I heard a throaty roar from an engine just before it was shut off, and I rushed to the window. Seeing a sporty convertible in the driveway, I rushed out, and saw Steve getting out of a gorgeous Triumph TR3. I hugged him and said, ""Wow! I'm jealous of that car. Let's take a nice ride tomorrow, but right now..."

Steve was as eager as I was to get inside and get closer. God, how I love that man!

Saturday, I woke him up with a kiss, which had the intended result, and it was a while before we made it out of bed. We took our separate showers, and had a quick breakfast. It was a lovely day, and I couldn't wait to finish and go for a ride in the new car. Steve put the top down, and we were off, with a magnificent roar as the engine started up. We drove north for a couple of hours, and found a scenic overlook. We got out, hugging and kissing each other. Then Steve asked me, "Don't you want to drive?"