Prologue

Thursday, March 6^th, 2024 - Kansas City, MO

I never get tired of reading this book, I thought as I set it down on the end table next to the couch. Stretching, I stood up to head towards the bathroom. On the way there, I happened to glance at the clock on the living room wall. What I saw confirmed that, as I halfway expected, once again I'd lost track of time. However, that is far from being an unusual occurrence for me when I'm reading an interesting book. Even as a teenager, one of my parents would sporadically find me on a weekend morning still reading a book that I was unable to put down down the night before. Occasionally, I have even considered setting an alarm to tell me it was time to get ready to go to bed. Most of the time I considered doing that was because I had pulled an all-nighter the night before, and I was struggling to stay awake at work.

Deciding not to leave the book sitting on the end table, I picked it up and found a place for it on one of the bookcases serving as a partition between the living and dinning portions of the living/dinning room. I then double checked that the front and balcony doors were locked, turning off the lights as I headed toward the bathroom.

In the middle of performing my nightly routine, I looked into the mirror. I did not like the obese, grey-haired, and balding reflection staring back at me. Remembering that I had a doctor's appointment in about a week, I made a mental note to ask her about getting a nanobot injection. I had heard about them for a few years, but I had believed that they were just another example of a miracle cure that wasn't. Since I had seen the effect of those shots on a co-worker, my skepticism seem unfounded in this case. Those injections could supposedly change a person's appearance as much or more than plastic surgery, as well as cure most, if not all physical problems, including erectile dysfunctions, fertility or lack there of, obesity, baldness and grey hair, all of which I suffered. Considering that the last woman who had seen me naked was the same doctor during last year's checkup, the first few items were not a major concern for me, unlike the last three. I undressed and headed for bed after deciding to check in the morning to see if my health care coverage included that treatment option. As I got between the sheets of my queen-sized bed, I started thinking about the book I had just finished.

The novel centered on the life of two ice dancers, their friends, and their opponents, both on and off the ice. I had purchased the book thinking it was fictional and just loosely based on the lives of Warren and Sophia Kelleher. Even though their career as ice dancers lasted less than a decade, they became the most famous, and possibly the most controversial, pair of ice dancers of all time.

I realized I was mistaken when reading the acknowledgments page. There, the author, Don Lockwood, said he had approached the couple about three months after they won their Olympic gold metal. He asked for their permission to write a book that would be, just loosely, based on their lives. Initially he got a no from both of them. A few days later, Warren called him and asked for him to meet with them. As a result of that meeting, instead of the pseudo-biographical novel initially planned, Mr Lockwood would write a biographical account of their lives from the time they met until their retirement after winning their Olympic gold medal in ice dancing.

I got interested in ice dancing by happenstance. One day, as I was flipping through the channels, I saw Warren Kelleher and his then fiancée, Sophia Daniels, dancing in the nude to Cyndi Lauper's ballad True Colors. Even though I had never considered watching ice dancing before, I stopped channel surfing long enough to watch them finish their dance. The next time I happened to run across an ice skating competition, I paid close attention, although honestly, I was hoping to see if there was a repeat of that presentation. I learned the names of the pair I had watched at that time. It was also then that I got hooked on watching them compete. I knew I was addicted to watching those competitions when I started recording the ones that would be on either while I was asleep or at work. I have never seen a rebroadcast of the dance that got me interested in ornamental ice skating in general, and ice dancing in particular. That might happen in the future, since I noticed in the news recently that the IOC was considering a few rules changes. One of those changes would be a partial return to their ancient roots. If approved, athletes would be allowed to compete in the nude if they so wished in selected events. Checking the list, I was pleasantly surprised that a handful of winter events were being considered, including ice dancing.

As I settled down to go to sleep, I began to compare the life lived by Warren and Sophia Kelleher as described in their book, with mine.

Their story is almost the complete opposite of mine. While they found true love at a very early age, I have almost given up hope of ever finding it. I mistakenly thought I had found the love of my life almost thirty years ago when I met a certain young woman. She was only with me a few short years, but I still feel the effects of that relationship.

Janice and I where introduced to each other by a mutual friend, Richard, at a party held at his house. We hit it off fairly well, and before the evening was over, I asked her out on a date. About a year after we started dating, in June of 1996, I enlisted in the Army. That brought on our first big fight with her not wanting to see or even talk to me for a couple of days. On the third day after our fight I went to see Richard and told him about how I decided to join the Army in order to get some training that I could use to support a family. Unbeknownst to me, Janice overheard us. A few minutes later, after Richard and I had gone on to talk about something else, Janice entered the room we were, and said the four words that normally every man dreads to hear from his significant other, "We need to talk." We talked several hours that night and again the next few days. About a week after our fight, we got back together as a couple, and I experienced the joys of make up sex for the first time.

Nearly every week that I was in Boot Camp, I got a letter from Janice encouraging me. Those letters helped me get through Boot Camp, especially during the first few weeks which were the toughest on me. In spite of those letters, and at the same time in part because of them, I could feel that the relationship between Janice and me cooled off somewhat while I was learning how to be a soldier.

After Boot Camp, I requested and was assigned temporary duty as a recruiter's assistant. During that month, I spent ten hours a day or more trying to recruit young men and women to join the Army as I had done. Later, I learned that a few of those I contacted eventually joined the military, although they joined the Air Force, the Marine Corps, or the Navy instead of the Army. Even with that schedule, I made sure to find time to spend with Janice most evenings. That time together restored the flames of our relationship to the point they had been before I had enlisted.

All too soon, the month of temporary duty at the local recruiting office ended, and it was time for me to go to a MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) school, where I was trained as an electrician. A few days before I was to ship off to my MOS school, one of the recruiters, who knew about my relationship with Janice, gave me a reality check. I do not remember the exact words he said, but he asked me to consider what might happen between Janice and me, if I was stationed in another country for a year.

After thinking about that possibility, I admitted to Janice that I had no idea where I might end up, and so, it might be good for us to break up. I would want to continue to be her friend, but that we should date other people. She convinced me that we should at least try the long distance relationship thing for a while.

Upon graduation from the MOS school, I got a pleasant surprise. The base that I was assigned to was located less than a two hour drive from the city where Janice lived. I didn't receive many letters from Janice while I was busy learning the basics needed for my MOS, but in part, that might have been because I called her every two or three days. Realistically, when I considered it later on, another reason I did not get as many letters as before was because I had wanted to break up with her until she convinced me otherwise.

I requested, and was granted, a couple of days of leave between the date of the MOS graduation ceremony and the date I would have to report in for my first permanent duty station. Once I had made travel arrangements home, I called Janice and asked her if she could pick me up at the airport when I arrived. On our way to her place, I asked her if she still wanted to try having a long distance relationship with me. Until this point, I had not told Janice where I would be stationed for the next several years. I was overjoyed, even if I tried to hide it somewhat, when Janice told me she was still willing to give it a try.

When I revealed exactly how far apart we would be, Janice pulled over to the side of the highway. Turning towards me, she said something like "Keith, I don't know if I should kiss you or hit you."

"It's up to you what you decide to do. Personally, I would prefer a kiss," I joked.

I got the requested kiss, but I only got it after she punched me in the arm. I did not feel much force behind her punch, even though she complained she hurt her hand doing that. The kiss that followed, or rather, the many kisses that followed, were full passion, which quickly built up even more. I found myself responding to it in kind, with both of us rapidly getting to a point of completely ignoring the heavy traffic passing just a few feet from Janice's door.

Our kiss was interrupted when a policeman tapped on Janice's window and swung the beam of his flashlight at us to get our attention. I don't know which one of us was more embarrassed when he asked us if everything was OK. Janice replied that she was excited about some very good news she had gotten. After suggesting that we might want to either go home, or at least go to somewhere where there was not as much traffic, the policeman let us go with a warning.

Ten minutes later, the same cop stopped us for speeding. This time he ended up giving Janice a ticket. I found out later that the ticket was for going 70 in a 65 miles per hour zone. However, I seem to recall that the speedometer was showing nearly eighty miles per hour when I noticed the flashing lights.

When we finally got to Janice's home, she pulled me into her bedroom. I was forced to help her test the springs in her bed for several hours. After the most enjoyable exercise session I had in several months, I settled in to sleep. The rest of the time before I had to report in was spent handling the many details involved in a move. I also had to reattach the headboard to Janice's bed since the screws worked themselves loose one night when we were overly enthusiastic.

After I reported in, I was glad to see that I had a fairly regular schedule, leaving me off duty most weekends. I ended up having to spend one weekend every five weeks on standby, in case any emergency came up. However, unless something unexpected happened, I could leave the base any other weekend.

I definitely took advantage of that situation and, nearly every weekend I was off, I drove up to see Janice. Between the time I arrived Friday evening and the time I had to head back to base on Sunday afternoon, we were practically inseparable. Thinking back, I can only remember a couple of times, besides the weekends I had to stay on base on standby, that I did not make the trip.

After spending five months of living on base during the week and living with Janice on the weekends, I got down on one knee and proposed to her. That weekend we decided we would have a six-month engagement. The week after I proposed to Janice, I got in touch with base housing. It took me a couple of tries to get in touch with the right person. Once I did, I got some bad news – Janice and I would not be able to apply for married housing until after our actual wedding. I was also told that after I applied, there would be at least a six month waiting period before I could move into base housing. This was because there were several people already on a waiting list. Even if I was eligible to apply today, I would have to wait nearly a year before a suitable unit was scheduled to be available. Additionally, there was a possibility I would have to wait even longer than the currently expected six months once I got on the list. The six month wait on the list was based on some of the current occupants leaving by a certain date, and nobody else, who would be eligible for the same size house as I was, getting on the list before I was eligible to apply for married housing.

Hearing that, Janice and I spent all but a couple of weekends over the next three and a half months checking out all the apartment complexes near the base. Janice would drive down on Friday afternoon after getting off from work. She then would spend Friday and Saturday nights with me in a room at an "El Cheepo" hotel. We normally would spend most of Saturday morning and early afternoon looking for an apartment. Time after time we where told that the apartments within our price range were full and the complex was not expected to have any vacancies for six months or more.

We did not spend all of our time together looking for a place to live after our marriage. We spent part of out time together checking out a couple of bowling alleys, a miniature golf course, and a few other recreational facilities on or near the base. In addition to that, we spent a good amount of time in our hotel room going over some things related to our marriage ceremony. Of course, we also practiced some for our honeymoon.

With less than two months to go before our wedding, I was starting to get desperate. In spite of going to nearly every apartment complex within fifteen miles of the base, Janice and I could not find anything available in our price range. I sat down with Janice and we tried to figure out a good solution for our living situation. After much talk, we decided to make a list of some of the places we liked the most, and try them again. The result of that discussion was a list of five places we both had liked a lot. Four of those five complexes we had checked out in the first couple of weeks of our search, with us having visited the fifth one also during that first month. If none of them had anything available, we would start looking for an apartment even farther away than the ones we had been looking at.

The first place we went to on our new list gave us the same answer as before. At the second place we checked, we were told we might want to check again in a month's time since it would be possible that there would be some vacant apartments at that time. At the third place we made a repeat visit to, we found out about an apartment that would be available in about two weeks, but they did not know if they would have anything closer to our wedding date. The complex manager told us that it was very likely that apartment would be rented within the next month.

With that news, Janice and I went back to the hotel, and we each called one of the other two places on our list. In each case, the answer was the same, they did not have any vacant apartments and were not expected to have any available until at least a month after our wedding. Rather than risk not having a place to stay after the wedding, we deciding to pay an extra couple of months rent. While things would be a little tight until the housing allowance kicked in, Janice convinced me that we could get a short term loan or dip into savings if needed. Determined to get that apartment, we went back to the third complex and signed a rental agreement.

Chapter 1 »