Chapter 9

The spring semester seemed to fly by. Katie not only made the team as a freshman, she became the starting first-baseman. Maria had been right; once Donna realized that having Katie in the batting order behind her was the best thing that could happen, they won their conference title and also won the Collegiate World Series in Oklahoma.

John made college life look easy. Once again he was well on his way to another 4.0 grade point average. He also found time to help Katie in her studies and maintained his workout schedule, which was beginning to pay dividends as well. He would never be mistaken for a world-class body builder, but when he stood naked in front of a mirror, he no longer looked like a small child. His chest had filled out, his abs were visible, and his arms were more defined.

What was also developing was the romance between Katie and John. The more they saw of each other, the more they realized how right they were for one another. They were like a wooden circle that had been cut down the middle with a jig saw. Not in a straight line, but cut randomly, leaving two unequal pieces, each with parts of different widths that separately looked odd and ill-formed, but when placed side by side fit perfectly together. Brains and Brawn complemented each other's strengths and compensated for one another's weaknesses. They both knew it; they were soul-mates and began planning their lives together.

Katie decided to major in business management, with an emphasis in entrepreneurship; she planned on being her own boss. She had the determination, the self confidence, and the drive to make it in the business world. They decided that it would be best for John to accelerate his college education. In his desired field, advanced degrees in physics and mathematics were essential. The plan was for John to increase his course load by one per semester and take classes during the breaks between semesters, so he could graduate in three years and begin his master's program. After exams, John and Katie decided it was time that they met each other's parents. They traveled home with John's mom. Katie stayed for dinner that night and later John drove her home and spent some time talking with her mom before driving home.

The next morning at breakfast John waited for his parents' opinion of Katie.

"Well, what did you think of her?" asked John when he could no longer stand the silence. Both his parents had solemn looks on their faces; then when they couldn't hold it in any longer, burst out laughing.

"We're sorry, John, we're just teasing you, we both think she's wonderful; you make a good-looking couple."

"I'm glad you approve of her, because someday she's going to be my wife. We've been talking about it, we're going to get engaged for Christmas, and will probably get married next summer."

"Whoa, why the rush? You're both still young and still in school," his Dad said.

"Dad, we've been together practically every day since we started school. Mom, you remember what you said to me back in high school when I had broken up with Debbie; you said when I met the right girl for me I'd know. Katie is the right girl."

A similar conversation was happening at Katie's house.

"You're not pregnant are you?"

Katie knew why her mother was concerned; she had once asked about her mom about her father. In response, Margaret had shown her a copy of her birth certificate pointing to the line where her father's name would have been.

"I'm not proud of that, but I thought you should know."

'No Mom, I'm not pregnant. In fact, we've never been together like that. We both feel that we can wait until we're married, which is one reason why we want to get married next summer."

"What about school? Where would you live? What are you going to do for money?"

"We already looked into moving in together once we're married. The school has several dorm buildings that accommodate married students. As to school, we both intend to complete our undergraduate degrees. I'll finish in four years; John will finish in three and start on his masters degree, which he may be able to complete a short time after I graduate. After that, I plan to either start my own business or at least get a job, with the intent to go out on my own as soon as possible. John will continue his schooling at UA for his doctorate, while either teaching and/or doing research for the space program. As to money, we'll both still have our scholarships for the next two years at least. After that, we'll have to see. John still has money available to him from his parents for his education, and maybe we'll get part time jobs until I graduate. Don't worry we'll do what we have to in order to make it work."