Chapter 1

I wanted to make something of my life. I figured I would go into the armed services and get credits so I could get onto the G. I. bill when I got out. I knew I needed an education. One problem ... I had a girl friend, Connie Kline, and she objected strongly. We were in love weren't we ... and needed to be together?

"I know sweetheart, but I want to go on to college. I don't have any money to do that. I have no family now that my mom has died. I have finished high school and I do have good marks."

"But I love you, Rich, and I can't live without you. You can't just go off and leave me. Let me ask my parents if they will help."

I shook my head, knowing how they felt about me dating their daughter. Especially her mother, Louise, thought I didn't have any prospects at all, and I wasn't nearly good enough for Connie, her daughter. They had made that plain enough to me privately, just not in front of Connie.

She did ask, but she was shot down in no uncertain terms. "Connie, Rich Rumford doesn't even have a home. He has been living with a friend of his father's who took pity on his mother while she was sick. We won't say he is trash, but there is no way he can go anywhere. He'll be working at minimum wage the rest of his life."

Connie gave argument, but to no avail. The thing is that I could see their point. I didn't want to leave Connie either, but if we were to have a life, I needed to get an education and the armed services were the only way I could see to get one. I signed up and had two weeks to put my affairs in order.

I will say Sam and Louise Kline did let us spend time together. They knew we were young, that if I left now for an extended length of time, the odds were we would be too immature to handle a long distance relationship for long. They even let me spend time in her room when they were out for the evening, knowing Connie had been on the pill for at least three years. Her mother had made sure that Connie was well prepared to prevent a pregnancy.

Connie was young looking and I suppose emotionally immature as well, but I didn't know it at the time. She had a woman's body that was soft, cuddly, maybe with a few extra ounces of baby fat. She had beautiful dark brown hair, cut short. She had a sizable bosom, was meaty in the thighs, and was a very enjoyable person to be next to.

We swore undying love to each other as I made arrangements to leave for the induction center. Her father, whom I kind of liked and I would have gotten along with under different circumstances, shook my hand when I left. Not her mother, though.

The army was rough for me at first, but I took it without a whimper. I had volunteered hadn't I? I wrote Connie every night if I had time, and mail call would always produce a letter for me. One stretch after I had been in the service ten weeks, there was a three-day span when there wasn't a letter for me.

I was pulled out of formation and directed to make a call to Connie Kline and it was urgent. "Rich, I'm pregnant. Please get out of the army and come home and marry me?"

This threw me for a loop. "I can't do it at this time. What happened? I thought it was safe to have sex without you getting knocked up."

"Rich, I went off the pill when you told me you were thinking of going into the army. I wanted your baby and I planned for you to get me pregnant. Just tell the army you can't stay."

We hadn't discussed the possibility of her becoming pregnant. "Connie, it doesn't work that way. I signed up, which is a contract that I can't break. It is impossible to get out." This was a terrible mess and there wasn't anything I could do about it. "Have you told your parents?"

"I had to. I am beginning to get fat and have been throwing up every morning. "Please, can't you come home?"

"After basic I'll have a few days off. I'll come home then and we can get married. I'll have to come right back. We won't even have time for a honeymoon."

"Rich, it isn't fair. They can't do this to you."

"Yes they can and I can't do anything about it. Connie why didn't you ask me about this before you went off the pill?"

"I didn't know you can't get out once you get in. It's just a job isn't it?"

"It is more than that. I can get a few days in six weeks. Is your father there?"

"Yes."

"Let me speak to him, please." Connie was sobbing and I heard her tell her father I wouldn't come home. I explained how it was when he came on the line. I declared it wasn't because I wouldn't come home, it was because I couldn't. He understood. He didn't have very much to say about our situation. I could hear Connie's mother screaming orders and comments in the background.

"Connie, I'll call you back this evening. I have to get back to my unit. I want to talk to the chaplain before I call you and see what my options are. I'll call you this evening. I love you." Connie hung up. I realized she had not professed any love for me before the phone clicked. What a mess!

I was in a funk the rest of the day. I found out I had to wait until after basic training was over before I could make Connie my wife. Needless to say things were strained between us and I didn't hear "I love you" too many times in the following weeks. It was hard not to blame Connie, but damn it, she had to take some blame for the situation. She should take it all, but I didn't go there.

I threw myself into the training, just to keep my mind off what was going on at home. I did make it home at the completion of basic training. I had eleven days to get married and to assure my new bride I still loved her. It was difficult with her mother blaming me for everything. I finally asked the person I had stayed with after my mother's death if I could use my old room for a few days. He welcomed both me and my bride.

Connie was my dependent now and I told her she would be receiving an allotment as my wife. She wasn't happy with how much she would be getting so I said I would send as much of my pay as I could every month.

Her personality had changed too. Before I decided to make the army my career, she had been happy and bubbly. Now it seemed as if all she did was whine. She saw her friends and some were off to college or had jobs. Their lives were much better than Connie's could ever be and she envied them their freedom. This made us argue even more. "Connie, I'll be home for good in twenty more months. Four months of my hitch have gone by already."

"But I'm fat and getting fatter." Sometimes I didn't feel sorry for her. I felt sorry for myself. My life had never been a happy one, but I had hopes that someday it would be. As they say, hope springs eternal.

When I returned to the service I had little hope remaining for a better or happier life. At least I didn't have to listen to her mother berate me any longer. Even Connie's father got sick of listening to his wife.

"Shut to hell up, Louise. You are making a bad situation worse." I had a feeling Connie would become more like her mother. I hadn't realized this when I was just dating her. My eyes were open now. I began to think I might make the service my career.

The United States was in a period of peace. Our troops were deployed all over the world. When I had a chance, I transferred to the engineers and shortly thereafter I had orders for Germany. I was going to be there for a year at least. Connie was due to birth our baby in two months and I managed another three days at home before leaving. It wasn't a happy time.

Connie was uncomfortable and it seemed all she did was whine or cry. It was planned that eventually she and the baby would join me in Germany. I was confident that if I had her with me we would fall in love like we were before she got pregnant.

Connie birthed a beautiful baby girl and we named her Corrine. I went about exploring what it would take to bring both to Germany to live with me. I was surprised that she seemed cool to the idea now, but I didn't make too much of it. It would take a while to organize and it would be costly.

I did get a letter once a week and at least once a month a snapshot of Corrine. For Christmas she sent me a video tape of her and Corrine. I wore it out watching my wife and child. That lasted until the baby was two months old, and by then I had to beg to see a picture so I could track Corrine as she developed.

I received a letter in the middle of January that her father and mother were divorcing. I called Connie for details. "Rich, you know Mom is loud and opinionated. Dad has always let her do and say anything she wanted to. For some reason he says he can't live with her any longer and has moved out of the house. Mom told him good riddance and has filed for a divorce. She is going to take him for all she can. He now lives in a cheap one bedroom apartment."

"You didn't see this coming?"

"Not at all. Dad has never said too much, just going to work every day and coming home at night. He is an accountant as you know. He has given Mom a good comfortable life, but she never has been too thrilled with the way he provided for her. I don't believe they were particularly happy. Mom expected a lot and she wasn't too terribly thankful. Dad for a long time went on doing his duty, but being an accountant isn't too exciting, I guess. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis for him."

"So you and your mom must be living in the house. Do you see your dad at all?"

"Sometimes I leave Corrine with him when Mom and I go out in the evening."

"You go out in the evening? I didn't know that."

"Of course I do. You don't expect me to stay home and care for the baby all of the time do you?"

"I never gave it any thought. I suppose I thought you must. Do you ever go out alone?"

"I go out once a week with some of our old classmates for dinner and sometimes for a drink. You aren't here, and I have to have some fun." Connie was getting a little belligerent. Was it from guilt? I dropped the subject and finally said goodbye. At least Connie wasn't whining any longer, but then I didn't feel as close to her as I did before either.

Two months later the battalion received orders to go out to one of the former USSR states to build an airport for our government. I couldn't pronounce the name of the country, but it ended in "stan." It involved a treaty that would benefit both governments. I had ten days stateside, and I decided to surprise my wife. I would finally get to see my child. She would be six months old now.

I reached town when it was just a little late for the evening meal. I stopped into a small restaurant. My father-in-law was sitting in a booth. I was surprised and he was too when I slid into the seat across from him. "Hi Sam, long time."

"By God, it's Rich. What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming home. Are you out of the service?"

"No, not yet. I have a few months more to go. I'm being transferred and will be gone until my stint is up."

"How did you get home?"

"I had a chance to grab a seat on an Air Force transport. I have seven days before I have to report back in Germany. I hear you are living by yourself now."

"I am. I found out Louise had a long-term friend so I moved out. She doesn't like it and she isn't getting as much from me as she expected. I'm living poor, but I don't really have to. Keep that under your hat. I took two years to set it up as I knew when I left her she would go after more than her share of the assets. I have made sure some of them are where she can't get her cheating hands on them. She will get the house, though."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm fine and healthier than I have been for several years. I'm a lot happier too."

"Is Connie home? I want to see my baby."

"I don't think so. Not tonight anyway, because Louise usually watches Corrine on Wednesdays. Connie will be out with friends tonight. It is Louise's night to howl on Thursday, and both go out together on Friday and I take care of the baby."

"Any idea where I can find Connie?"

Sam was silent and then said, "Let's see; right now she would be having drinks at The Pub. She has a card that says she is old enough to drink."

"Does she drink with anyone special or just hang out with a group?"

Sam peered across at me. "Maybe special to her, but not to you. Do you remember a Matt Forbes? I think he must be a couple years older than Connie. His father is owner of Forbes Ford."

"I remember him slightly. What time will Connie be coming home?"

"Seven."

"Seven? It is almost seven now."

"Seven tomorrow morning. She sleeps over." He paused before going on. "Rich, I hate that I have to be the one to tell you this. How Connie has been behaving is one of the reasons I moved out on my wife. Louise condones this and in fact I believe she encourages it."

I didn't say anything because I was thinking. It came to me that this was the reason Connie hadn't wanted to move to Germany and be with me. Well I'd work through this the same way I always did with the disappointments that came into my life. "Do you have a spare bed I can sleep in tonight?"

"I have a big soft one on a couch in front of the TV. It's yours to use if you want. You're not going to confront Connie tonight are you?"

"No. Do you still speak to Louise? What I mean ... I thought I would like to have you with me when I meet Connie. She evidently has breakfast at home with Corrine. Right?"

"You got it. I'll call in and leave a message that I won't be in to work tomorrow."

"Thanks Sam, I appreciate it."

We didn't talk about my wife ... or his for that matter. He asked me about what it was like being in the service. He was interested in how I was trained. "I don't even know what you do."

"I'm a heavy equipment operator in an engineer battalion. I can run any big earthmover or grader. I am qualified to operate a Euclid belly dump, although I don't care for it much."

"What's a belly dump?"

"It's a machine to move dirt. If you have land with high spots and low spots it is the fastest way to move dirt from one place to another. It has a tractor to pull the machine. It is like a big scoop and dumper that loads material and dumps it wherever you want it. It saves picking it up and loading it with a shovel onto a truck and then going some place to dump the truck. It is pretty much automatic and saves a lot of time."

"Sounds like you're having fun."

I grinned, "Not always. We'll be working in 100 degree heat and it is dusty as hell. Sometime if you go by a construction sight somewhere they are building a road, stop and watch. It is amazing."

"Any future for you in civilian life in what you are learning in the service?"

"I hope so. There are all kinds of applications. Strip mining uses the same equipment. Actually any large construction operation utilizes all the ones I am familiar with. I'm doing more to look to the future too. I'm taking classes in business management from a correspondence school. I study when I'm not working."

"You don't spend time in a bar?"

"No. There are hundreds of soldiers that have acquired the habit, but I'm not one of them. As long as they can make formation in the morning they are happy. I thought for awhile I might make the service a career, but I have changed my mind."

"You seem pretty focused to me."

"I suppose I am. I have had a poor start in life. If it is going to change, then it is me who has to make the change. I know Connie is your daughter, but she has held me back some. I'll face that in the morning. I'll be arranging for an attorney as soon as possible."

Sam understood. "I hate the thought of a divorce, but when that is the only option you should do it as soon as possible. I should have divorced Louise years ago, and I kept thinking our marriage would get better. I thought she would change, but she never did. When I realized this, I took the steps. I have three months to go and then I'm a free man."

"It takes six months to get a divorce?"

"In your circumstances you might try to have the divorce moved up. I would say you had grounds."

"Do you know any divorce lawyers?"

"Try to get Sarah Hazelton, whom I know well. She is the best in town. She was tied up when I needed an attorney, but she may be free now. Use my name. It may help."

"Sam, why are you helping me? This might get nasty."

"Hey, I love my daughter, but she is going to have to learn not to listen to Louise. She never should have gotten pregnant for the reason she did. A baby should be planned. I feel you have been the victim here. Rich, I promise I will take care of the baby no matter what Connie does or doesn't do."

"Thanks Sam. Maybe some day I can give you a hand."

I did sleep and Sam woke me up to take a shower and shave. We got into Sam's car and drove to his former home. He produced a key and we walked into the kitchen. Sam went about putting coffee on. It was half past six when Louise came down the stairs.

She spotted him first. "What are you doing here, Sam?" He just indicated with his head to me sitting off to one side. Louise stared at me. She didn't say anything. I knew she was thinking furiously, though. "Why'd you bring him here?"

"I could have sent him over to Matt Forbes' house last night. I figured it would be better to tackle it this morning."