The Long Winding Road

ChapterTwo

ChapterTwo

As my freshman yearbegan, I immediately fell intoa routine that Iwould pretty much follow throughout my college life.I was a copious note-taker in class,I studied conscientiously during the week, and crammed before exams;but tried to keep my weekends free for seeing my relatives and for socializing. I have always been a good student, and enjoylearning new things and the satisfaction of knowing that my efforts are recognized, as I was an ‘Honors’ student.

One evening, as my friends and Iwere gathered again in one of the girl’s dorm rooms, Mary Lynn asked Diane, “Did you ever hear from the guyyou met at Finnegan’s?”

“Yes!”she replied. “We’ve gone out twice since then, once for lunch, and once to a bar in Keeseville.”

“How did it go?” asked Mary Lynn.

“He’s very nice!He’s a gentleman and a good dancer.” she replied.“I like him.”

One of the other girls, Beverly Haskins, said “Lucky you, Diane, I didn’t have the same luck with my date.”

“Why, what happened?” one of the other girls asked

“Well,” Beverly replied, “things were going well, we went for a drink and dancing, and when he took me back to the dorm, we parked for awhile and he was feeling me up all over the place. I told him to stop, but he wouldn’t.”

“What did you do,” she was asked?

“I pushed him away, opened the door and got out, and told him not to call me again,”she replied..

As the weeks passed, some of the girls from my floor dated more of the young men from the air base, and as we continued to ‘gather,’ the general consensus was that most of the relations between the girls and the airmen were positive, and required that we expand our discussions to include dates with boyfriends and exams, which now consumed much of our time, energies and anxieties.

***

Of the young men who appeared to be attracted to me, Jean Paul Freshette is the most ardent in his pursuit. He’s my age, an only child born to a wealthy Montreal family He’s of average height, with looks considered by some girls, as handsome. Being devout Catholics, Jean Paul’s parents want him to have a good education and thought the all-male Catholic School in town would be an excellent choice.It enjoys an excellent academic reputation and would reinforce his parents’ moral Catholic beliefs; and it’s not too far from home.

My younger brother, Richard, also attends the school, but is a year behind Jean Paul, who graduated this year. Jean Paul met Richard, who knew him from school, at the beach in Plattsburgh, a beach on Lake Champlain. Plattsburgh beach was a favorite gathering spot, not only for the local residents, but also for Canadians, who are frequent visitors to Plattsburgh during the hot summers. It’s also a favorite gathering spot for the single young men and women living in the area.

I met Jean Paul through my brother, Richard, who introduced him to me while we were all, one summer’s day, enjoying a day at the beach. Jean Paul, apparently, was immediately attracted to me, and that was the first of our occasional dates, and of his obsession of me. Although we dated only occasionally, I did enjoy his company.He was a good dancer, well-mannered and intelligent, but I did not share his obvious feelings. Although he’s a nice guy, I don’t find him interesting or exciting to be with.

Apparently, Jean Paul’s parents are well aware of their son’s feelings for me and one evening, Jean Paul’s father called me, from Montreal.He told me that were Jean Paul and I to be married, we could expect to enjoy much that life could offer. I thanked Jean Paul’s father for the call, but was otherwise not persuaded by his offer.

***

As the semester progressed and as Christmas was nearing, I waslooking forward to the upcoming break, which would find many of my friends leaving Plattsburgh to be with their families for the Holidays, as I would be spending more time with mine, as well.

My mother, who had been hospitalized with severe depression after my brother was killed, had been released and was now living in her apartment here in town. I’ll be staying with her during the Holidays and we’ll be visiting with my older brothers and their families, who live in the area. My oldest brother, who works for the telephone company, is married and has four boys and three girls, all living here in town; and my older brother, who has a farm out on Cumberland Head, is married and has two children. So, I have lots of people to visit and be with during the Holidays.

One morning in late November, while my roommate, Diane and I were having breakfast, she told me, “Laura,I need to find a date for my boyfriends’ buddy, and I told him I would find him a really nice girl I know, so I’m asking, would you double-date with me and myboyfriend this Friday.”

“Why,”I replied?“You’ve been out with him a couple of times already, why do you need me?”

“Well,”Diane said, “you know how strict my father is, and he’s not crazy about my going with an airman in the first place. I told him that I was going on a double-date with you and a friend of Bill’s, and you know how my folks feel about you, so he said ok; so, come on, say yes!”

Grinning, I replied, “Ok, I’ll go.” Then I asked, “Do you know anything about the guy?”

Diane gave me a big hug and replied, “I don’t know who Bill might have in mind, but I’ll tell him to make sure he finds a nice guy for you.” Then she added, “Oh goodie, I know we’ll have a good time.”

Although I have dated a few guys, most of my dates were guys who either lived here in town andthat I knew, or guys who were fromthe college. I haven’t dated any of the guys from the air base; which has only been activated for about a year. This was going to be a new adventure for me, and I wasn’t sure if I was looking forwardtothis or not, but “Hey!” Itold myself, “You’ll be with your roommate, and it’ll only be for one night. If it doesn’t work out, you’ll never have to see the guy again.”

That Friday evening, Bill and his friend pickedus up at our dorm around 6:30.

Diane hopped in the front seat with Bill, and my date, seated in the back, turned to face me as I opened the door tohop in. We looked at each other, and just for a moment, I paused as he smiled at me before I seatedmyself.

Weshook hands as he said, with a smile on his face, “Hi! My name is Tony Giannelli, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I’ve been on plenty of double dates before, but never did I have the pleasure of finding myself with a guy as good-looking as this guy; especially on a first date that I did not arrange,” I thought to myself. “Not only is he handsome, but he also has a killer smile.”

I introduced myself, hopefully encouraged as we were both beaming at each other. I had a strong impression that we were both very pleased with what we saw.

Diane introduced me to Bill, saying, “I see you two have already met as she introduced herself to Tony.

I find it odd that, despite the wintry-cold temperature outside, my date was not wearingan overcoat, only a light jacket covering a blue sweater over a white t-shirt.

We drove to a local night club at a nearby small town, which offered music and dancing every night but Mondays. After seating ourselves, we orderedour drinks and after the waiter leftafter bringing ourdrinks, Tony turned to me and asked, “Laura, would you care to dance?”

“Sure!”I replied.

Tony paused, saying,“Laura, I have to warn you, I’m not a very good dancer, butthey’re playing a slow number, so maybe we can have a chance to talk, and I’ll try not to step on your feet.”

“Ok!”I replied, smiling, as we rose to go to the dance floor.

Turning to face him, I raised my arms as he enfolded me in his,bringing me body close to his as his arm encircled my waist

As we moved slowly around the floor, Isaid to him, “Tony, tell me a little about yourself; where are you from?”

“Which version do you want to hear,” he asked, “the long or short version?”

“Whichever version you feel like telling me,” I replied with a smile.

“Well!”he began, “I was born and raised in Schenectady, my parents are from Italy, I’mtwenty years old, I have two older brothers; and I’ve been in the Air Force almost two and a half years. I work in the base shop repairing cameras and electronic equipment on the B-47 airplanes. That’s it, that’s the story of my life,” he replied with a smile on his handsome face.

Looking into his eyes laughingly, I said “Wow, Tony, that’s a pretty brief narrative to cover twenty years,” thinking to myself that this guy has a sense of humor.

Tony then said, “That’s my story, Laura, now it’s your turn.Please tell me yours, and I’d like to hear the long version.”

After abrief pause,taking a moment to decide what he would like to know about me,I said, “Well, I’m eighteen years old, I was born in Redford, I have one older sister, three older brothers and one younger brother. When I was ten, my father died, and two years later, my mother was hospitalized and I was placed in a foster home until I entered college this past September. I went to a Catholic high school for girls, I wrote a weekly article for our local newspaper, and I was valedictorian of our graduating class in high school. That’s my story!”

Tony stopped in the middle of the floor and looked deeply into my eyes for several seconds. As he listened to me relating the tragedies I experienced as a young girl, he appeared to be briefly overcome with an emotion that made him want to enfold me in his arms;as if to protect me from experiencing any further pain. Then bringing me close to him, and with my head on his shoulder, he hugged my body to his as he inhaled deeply, his face touching mine. After the music ended, we returned to our table with Diane and Bill.

As we sat and talked, Tony was looking deeply into my eyes for several seconds. Thinking there was something wrong, I asked, “Tony, what’s wrong? Why are you staring at me like that?”

Tony replied,“Laura, has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful blue-green eyes? I just noticed them after we arrivedat the club.

“Why thank you,” I replied, thinking that he saw something objectionable about me.

As the evening progressed, I found Tony to be very engaging and apparently, quite taken with his blind date. Not only is he quite good-looking, judging by the looks from some of the young ladies around us, I also had the feeling that, for some reason, he was really attracted to me, taking every opportunity to dance with meand hold me close when the band played a slow number.

He enjoyed holding me close with his face touching mine. Imust admit that I didn’tfind this intimacy to be bold or threatening. In fact, I wasquite flattered that he felt this way about me, despite not being able to understand how he could find me so appealing after only a few hours. Needless to say, I was quite comfortable with his wanting to hold me close.

Actually, I’m quite amazed, that for a blind date and a first meeting, we’ve‘hit it off’so well, and have gone beyond the usual initial stages of acceptance and approval of each other. Despite his extreme good looks, Tony appeared to be a little shy, butsincere and very easy to be with.He behaved as a gentleman and exhibited a personality filled with irony and deprecating humor; a personality that most females would not find to be intimidating in any way. I found him very comfortable and easy to be with.

As the evening was ending,and Bill drove us back to the dorm, I had a strong feeling that Tony and I haveshared aromantic encounter. We sat in the back seat, talking to each other and laughing as if we were alone and oblivious of our recent acquaintance and others around us; just enjoying being together.

When we reached the dorm,smilingat each other as we shook hands to say good night, I said, “Tony, thank you for a wonderful evening; I had a nice time.”

Tony replied, “Laura, believe me, the pleasure was all mine.”

After Diane and Ienteredour dorm room, we immediately began to critique the evening.With breathless excitement,Diane asked me, “Well Laura, what did you think of Tony?”

“Wow!”“I can’t believe my lucky stars,” I replied excitedly, “Meeting a guy like him on a blind date.I thought that only happened in books and movies.”

“You know Laura,” Diane declared, “I think we should change partners.My folks would love to have me bring home a nice Italian boy.”

“Not on your life,”I replied.“He’s awfully nice, and he’s so good-looking, too.”

“Are you going to see him again,”she asked?

“I don’t know,’I replied, hesitantly, “I was pretty sure that he enjoyed being with me, but he didn’t ask me for my telephone number.”

“Don’t worry,” Diane replied, “I’ll have Bill give him your number.”

***

On the way back to the barracks, Bill asked, “Well, Tony, how did it go with Laura?”

“Damn Bill,” he replied, “I can’t believe I met her on a blind date. I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl like her in my entire life. Miss Dornay is a class act. Not only is she very pretty and curvy, with a nice figure, but she has the most beautiful blue-green eyes, she’s also funny and smart, and exciting to be with. I really enjoyed being with her and would like to see her again. I think we both had a great time with each other, but you know what?”he added, “I must have been a bit flustered, because I forgot to ask her for her telephone number.”

“Don’t worry,” Bill replied, “I’ll get her number for you tomorrow. By the way, Tony, thanks for coming. From the looks of it, I would say that you both had a good time. I told you that you would.,” as we drove back to the base.