Another Springtime Ch. 05

Glancing quickly through the local daily for I knew not what, in the entertainment section I noticed an announcement by the drama department of the local community college. That very evening was the next in their series of evenings where dance and drama students presented their various projects on stage. The evening included dramatic readings, interpretive dance, a couple of skits and a scene from Christopher Marlowe'sDr Faustus. Now, that last was pretty heavy fare, I thought, for a community college, but it might just be the thing for us. I knew Christine liked drama and we often discussed plays and literature that we both enjoyed. She knew Frederic Schiller's plays almost verbatim, particularlyWilhelm Tell, and Gotthold Ephriam Lessing'sMinna von Barnhelmwas one of her very favorites. Henrik Ibsen's works were known to her, and even Berchtold Brecht'sTrommeln in der Nacht, a more modern piece, was a favorite. She was very keen minded about such things. Regardless, Marlowe's works from older English literature were demanding stuff. I folded the newspaper for her to see the announcement as the waitress served our soup and sandwiches and refilled our water glasses.

We went that evening, enjoyed the program immensely together, and she was just alight with enthusiasm. The lady instructor closed with the announcement that the second summer session would commence the following week and registration was… etc., etc. Christine turned to me with the question on the tip of her tongue.

So it was that we encamped in Longview for the second of the two six week summer sessions.

From the very first she was excited and engaged to a degree that was just startling. I was happy to see it. She needed some contact with others and to be involved in something to exercise her mind and get her thinking away from the terror of the previous months.

It also allowed me time to catch up on some of my own affairs, update my graduate course projects, balance and review finances, keep up on developments, and make sure our security plans and precautions were as mistake-and-intruder-proof as our ingenuity could devise.

Even with the greatest foresight, however, I could never have predicted what would shortly come to pass.