Eva Pt. 19

During a slow dance, I couldn't help but look over at Maria. She looked so happy, a little case of puppy love, and I smiled thinking back on Eva's and my first date, when we went dancing after dinner. Our first kiss on the dance floor. I turned away quickly to give her a little bit of privacy just in case. Eva noticed, saw the emotion on my face, and grabbed my arm in hers.

"Thinking happy thoughts, Papa Bear?" She said it with such a loving smile and I couldn't help but give her a hug...a small hug...in front of anyone who noticed.

"Thinking about our first dance and our first kiss. A long time ago and I remember it like yesterday."

"Same here. Poet's Corner. Up until then, it was the best night of my life, our first date." We watched the kids with the other chaperones, five other teachers, but we were the only couple.

As the song was ending, I had an idea. "I'll be right back." I walked over to the DJ and asked him a question....a favor, actually. He told me it was no problem. Then he handed me the microphone and I made a short speech.

"I just wanted to say to everyone how proud Mrs. Grossman and I, and all the teachers here tonight, are of all of you. I hope your first prom is memorable, something you'll look back on years from now with fondness. But I just want to ask a small indulgence of you all. The DJ is going to play a song I requested. It's the song my wife and I chose as our wedding song over forty two years ago." Eva brought her hands up to her mouth in surprise. I walked over to my wife and took her hand as Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey started playing. It was a song that I'm sure most of those kids never heard before, but they listened and they watched while Eva and I danced as close as those kids, if not closer.

"Thank you so much for this, Jon. You never fail to find ways to surprise me with the most beautiful gestures."

"I love you more than ever before, my Angel. Every day."

"Together forever, Bear." We danced and the kids applauded us, none more so than our daughter. Then the kids all started dancing with us to our song. It was a memorable night for us as well as for the kids.

We got home at 11:30. We had to let the decorating committee back in at noon the next day to clean up the banners and balloons etc. Maria wasn't going to be home for an hour and a half yet. Plenty of time.

Eva took me in her arms before we went upstairs. "You'd better make love to me tonight. I am so excited for you, I can't begin to explain."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Dancing with you does something to me as well, Angel. I just want to go nice and slow tonight." We kisses with all our love for a minute or so before we made our way upstairs. Once there in our bedroom, we watched each other get naked in an amazing teasing way. When we got on the bed, we took our time, plenty of foreplay, rubbing bodies, touching all over, and lots and lots of kisses everywhere our mouths could reach. It was so romantic and playful and we really got each other to a burning peak of desire. And when we joined together, it was as beautiful as it was our first time, as incredible as it was that first summer when we'd meet on our days off. We never ever got tired of each other, and this night was no different.

"I love you, my handsome Bear." Eva traced her nails on my face and chest, on my back and my ass.

"I love you too, my lovely Angel." I kissed her neck and shoulder and sometimes her breasts. "Always."

"Forever." When we finally reached our orgasms, we both were filled with love and peace. We cuddled in the tangle of our top sheet and talked about a few minor things before we used the bathroom and put on pajamas and robes before going downstairs to wait for Maria to come home.

We sat together on the couch, arms around each other like teenagers, watching the end of Saturday Night Live. Just before 1, Maria came in, a very happy smile on her face. "Hi, Parents" she said in her adorable way. When she called us "parents", it was always a good sign.

"Hello, Daughter" Eva teased back. "I assume you had a great time?"

"Amazing. It was so much fun! And Dad, what you did....people were talking about it afterwards like it was one of the best things they've ever seen. They only get to see you as Mr. and Mrs. Grossman. I mean, they like you and respect you, but there's always that distance. They got to see you as real people, the way I get to see you all the time. And they saw how much you love each other. Like I get to see you. it was nice."

"And how was your date?" I asked, more interested in her evening.

"Sweet. He's fun and he's nice. We're going to the movies and for pizza next weekend." She didn't ask; those days were pretty much over.

"Reminds me of your father and me on our second date. Although we went for burgers before the movie."

"Well, it's not our second date. Technically it's our fourth. And what movie did you see back then?" Maria sat down, even though she was still in her gown.

"We saw Hair. A hippie movie about the 60s, though it's not really like the show it was based on." I had read about the play, and how much the plot was changed for the movie.

We talked for the next half hour until we were all feeling tired. We all had to be at the school the next day for cleanup. So we said our goodnights and watched as Maria kind of floated upstairs. We loved seeing her so happy. Every parent does, or should. Maria had her first crush, on her way to being her first love.

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On May 13, 2022, we graduated our first class at Durham Academy. 72 Seniors graduated, with fourteen going to Ivy League schools and another two headed to Stanford. All the rest were going to college, all stats that were an improvement over the previous five years. Our Debate team came in third in the National Speech and Debate Association tournament, something that hadn't happened in over ten years. That reflected very well on the coach, Mrs. Gail Washington, as well as on ourselves for hiring her. And the standardized test scores, which the state and the Trustees felt were important (Eva and I were less impressed with that standard), were up seven percent. Most important, we had a full registration for the Fall semester with a small waiting list. By any standard, we'd been successful our first year. And when we met with the Trustees the next day, they let us know how thrilled they were with our work.

Dr. Kellner was particularly effusive with his praise for our work. "The results are better than anything we expected in a single year. You've righted the ship and even got the endowment going in a positive direction. The money we invested in the teachers was well spent. So there is something we'd like to talk to you both about. We know you didn't love the idea of a three year contract when we offered it last year. We appreciate that you accepted it. And we also know that we agreed to a generous bonus if you made certain goals. So what we'd like to do is offer you your bonus now, and another at the end of the three years, but we'd also like to extend your contracts to the full five years you expected. That would cover us all for four more years from now, and take you to your sixty fifth years. We think that would set up the school for years to come, whether you stay or leave by then." That was their offer, and it was generous.

I spoke for us both. "Everyone, it's a kind offer, and we're very tempted. But we've been talking....just talking, keep in mind.....about retiring at the end of the three years and just enjoy our lives. Now, we just don't know. So give us a week or so to think this over? There's no rush; we're still on board for two years." Eva made a few remarks of a similar nature, and we shook hands all around before leaving for our summer vacation. We had our plans; we were going to have a visit from Oliver for ten days, five of which we were all going to spend in Florida visiting Phyllis. Then after Oliver went back home, the four of us were flying to Philly to visit Cammy and her family for a week. And from there, we were flying to London and Scandinavia for three weeks, including ten days on a cruise through the fjords and Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki. It was going to be a busy summer.

When we got home, Eva and I hugged and kissed, alone in the house. Maria was out with friends and Vince was working a summer job as a lifeguard at a county pool. So we went upstairs and had a pretty lusty time together, spurred by the good news from work. We'd have a lot to talk about over the next week. But not that day.

That night, we had a few neighbors over for a little party. The men stood around grilling chicken and steaks while the women made side dishes. It was very traditional (and kind of sexist) and we used the pool. As Eva and I learned from our new friends, we weren't 'barbequing'; in North Carolina, that meant cooking a pork shoulder for pulled pork, an all day affair of cooking the 8 lb. cut very low and very slow in a dry rub and then, when the meat is completely tender, pulling it from the bone with a fork and adding a vinegar based sauce. Eva and I had become big fans when we were invited to some of our new friends homes and I was thinking of investing in a smoker to start experimenting on my own.

Everyone was having a good time, we were all using the pool, drinking beer and wine. A fun Saturday night, a little more raucous than the parties we were used to back in Pennsylvania. But it was all in good fun. We liked these people and were feeling like we were home.

About 11, as things were winding down, the landline phone rang in the kitchen and Eva went to answer it. The phone ringing at that hour can't be good news. You hope it's a wrong number. I went into the kitchen just in case.

Eva was talking, confirming to whomever she was speaking to that she was, in fact, Eva Grossman. My stomach tied in a knot as I took her free hand. "Wait, what did you say?" she almost screamed as she turned pale. "Wait, here's my husband. Tell him, please!" She handed me the phone, white as a ghost.

After I identified myself, I found we were called by the military police in Kingsbay, Georgia, where Connor was stationed. The Captain I spoke to said Connor was in the hospital with a gunshot wound to his abdomen and he was in critical condition. And Leigh was under arrest for shooting him. We needed to get down there right away.

I felt like I was moving in quicksand. Eva fell against me, crying deep in pain as some of our friends came in to see what was wrong. We couldn't tell them right then; we could barely comprehend it ourselves. I managed to ask about Oliver and the captain told me he was being looked after by the family of Connor's Executive Officer, his second in command. Two of the couples stayed with us as the husbands called Maria and Vince to tell them to get home right away. While we waited, we gave our friends the basic details we knew and as soon as our kids got home they excused themselves and left us in our pain. I explained the little we knew to our younger children and after hugging each other and crying a little while. we all made our way upstairs to pack our suitcases to head to Georgia. I called Delta Airline to try to get four tickets to Jacksonville, Florida, the closest airport to the base, but there wasn't a flight until 11AM. Ten hours away. We'd make better time driving during the night.

As Eva and I packed, we were silent, as quiet together as we ever had been, but not the romantic quiet we often enjoyed. We were stunned, sick at heart. What the hell happened down there? We knew they were having problems, but how could this have gotten so bad that Leigh would shoot Connor? We didn't even know if he'd survive; the words critical condition kept racing through my mind. I knew belly wounds could be particularly dangerous. Infections were common, including peritonitis, a septic infection from a perforation of the intestines.

Maria came into our room, ashen faced, scared. "Dad, Mom, Vince and I are packed." Then she started crying and I had to put my own fears aside to comfort her. I held her while she sobbed and I realized I had to call Rachel and Cammy from the car. Phyllis could wait until we knew more. There was no point is scaring a sick, old woman in the middle of the night.

I brought our bags down and Vince helped me load them in my SUV. "Dad....I don't know what to say. How to feel. I guess I'm scared too."

"We all are, son. God, I'm scared beyond words." He hugged me as Eva and Maria came out and we piled in the car. I had Vince start driving since both Eva and I had had a few drinks and needed some coffee before I could get behind the wheel. So he started the drive, six hours south, almost 500 miles. We stopped at a convenience store for coffee...large coffees...and while Vince drove, I called Rachel first (thankfully she was home during the off-season) and then Cammy. Those were terribly painful calls to make and I held onto my sobbing wife in the backseat while Vince drove with Maria next to him up front.

When I was off the phone -both my sister and my daughter said they'd come down as soon as they could get a flight- Eva and I held each other after we finished our coffee. "Bear, I'm so scared" she moaned, clinging to me. "What if he dies? What if our son..."

"He's not going to die, Angel. No way. He's strong and fit and he's tough as nails. No way, honey. No way." No way. Not Connor, our first born. He'd pull through.

What the hell happened down there anyway?

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An hour later I took over the driving and Vince got in back and comforted his mother before he drifted to sleep. Eva did the same; exhaustion was sapping her energy. I stopped about halfway for another coffee, plus one for Maria who was thankfully staying awake to keep me company and from drifting off while I drove. No one said much; we were all alone with our worst fears. Connor wasn't that close with Vince and Maria, like Rachel was. He was about twenty years older and never lived with them, so they never formed a very close relationship. But our younger children still loved him and they also knew that if anything happened to him, it would destroy their parents.

Finally, about 6:50 I pulled up at the submarine base at the gate manned by Marine Corps security personnel. I explained who we were and the officer at the gate had us follow an enlisted man in a jeep to the base hospital. I guess they didn't want civilians driving around a high security military base.

It was a small hospital, nothing like the large medical centers we were used to dealing with. We hurried in and were directed to the small ICU. Outside were a number of youngish men, who turned out to be officers on Connor's submarine as well as his squadron commander, Captain Price. We introduced ourselves and got a bunch of handshakes before a Lieutenant went to get a doctor to talk to us. A few minutes later, the doctor, Commander Jefferson came out and told us they had Connor stabilized and wanted to transfer him to a larger hospital in Jacksonville as soon as he could travel. They had him in an induced coma and were giving him antibiotics. The doctor let us see him for a few minutes and Eva and I went in where our oldest son was hooked up to a number of machines and tubes that brought back unpleasant memories of over twenty years before. As bad as that time was, this was a thousand times worse. A million. Seeing your child like that ...only one thing is worse.

Eva took his hand as I held onto her. "My son" she cried, suffering inside. "OUR son. Jon, I'm so scared for him!" So was I. So was I.

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I hope you're still enjoying this story. As always, I appreciate your votes and comments.