Soccer Women Ch. 05

Katie, Melanie, Jo, and Margaret all came back Sunday evening together. Katie and Melanie were heading back to their house, so they dropped off Jo and Margaret at school. When they stopped by the mailboxes by the dorms, Jo had gotten a letter while they had been gone. It was from the nearby school informing her that they had filled up their class for next fall and that the waitlist was now closed. They thanked her for the application and encouraged her to apply next year.

Jo was very upset and in a sullen mood the rest of the evening. Margaret went back to her dorm room rather than stay with Jo that night. Things did not improve by the morning. When Margaret went to get her from breakfast, Jo would not open her door. She yelled out that she was skipping her morning class and she would see everyone at lunch.

The schedules were such that all four of them were available to have lunch at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Katie and Melanie had bought a partial meal plan so they all ate at one of the school's cafeterias. Jo was there but was still in no better mood than she had been as she joined Katie, Melanie, and Margaret. She set her tray down and looked at Margaret. "Did you tell them?" she asked waspishly.

"No. I thought that it wasn't my place to say anything,"

"About what?" asked Katie.

"The school filled up, so my waitlist is now a full-fledged rejection."

"Oh, Jo. I'm so sorry." said Melanie.

"So that only leaves me with an acceptance at the school in Boston."

Everyone was silent for a moment, not really sure what to say. Trying to lighten the mood, Margaret said, "Boston is full of colleges which means a lot of cute coeds all over the place. I hope I don't lose you when you're back there."

"Oh, your mother would love that, wouldn't she?" Jo's response was harsh and had a real angry and nasty tone to it that took the other three very much by surprise. Margaret just stared at Jo for several seconds. Then she burst into tears and got up and ran for the door. Melanie sprang up and took a few seconds to scowl at Jo. If looks could have killed, Jo would have fallen right on the spot. Melanie ran after Margaret.

Jo stood up and called out to Margaret as she reached the door, but Margaret did not even slow down. When Melanie was out the door trying to catch up to Margaret, Jo sat down in her seat. She finally looked over at Katie. Katie had not moved but Jo could tell from the look on her face that Katie was very angry at her.

Finally, Katie could not hold it in. "What the hell was that all about?!?"

"I know. It was terrible of me. I was just really hoping that the I'd still get in so I could stay around here. What am I supposed to do now? Go to Boston? Not that there's anything wrong with Boston. But I'm still not even sure why I thought I wanted to go to law school to begin with. And now I'm gonna be on the other side of the Country? I just don't think that my heart is really into it. I..."

Jo stopped in mid-sentence and was just sitting there with her mouth open and her eyes went vacant. She was clearly in her own head at that moment. Twice Katie asked, "What Jo?" Then suddenly Jo's face broke into a smile as big as Katie had ever seen. She looked at Katie and said, "My mom is a genius."

Then Jo began talking to Katie and she was talking very fast. "Katie, you've got to get a hold of Neve. Let her know that I am not going to be at practice today. And you might not neither. I've got to go put some things together so I'll have to skip the rest of my classes today. Also, I might need a ride downtown later this afternoon if I can pull off the other stuff. That's when I'll need the ride."

"What other stuff?"

"Don't worry. That's my problem. Hopefully I'll need the ride later this afternoon."

"I'm not sure I want to give you a ride. I'm ticked off at you yelling at Margaret like that."

"Katie, there's no time for that now. Be as angry at me as you want tomorrow. I deserve it. But I need you to help me now. I'll call you when I need the ride. Oh, and you have to talk to Melanie. She has got to get Margaret back here for dinner. I'm gonna be here and she's not gonna want to come but Melanie has to make her. She'll be the only one who can. So I need you to make Melanie make Margaret come here for dinner."

"It has to be here?"

"Yes. I was terribly mean to her here, so I have to make it up to her here. I have to go. Please Katie, can you do this for me?"

"I'm not sure. What's this all about?"

"Look. I have to try to make a few things happen that I might not be able to anyway. If you take me downtown, I will explain it all to you."

"Okay. Go do whatever it is you have to do and call me when you want your ride. But just because I am going to give you the ride doesn't mean I am still not very upset with you."

"Fair enough. And like I said, you can be mad at me starting tomorrow all you want. But I am really gonna need your help today. I'll call you."

And with that Jo went bounding off and out the door. Katie watched her go thinking about how it had been quite an eventful lunch. Then she realized that she had four lunch trays full of food that would have to be bussed. "Well, at least I didn't get stuck with the check." she thought to herself.

About three o'clock Katie got the call from Jo. Everything had worked out perfect for her so far and she needed that ride downtown. As they drove Jo told Katie about all the various people she had to talk to and why. When they finally got to the address on the GPS, Katie looked at the store as they arrived.

"Are you kidding me?"

Jo beamed at her. She was on cloud nine. "Nope. One hundred percent serious. Do you want to come in and help me or stay out here in the car?"

"You know, Melanie might have been the better person to take you here."

"I'm sure you will be a big help if you come in, but you don't have to. Besides, she has to get Margaret to dinner tonight or all of this is pointless."

"No, that's fine. I'll come in and be as much help as I can."

"Does that mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"No, I'm still mad you. But I won't stay mad for ever and when I stop being mad, this will be a very good thing."

When they both emerged from the store two hours later, they both were in very high spirits. As they started heading back to campus, Katie called Melanie on the car phone.

"Hey babe, what's up? And why couldn't you be at the workout today?"

I'll tell you all later, but for now can you get Margaret and meet us at the cafeteria for dinner?"

"Us?"

"Jo and I."

"Hi Melanie." Jo added.

"Katie would you please inform Ms. Napoli that I am extremely upset with her right now and I have no intention of sitting with her at dinner. And I am sure that Margaret feels the same way."

"Actually Melanie, no. In fact, I need you to do anything you have to do to get Margaret there too. Trust me, I am very upset with Jo as well. But she has done a bunch of stuff to try to fix this and she needs to 'return to the scene of the crime' as it were to make things right. Tell Margaret it is a personal favor for me if you have to, but she has to be there. We'll be there in about half an hour."

"Katie this had better be something good or I'm going to be mad at you too. Margaret was devastated this afternoon."

Jo chimed in, "Melanie, I know what I did was awful. But I can't do my penance until I confess my sin first. Please, I'm begging you, please have Margaret with you at the dining hall in half an hour. I have to apologize to all three of you but mostly to Margaret and I can't do that if she is not there. Please."

"Alright Jo. I will do what I can to get her there and I will hear you out. But I make no promises on forgiving you."

Katie said, "Love you, Melanie."

"Love you too baby."

After that, Melanie immediately hung up the phone. Jo said, "No good-bye for me?"

"Hey, she spoke to you at the end there. If I were you, I'd take that and be happy."

***************

As Katie and Jo entered the cafeteria, they spotted Melanie and Margaret and went over to them. Melanie was in the seat next to Margaret, so Jo had to sit across from her. But that was okay as Jo wanted to stand. Katie sat down across from Melanie and Jo was able to start.

"I have to apologize to all of you but especially to you Margaret for my behavior at lunch today. It was mean and petty and I should not act that way toward the most important people in my life." Margaret continued to look at her with a blank stare. Melanie's face still showed anger.

"I am truly sorry and while I am not making any excuses, please let me explain what my problem was and then what I have done to try to correct it. I really did not want to go to Boston. I really did not want to leave you Margaret. But if I had really wanted to be a lawyer, I would have thought I had to go as much as I didn't want to. But that was the thing. I never really wanted to be a lawyer. I just felt like I had to do something and that seemed like something I might be good at and so that was what I was doing."

"I was going to do something that I was not excited about doing and I'd be doing it without you. And that thought was making me miserable. So I was unhappy and kind of fighting with myself and (Jo looked right a Margaret) I ended up hurting you, which was the absolute last thing I ever want to do."

A "Humph." came out Melanie's mouth, but Jo ignored it. She continued to look at Margaret who was still staring at her stone-faced and unmoving.

Jo continued. "Anyway, I remembered something my mother had said when we were back at my house. 'Think with your heart, not your head.' Well, my heart wanted to stay with you and my head was saying go to law school. So, when I took my mother's advice and thought with my heart, everything immediately came into focus. My heart said to stay with you so my head had to follow along."

"I went to the head of the History department and asked if I could sign up to get my master's degree now, even though I didn't take the GRE. He said that they had not had many applicants this year so there was room, but I had to get the permission of the University's Chancellor. So, I went to the Chancellor's office and being on a National Championship team certainly helps get you in to see the Chancellor. And so, I asked her since the Head of the History Department said it was okay, would she approve me to be accepted in the master's program for history. And she said 'Yes.' but I had to be able to pay for the program since I was done with my soccer eligibility. But she also told me that if I was working for the University, I could get a significant discount on the tuition."

"Well, I don't have any loans so far but I don't have a lot of money and I don't want to go too far into the hole. But what could I do for the University. So, I went to go see Coach Quincannon. And with us winning it all this year, there is a bit of a coaching drain again. She already had one Graduate Assistant Coach for next year (Jo looked over at Katie who was that Graduate Assistant Coach) but she said she could use another."

"So, the upshot is, I am going to be a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Women's Soccer Team next year. With that position I can now afford to pay for being matriculated into the master's program for the History Department. And finally, it means that I will not be going to Boston in the fall but will be right back here. And this is a really great plan and I am happy about the plan, but there is still one thing I need to make it worthwhile. Margaret can you ever forgive me for being a thoughtless, stupid jerk earlier?"

"Jo, are you sure about giving up being a lawyer and staying here?"

"Yes Margaret. I know in my heart it is the right thing for me to do. And I feel relieved now that I have done this. But the only way I'll be 'happy' about it is if you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Margaret got up and came over to Jo and gave her a big hug. "Yes, I forgive you. And I am also very happy that you are going to be around here instead of being so far away."

"I am so glad to hear you say that Margaret. But can I ask you to sit back down again. Because there is still one more thing I need to do to finish this off. But I needed you to forgive me first."

"Why?"

"I had to put this right first. I needed that all behind us." Then turning to Melanie, she said, "How about it, Melanie? Will you forgive me?"

"I'm still very upset with you. But it was Margaret you hurt. So if she can forgive you, so can I."

"Katie?"

"I think I already forgave you earlier, but just so it's official, yes I forgive you."

"Good." Jo took a deep breath and then turned back to Margaret.

"When we were at my folks' house for the winter break, my mom told me to think with my heart instead of my head. That's my mom's nice way of saying she doesn't always think I'm too bright. At first, I thought she was talking about which law school to pick. But now I don't think that was it. And it was with my heart, not my head, that I did all this today and I believe I have made a very big decision about my future and I feel good about it because it came from my heart, not my head. But I still don't think that's what my mom meant. I think she was trying to tell me to make a different decision with my heart, not my head."

Melanie's eyes shot open wide. She looked at Katie and nodded her head ever so slightly toward Jo. Because of their ability to know each other's thoughts so well, Katie just smiled a very big smile and nodded her head up and down. Melanie gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Fortunately, Margaret was focused on what Jo was saying to her and she did not hear or see Melanie's actions.

Jo continued, "Margaret, I didn't really want to be a lawyer, but I really didn't not want to be a lawyer either. And I could have easily gone to Boston and become a lawyer and it would have been fine. Except for one thing. I wouldn't be with you. If we hadn't met, I probably would have ended up going to Boston. But now that we have, there was no way I could go there and ever be happy. Even if I had wanted to become a lawyer, I wouldn't have been happy without you. I am only going to be happy if you're with me from now on. Like my mom said, 'Think with your heart.' And I have."

Jo reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out a small black box that she brought back from the store that afternoon. Inside was something that Katie had helped her pick out. She walked up to Margaret and knelt down as she opened the box. "Margaret, for a time I did not believe that love was real. And even after these two showed me it was real, I still never thought it would be for me. I was afraid of the hurt and so my mind closed me off to it. But you have wormed your way in and where I had been closing myself off to love, you burst it all open. And so, letting my heart do the thinking, Margaret Hansen, will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?"

Margaret knew what the ultimate question was going to be the moment Jo started going down to her knee with the box still closed in her hand. Still, she waited for Jo to get through her speech and finally ask the question. The moment Jo finished speaking, she shouted "YES!"

Margaret jumped out of her seat and into Jo's arms so quickly that she knocked Jo backwards and they went to the floor with Jo on her back and Margaret on top of her. And despite the fact that they were laying on the cafeteria floor and despite all the hooting and hollering and applause that was sounding throughout the dining hall indicating just how many people were watching, they held each other in their arms and kissed each other for well over a minute.

When Melanie had realized what Jo was about to do and Katie had confirmed it, Melanie was like a tea kettle just about ready to boil. The pressure inside her was building up as Jo went to her knee and kept talking. Inside her head she just kept shouting, "Ask her already! Stop your blathering and ask her!" For that split second after Jo finished her proposal and Margaret sprang up into Jo, Melanie was about to explode. Once Margaret said yes, Melanie let out a high-pitched shriek of joy. Then she went back to the crazy anticipation of wanting to give each of them a hug and having to wait for them to get off the floor.

Katie let them have their moment, but she did eventually get up and lowered her hand down to them, partly to help them up but also partly to get them to stop. Once Margaret was on her feet, Melanie ran up to her and threw her arms around her. Next Katie helped up Jo and Katie gave her a big hug as well. When they finished, she looked at Jo and said, "You know, I didn't say anything because you seemed so gung-ho, but I was not 100% sure she was going to say yes to you."

"I can't even imagine how devastated I would have been if she had said 'No.' so I didn't even think about it. Not that I knew she would definitely say 'Yes.' but I just didn't think about her saying anything else."

They switched so Katie and Margaret and Melanie and Jo could share the moment. Plus, having done this in such a public place, a few students came up to offer their congratulations. At one point, Melanie leaned toward Katie and said, "I hate when people congratulate them, like this is some kind of accomplishment. They should say 'Best Wishes' or 'I wish you both happiness."

Katie laughed and said, "I see your point, but in this case, it is a bit of an accomplishment for Jo to get Margaret to marry her. So maybe it is okay to say it to her. Melanie slapped her arm but she also laughed. She was so happy for her friends and she had an idea.

"Okay you two, you have to come back to our house."

"Why?" asked Jo.

"Tonight is a very special night in your lives and you are not going to spend it on a dorm room mattress in the Sin Bin or with Margaret's roommate in the next bed with headphone on. Tonight, you will sleep in our bed."

"That sounds like fun." said Katie.

Melanie did not turn around to look at Katie, she just spoke a little louder so Katie was sure to hear. "Katie and I will sleep out on the couch."

Margaret offered "You don't have to do that. You two are very important to both of us as well. We'd love for you to share this moment with us as well."

Katie seemed to have a smile on her face, but Melanie shut this idea down. "No. Tonight is just for you two. We can find some other time to all celebrate. We'll grab something to eat on the way. Let's go." The four of them left to more applause and headed out to Katie's car as she had been the one who drove them to school that morning.

As they were driving, Jo said, "Can I call my parents?"

Sure. I think your phone's synced up with the Bluetooth. Just go ahead and call and it will come through the car. Unless you don't want us to hear it?"

"No, that's fine." Jo dialed the number and the sound of the phone ringing came through the car speakers.

"Hello."

"Hi, Mom."

"Josephine. You sound funny. Is everything alright. You just called yesterday?"

"Everything is great actually. I'm in the car and I'm here with Margaret and Katie and Melanie. We're on the speaker phone through the car. Is Dad there?"

"No. He's at the Knights of Columbus Hall tonight and I don't expect him until late. It's a little late here already you know."

"Yeah. Sorry about that, but this couldn't wait. I am going to be staying out here and going to school here in the fall."

"Did one of the schools change their mind?"

"No, mom. That's actually part of the news. I'm not going to go to law school. I'm going to stay here and get my master's in history."