Return To Forever (5 page)

Joe stopped dead in his tracks and walked towards Ladue who had turned ashen by then. Joe threw his books to the ground and clenched his fists as he approached his foe. Ladue was several inches taller than Joe but he was shitting his pants and had no interest in getting his ass whipped. He took off running back to the school but Joe did not pursue him. He had made his point and never saw Ladue again except from a distance and in a crowd.

At school Mary was getting a lot of questions about her date for the prom. She tried to explain but the overwhelming majority sympathized with Joe. When Joe told Larry, his store manager, that things changed and he would be able to work on prom night, even he seemed pissed at how Joe was being treated. All of this sympathy was nice but did not change the reality that his girl, the love of his life, thought it more important to go to her prom than stand by him and stay home. Surprisingly, Phil had a date for the prom and promised to keep an eye on Mary and report back if things looked out of whack.

By the end of April, college students began to burn their draft cards as a sign of protest against our increasing involvement in Viet Nam. Joe was aware of what was going on but he was still in high school and focused on graduating and getting accepted at the Community College. He would deal with the war when and if he was drafted.

The passion in Joe and Mary’s relationship remained intense and the limits in seeing each other made their moments together more physical. Joe was pushing hard to seal the deal but he backed off as a sign of respect when Mary sent the NO signal. Once she was away at college all bets were off…he was sure of it.

At work, a few juniors started working and picking up the hours that the seniors were giving up to attend to graduation business. One of the best and funniest was Ross Radmore. Joe made it his mission to give Ross as much shit as possible but, in reality, he really liked the kid and taught him as much as he could when they were on the schedule together. Another new co-worker was Ron Lester. He was not a schoolmate but was, to this day, one of the funniest guys Joe had ever known. Ron had a very cool ‘55 Chevy and a drop dead gorgeous girlfriend. Joe often wondered how Ron attracted such a beauty. He was tall and thin with black horn rim glasses but minus the specs he was pretty good looking.

When Joe’s usual running mates were not around, Ron was a more than adequate substitute. He had balls the size of grapefruits and no prank or act of petty larceny was beneath him. He perfected the “wine toss” which required precision movement of wine bottles from the top of the meat counter to the front of the store and out the door…in mid-air. Oh yeah, all of this going down without store management seeing it. There was never any fear that one of the guys in the chain would fail to catch the glass carafe, and none were ever dropped.

In time Ross became King of the Garbel…the huge industrial grinder used to pulverize stale baked goods, rotten produce and all kinds of nasty shit. The trick was stashing the Awrey baked goods for a post-closing break. All the guys would pig out, washing it down with warm Coke. After a post-feast smoke, Ross would be assigned the duty of grinding up all remaining evidence.

Another chore always delegated to the lowest in seniority was going through bottle returns and sorting them by brand for return to the bottler. For the store this was big money as all bottles of soda and beer had return value for the consumer. It was the most nasty, dirty job in the store but also a source of great fun when no one was looking. Joe created “bottle bowling”…a sport requiring a deft hand, sharp eye and the ability to dodge flying glass. Ten beer bottles would be set up at one end of the back room. The player would take a large size soda bottle and hurl it towards the standing beer bottles. The most broken would determine the winner. The loser had to sweep up the mess before a manger walked in.

And this is how Joe spent his most productive hours in the weeks leading up to the night of the Senior Prom.

CHAPTER 9

J
oe and Mary never really had their own “special” song. He loved anything with a guitar in it and she never really stated any preference and never asked him to turn off the rock and roll pulsing out of the radio in the ’57. One thing they both loved was the Beatles and watched their Ed Sullivan performances separately but none the less as a couple.

Another thing they never did was dance together which suited Joe just fine but might have been an activity Mary would have enjoyed. If she would have suggested it, Joe would have jumped at the chance to make her happy.

Neither of them brought up the prom until the date was almost upon them which was May 23, a Saturday night. The night before, Mary came to the store and handed Joe a note which she asked that he not read until the following evening. Joe thought that if she was breaking up with him this was a pretty shitty way to handle it. Problem was, Joe could not say no to her…period. She had him wrapped around her finger and knew it but never made him aware of it.

As he walked her to the parking lot and her family’s Rambler he searched for reassurance that she still loved him as much as before. “I want you to have a good time…but not too good,” Joe said with a smile. “If that shithead makes a move I will find out and kick his ass.” He probably should have withheld that tidbit but it was meant as much for her as for her date.

Mary tried to pacify him. “You know I had no choice about the prom. If I didn’t go my parents would want to know the reason. Dave is just a friend. You have nothing to worry about.” She added a tender kiss and waved as she drove home, leaving Joe to try and plug the gaping hole in his heart.

On prom day Joe slept in. He would be working the closing shift (2-10 pm) so there was no rush. It was a chilly but otherwise typical spring day with rain in the forecast for that evening…perfect! He sat with his dad watching the first few innings of the Tiger game but his mind was somewhere else. He thought of how beautiful Mary would look in her prom gown and guessed Dave would provide a nice corsage that would match her gown color. Fuck him!

Joe had considered driving to Ann Arbor after work and crashing the prom alone in his dirty white shirt and limp bow tie. If he could have talked Ron into going with him he just might have done it. That would have livened things up for sure and Mary could have watched her date soil his pants when Joe walked in. How cool would that be!

Joe put the mysterious note in his pocket, kissed his mom, and headed off to work. His plan was to read it when he took his lunch break…usually a grilled cheese sandwich at the soda counter in the drug store next to the Food Giant. The store would be pretty empty by that time and he knew Ross would have his back if he took a little extra time.

Following his normal routine, Joe punched out for lunch around 6:30. He guessed Dave was picking up Mary around this time for the long drive to Ann Arbor. He never asked if they were going with another couple and didn’t much give a shit. Joe ordered his grilled cheese and a chocolate coke with a side of fries…good healthy stuff. He took his time finishing off the sandwich and lit a smoke before pulling out the scented envelope.

Mary had the tiniest hand writing and Joe focused carefully on the message she gave him:

Dear Joe,

It breaks my heart that we are not together on this important evening. I hope you understand why I could not go with you. We will have all the time we need once I am away in college and in the life we will share together. I will be thinking only of you tonight and I hope you will be doing the same.

All my love, forever,
Mary

In the envelope with the note was a dried rose that she must have been saving. The words seemed genuine and gave Joe hope that he could get past this and focus on the future. He punched back in and began hanging the window sale posters, a chore always completed on Saturday evenings. The store manager, Larry, knew what Joe was dealing with and offered to let him punch out early if he wanted. Joe declined. He needed to work to take his mind off what he was missing.

After work, Joe walked to his car in the misting rain which, as predicted, started falling around 9 pm and would likely continue all night. As he sat alone in the Chevy he watched the rest of the store staff leave and the store and parking lot go dark. He found a loose Pabst under the front seat and drank slowly, lost in the memories of all that his relationship with Mary had brought to his life…and he began to cry.

CHAPTER 10

I
n the weeks leading up to graduation, the subject of the Prom was never discussed again. They both wanted that wound to heal. Mary got the memory she was looking for and Joe got shit. Her parents had filed Joe away as an inconsequential diversion in Mary’s master plan of college and a career and would have shit if they knew that their daughter was deceiving them.

Commencement was set for June 12th in the gymnasium. With almost 500 students in the graduating class, guest seating was limited. Joe and Johnny’s families sat together, cameras at the ready to capture the procession into the gym and the awarding of diplomas.

Johnny almost didn’t make it. He was suspended over a silly prank a couple of weeks before classes ended for the summer. Although the school was brand new, air conditioning was not a luxury the community could afford. As the temperature increased, afternoon classes usually were taught with the windows open and blinds raised. Johnny was sitting in the back of his American Government class with a firecracker locked and loaded. His plan was to toss it out the open window but that arm so gifted in throwing a football came up short launching a firecracker.

He lit the fuse and hurled the explosive towards the window. It never made a clean exit, getting caught in the blinds and exploding with nearby students diving for cover. According to the rules, you could not graduate if suspended and final grades would be withheld pending proper penalties being given. Fortunately, the teacher felt sorry and, with Johnny’s parents pleading for leniency, the principal allowed Johnny to participate in graduation ceremonies and get his diploma.

Joe’s parents bought him a new suit and insisted on a haircut which was much too short to suit Joe. Mary gave him a pearl tie tack which he wore that day under the black robes that the boys wore…the girls wearing gold. With Mary’s family in the crowd there was no chance that Joe could steal a moment with her and as he marched into the gym he searched them out but never saw them.

One by one, in alphabetical order, each senior was called to the stage to receive their fake diploma. Friends and family cheered for Joe and Johnny when their names were announced. Breaking or starting a tradition, the address was given by the student council president. As he droned on, the sweat started pouring under the heavy gowns and the heat in the gym became unbearable.

As the final notes of the newly penned Alma Mater played out, the new grads filed out into the halls and parking lot to congratulate each other and meet their families for photos. Joe never saw Mary after the ceremony. Back at home, the celebration continued and one of the gifts he received was a check from his parents for $1,000.00…his down payment on the Monza he was going to buy. The timing was perfect as Joe had to drive the ’57 home in first gear after blowing up the transmission. Good bye old friend!

The following weekend Joe was the proud owner of a 1962 Corvair Monza…black with red interior and 4 speed transmission on the floor. Mary had returned to her summer job at the Ford Transmission plant and Joe picked her up in his new ride which became their chariot for the rest of the summer.

Things had pretty much returned to normal. She did her best to get out and meet Joe as before but there was a sense of foreboding that Joe could not put his finger on. Yes she would be heading off to college but that would not keep them apart. He got accepted to the Community College but would have to take some catch-up classes he had failed to pass before actually starting college level work.

Phil would be heading off to the Naval Academy in July making everyone proud of his incredible accomplishment. Larry went to full-time status at Food Giant as did Johnny. Joe would be going on the night-crew for the summer, starting at 10 pm and working until 7 am, ending his shift by unloading the daily tractor trailer full of replenishment inventory for the store. This was the most physically demanding job in the entire store and, before long, Joe was rippled with muscles he never knew he had.

By the end of summer Joe was having major problems keeping the Corvair on the road. He was also having trouble making the payments each month and keeping enough in the bank to cover tuition and books for the fall. Working the night crew and sleeping during the day was also taking its toll on his social life, Mary being the lone exception (he always made time to be with her).

Having daylight hours off gave Joe the opportunity to hit the lake with his buddies. The Corvair performed admirably all summer and then just decided to start popping drive belts which was critical to running the air cooled , rear mounted flat 6 cylinder engine. Cosmetically the car was perfect and Joe had no trouble finding it a new home when his dad offered to let him use the family second car, a 1960 Chevy Biscayne. It had a huge backseat and trunk and could never get mistaken for a muscle car. This was the chariot Joe would use for his trips to see Mary on the weekends and in a way, the long bench seat was a hell of a lot more intimate than the Corvair’s bucket seats.