MARRIED... trying to adapt (Part 48a)

Elle was more excited about going home than I was. With my parents living across the street it was inevitable that our paths would cross. For me the best part of being home was the fact that we wouldn’t have any expenses with Elle’s parents paying for the food. Elle and I had agreed that we’d skip exchanging Christmas presents with each other and would just buy one for her parents. Her mother had been hinting way back in the Summer about wanting a new table lamp. That was to be our only expense except for gas for the car.

When Elle would talk to her mother on Sundays she would tell Elle that she had a BIG surprise for her when she got home. We left right after dawn and were home by mid afternoon. I don’t remember much about the trip except, for once, we missed rush hour traffic. When we walked in the door we could see this great pile of presents stacked up on the dining room table. They weren’t Christmas presents but were wedding presents, the result of Elle’s mother sending out announcements to all her friends. I remember Elle going up and giving her mother a great big hug. She actually started opening presents before taking off her coat.

It was amazing just how many of the things were exactly what we needed. Without boring you, among them we got a full set of Melamine (plastic) dishes, stainless steel tableware, a set of pots and pans, glasses, sheets, blankets, pillows and most important, money! It was truly incredible. Of all the things we got there were only a few that were impractical. We were truly thankful to all who gave and to her mother who orchestrated the whole thing. For the first time I felt that we were close to be on level ground.

Two days before Christmas I got a call from Dr F. He’d asked where I could be reached over the holidays and when I gave him the number I didn’t think much about it. When I took the phone from my mother in law I was a bit puzzled. He wanted to know when I was returning to campus. To maximize the fact that we basically had little to no expenses we’d planned to stay for the full two weeks. After telling Dr F my plans, he asked if there was any chance that I’d be back earlier. This whole conversation was very much unlike any I’d had with him prior to this. Puzzled, I asked why. Right after classes ended he had received over 7000 tests from the West coast and it was critical that he have the results to work with as soon as possible. At first I told him that our plans were fairly firm. Then he really got my attention when he said he’d pay 3 cents each if I could have them scored by the first day back to classes. That was $210 cash. I told him I’d call him right back. I discussed the offer with Elle and we figured out just how much of it we’d spend on food for the week. She was torn between leaving the relative comfort of her parents house and also wanting to get back to the trailer with all the the wedding gifts so she could make it our own. I ended up making the decision to go back. In the back of my mind was that if I helped Dr F out now he just might find other work for me when his project was done.

Christmas was nice even though there weren’t many presents exchanged. We’d found a reasonably priced lamp for her mother and it really pleased her. Her parents present to us (read that Elle) were maternity clothes. Elle was approaching four months and other than a thickening waist still really didn’t show all that much. But we both knew it would be coming soon so it was very appropriate. Elle’s brother arrived home on leave in time for dinner. He hadn’t seen Elle for over a year. He also had a wedding present for us; a toaster.

We headed back on Sunday so that I could be at Dr F’s office first thing on Monday. By the time we loaded all our things into the car there was barely enough room for us. I’d seen my father a couple of times driving by the house. I didn’t acknowledge him nor he, me. What really did bother me was in not seeing my grandparents. I did call after Christmas but when my grandfather heard my voice he hung up. Even with that, our time at home was still good. It was time with Elle that was pressure free for me and probably the same for her. We got in a couple of good walks on the beach and just enjoyed each others company.

The only snow we’d seen prior to Christmas had been manageable. When we got back we found well over a foot on the ground and, since we hadn’t been there to shovel the snow after if fell, found ourselves “snowed out”. With all the things we’d received the one thing we didn’t get and needed most was a shovel. Josh and Beth hadn’t yet returned so I trudged through the snow over to Mac and Martha’s trailer to borrow one. I cut a path to the door and went inside. We’d turned the heat way down but it was absolutely cold inside. The furnace was off... again. Elle sat in the car while I changed the filter on the tank and finally got it started. Mac had seen me out behind the trailer and called to see if everything was OK. I told him the problem and that Elle was still sitting in the car. He told me to drive around to their place and to come on inside while our place warmed up some.

We’d not seen much of them in the short time we’d been at the park so it was a little awkward at first. He was football player and rather large. Their trailer was much older than ours and the ceilings were lower. The top of his head was only inches away from it. Martha, on the other hand, was rather plain looking and very quiet. When we walked in the warmth felt good. Elle had preceded me and as Mac took her coat I saw that her bottom was wet. It wasn’t all that bad but her “package” was obviously full and had leaked around the leg opening of her plastic pants. I didn’t want to embarrass her and yet I also didn’t want to have her sit on their furniture like that.

To be continued...