HARD TIMES... or what seemed like it (Part 53c)

She, as could be expected, was excited. But it wasn’t too long before the fact that we’d be flying in an airplane hit her. She’d never flown (remember, it was 1959) and as she thought about it started to worry. I, because of my Air Force ROTC time in college, had flown any number of times. It became sort of a game for me. Every time she’d get herself worked up I'd ask her, point blank, if she wanted to be home for Christmas. She’d always say "yes" so we would continue preparing for our trip.

The weather cooperated and it was an easy flight. The worst part was connecting up with the man my grandfather had hired to pick us up at the airport. We ended up going to see my grandparents first which didn’t sit too well with Elle. The baby was hungry and fussing and Elle’s “package” needed changing when we got there. It was awkward, to say the least. At least my grandfather seemed to understand and we set up a meeting for the next day.

Elle was certainly relieved to be back at her home. After getting herself cleaned up and the baby settled we called my parents to come on over. After my last experience with them when they had brought the new car up to the track, I’d had minimum contact with them. But they surprised me and were very warm and welcoming. It seemed like the old times when both families got together on a regular basis. I didn’t know why but I didn’t care at that point.

Since there was no way for us to carry material presents back with us we got cash for Christmas. What had looked to be a “hard candy Christmas” turned out to be quite wonderful. We had unseasonably warm weather the whole time we were there and Elle and I got to take a couple of walks on the beach. When we arrived back in North Carolina Monday afternoon we found the temperature to be in the high 70’s. If we hadn't had the baby I would’ve put the top down on the car. Once back, I was able to pay off most of my debt (with the exception of my grandfather) and that took a lot off my mind.

But that was the last of the good weather. The month of January was wet and cold ending with a monumental ice storm. We were without electricity for three days. That part was scary but we managed to jury rig a gas heater up to keep us relatively warm. We couldn’t do anything with the horses except keep them watered, fed and their stalls clean. That meant spending a lot of time with Elle and the baby. Her personality was starting to come out and in spite of the bad conditions I really enjoyed getting to be with her.

I think the big disappointment was that there were no others our age living in the trailer park. Elle became friends with the lady next door who was almost a clone of Gert, our neighbor from the Summer. But that relationship was fairly stunted. By March we both had “cabin fever” and were desperate to get out and about. It was almost like a prayer had been answered when a new stable shipped in. The bad weather we had experienced in January and February was universal up through the whole mid-Atlantic region. Even though the trainer didn’t want to go South, he was almost forced to do it. It was a father and son and the son, Maury, was just a little older than I was. I went out of my way to meet him and he seemed to welcome it. He was married and they had a son about a year old. The father had rented a house and the whole family was living there. I talked Elle into letting me invite them over for dinner that first Sunday. It turned out to be a good thing as the two women hit it off as did Maury and I.

In retrospect, it probably saved our sanity. Elle was able to get out and about with someone her own age and in basically the same situation she was in. For me, Maury introduced me to golf and that, in turn, brought me into contact with some other guys around my age. Because the race track was owned by the same company that owned one of the golf courses, people working at the track were allowed to use the course after 3pm each day. I was terrible but the others put up with me and I actually had some fun.

Elle missed her period in March and, at first we didn’t think much of it. But, when April came and still nothing. Elle decided she had to find out. She got the “word” on my birthday so you could say that it was my birthday present. It shouldn’t have been a shock to me but it really was. Not that we had a “plan” as far as kids were concerned but the timing of this one was not good. I’d priced out moving the trailer North for the Summer and then returning it in the Fall. Now, with another baby on the way, it was just too expensive. As we were scheduled to head North in the middle of the month we had to make a decision and quickly. One option was for Elle to spend the Summer with her parents. Monetarily, that was definitely the way to go but it was Elle who said “no way!” I had calculated what rentals might cost and knowing that Elle would eventually head for home as her due date approached, decided on that.

To be continued...