| Biographical Non-Fiction posted July 29, 2013 | Chapters: |
...5 6 -7- 8... 
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Continuing saga of my early marriage years
A chapter in the book Chasing the Elusive Dream
A Race to the Finish
by BethShelby
Chasing a speeding car in pouring rain wasn't one of my most graceful moments in those early married years. At the time, I didn't particularly care how it looked. I just wanted a ride home. After rethinking it, I did have enough pride to be embarrassed for myself as well as for my husband, Evan.
The college I attended was in a nearby town. In those days, we only had one car, so I took a bus for the ten miles to the college. Most days after I arrived at the bus station, I took a local city bus home. One day when I arrived back in the city later than usual, I realized it was almost time for Evan to get off work. I decided to wait and ride home with him.
It was raining, and I had no umbrella. I stood under an awning on the far side of the parking lot and waited. Normally when I saw him, there would be plenty of time to make it to the locked car before he did. However because of the downpour, he came across the parking lot sprinting like he was competing in the Olympics. He jumped into the car and backed out quickly, before I was half away across the parking lot. I made a mad dash, hair streaming, and gesturing wildly; but he didn't see me. Frustrated and soaked to the bone, I slunk back to the awning and waited for a city bus.
Unfortunately, some of his co-workers did see me making a spectacle of myself. The polite thing would have been to offer me a ride and a bit of sympathy, but it didn't happen. I think they were laughing too hard to approach me. Instead, they chose to embarrass my husband the next day.
"How long has your wife been chasing cars?" one joker asked. After that day, it wasn't unusual to have one of them ask, "Were you ever able to break your wife from chasing cars?"
His co-workers loved to tease. One day, I called his office and asked to speak to him. Assuming I was his wife, one of the office clowns told me, "He's not here. He just left to go to lunch with his wife."
For a second, I did a double take, and my heart flip-flopped. Then I realized I was being had. My retort was, "Really! The jerk told me he wasn't married." I was learning to give as good as I got, even if it was at my husband's expense. I could imagine them giving him strange looks and wondering if they'd misjudged his quiet demeanor.
The Christmas season of my last year in college found me in panic mode. I was still carrying far more college hours than I should have been. I had two Education courses and a Psychology course, all of which required research papers. I was struggling with a Zoology course, and I still had four paintings to do for an Art courses I was taking. Final exams were approaching. The semester would end on December 18. There was no time for Christmas shopping and not a lot of money for buying presents anyway. I'd never learned to prepare ahead. The last few weeks saw me turn into a zombie from lack of sleep, and an irritable one at that.
Evan did all he could to help, but I was still prone to snap at him for no real reason. At one point, I flung a big teddy bear at him. The teddy bear always rested between the pillows on our bed. Evan must have assumed we had a game going, because he hurled it back at me with strength only a man could possess. I dodged, and the teddy crashed against a window behind me, shattering the glass. Since it was winter, frigid air soon filled the room. We taped a big piece of cardboard over the broken glass for a temporary fix. Temporary with us could last for months.
Somehow I made it until the Christmas break. With my work turned in and the exams behind me, I took a deep breath and tried to regroup for the holidays, but I was exhausted and depressed. The grades wouldn't be posted until January.
We did the necessary Christmas shopping, but our apartment was bare of decorations. I'd always had a real Christmas tree, but this year, there was neither time nor money for one. Two days before Christmas, the tree vendors were closing shop for another year and going home for the holidays. On the way home from work, Evan noticed that someone had tossed out the few unsold trees on a vacant lot. He stopped and picked up the nicest one and brought it home to surprise me.
I was thrilled. We strung popcorn, cut strips of construction paper, and made red and green chains to decorate it. There would be a Christmas after all. On Christmas day, we drove the sixty miles to our parents' homes to celebrate with them. It was a wonderful holiday.
Our tree stayed up until February, and by that time, most of the needles were on the floor beneath it. Classes were in full swing for the spring semester, and I had no time to deal with shedding trees. When it became a source of embarrassment, I shoved it into one of the large walk-in closets, where its few remaining limbs continued to deteriorate until June. As I said before, temporary solutions with us could last for months.
The tree was finally discarded, and we replaced the broken window, when our corporate landlords insisted, just before we moved out the following fall. Since they planned to tear the house down and construct condos, It made no sense to pay for a broken window, but when has there ever been a time whe corporate businesses bothered to make sense?
Chasing a speeding car in pouring rain wasn't one of my most graceful moments in those early married years. At the time, I didn't particularly care how it looked. I just wanted a ride home. After rethinking it, I did have enough pride to be embarrassed for myself as well as for my husband, Evan.
The college I attended was in a nearby town. In those days, we only had one car, so I took a bus for the ten miles to the college. Most days after I arrived at the bus station, I took a local city bus home. One day when I arrived back in the city later than usual, I realized it was almost time for Evan to get off work. I decided to wait and ride home with him.
It was raining, and I had no umbrella. I stood under an awning on the far side of the parking lot and waited. Normally when I saw him, there would be plenty of time to make it to the locked car before he did. However because of the downpour, he came across the parking lot sprinting like he was competing in the Olympics. He jumped into the car and backed out quickly, before I was half away across the parking lot. I made a mad dash, hair streaming, and gesturing wildly; but he didn't see me. Frustrated and soaked to the bone, I slunk back to the awning and waited for a city bus.
Unfortunately, some of his co-workers did see me making a spectacle of myself. The polite thing would have been to offer me a ride and a bit of sympathy, but it didn't happen. I think they were laughing too hard to approach me. Instead, they chose to embarrass my husband the next day.
The college I attended was in a nearby town. In those days, we only had one car, so I took a bus for the ten miles to the college. Most days after I arrived at the bus station, I took a local city bus home. One day when I arrived back in the city later than usual, I realized it was almost time for Evan to get off work. I decided to wait and ride home with him.
It was raining, and I had no umbrella. I stood under an awning on the far side of the parking lot and waited. Normally when I saw him, there would be plenty of time to make it to the locked car before he did. However because of the downpour, he came across the parking lot sprinting like he was competing in the Olympics. He jumped into the car and backed out quickly, before I was half away across the parking lot. I made a mad dash, hair streaming, and gesturing wildly; but he didn't see me. Frustrated and soaked to the bone, I slunk back to the awning and waited for a city bus.
Unfortunately, some of his co-workers did see me making a spectacle of myself. The polite thing would have been to offer me a ride and a bit of sympathy, but it didn't happen. I think they were laughing too hard to approach me. Instead, they chose to embarrass my husband the next day.
"How long has your wife been chasing cars?" one joker asked. After that day, it wasn't unusual to have one of them ask, "Were you ever able to break your wife from chasing cars?"
His co-workers loved to tease. One day, I called his office and asked to speak to him. Assuming I was his wife, one of the office clowns told me, "He's not here. He just left to go to lunch with his wife."
For a second, I did a double take, and my heart flip-flopped. Then I realized I was being had. My retort was, "Really! The jerk told me he wasn't married." I was learning to give as good as I got, even if it was at my husband's expense. I could imagine them giving him strange looks and wondering if they'd misjudged his quiet demeanor.
The Christmas season of my last year in college found me in panic mode. I was still carrying far more college hours than I should have been. I had two Education courses and a Psychology course, all of which required research papers. I was struggling with a Zoology course, and I still had four paintings to do for an Art courses I was taking. Final exams were approaching. The semester would end on December 18. There was no time for Christmas shopping and not a lot of money for buying presents anyway. I'd never learned to prepare ahead. The last few weeks saw me turn into a zombie from lack of sleep, and an irritable one at that.
Evan did all he could to help, but I was still prone to snap at him for no real reason. At one point, I flung a big teddy bear at him. The teddy bear always rested between the pillows on our bed. Evan must have assumed we had a game going, because he hurled it back at me with strength only a man could possess. I dodged, and the teddy crashed against a window behind me, shattering the glass. Since it was winter, frigid air soon filled the room. We taped a big piece of cardboard over the broken glass for a temporary fix. Temporary with us could last for months.
Somehow I made it until the Christmas break. With my work turned in and the exams behind me, I took a deep breath and tried to regroup for the holidays, but I was exhausted and depressed. The grades wouldn't be posted until January.
We did the necessary Christmas shopping, but our apartment was bare of decorations. I'd always had a real Christmas tree, but this year, there was neither time nor money for one. Two days before Christmas, the tree vendors were closing shop for another year and going home for the holidays. On the way home from work, Evan noticed that someone had tossed out the few unsold trees on a vacant lot. He stopped and picked up the nicest one and brought it home to surprise me.
I was thrilled. We strung popcorn, cut strips of construction paper, and made red and green chains to decorate it. There would be a Christmas after all. On Christmas day, we drove the sixty miles to our parents' homes to celebrate with them. It was a wonderful holiday.
Our tree stayed up until February, and by that time, most of the needles were on the floor beneath it. Classes were in full swing for the spring semester, and I had no time to deal with shedding trees. When it became a source of embarrassment, I shoved it into one of the large walk-in closets, where its few remaining limbs continued to deteriorate until June. As I said before, temporary solutions with us could last for months.
The tree was finally discarded, and we replaced the broken window, when our corporate landlords insisted, just before we moved out the following fall. Since they planned to tear the house down and construct condos, It made no sense to pay for a broken window, but when has there ever been a time whe corporate businesses bothered to make sense?
His co-workers loved to tease. One day, I called his office and asked to speak to him. Assuming I was his wife, one of the office clowns told me, "He's not here. He just left to go to lunch with his wife."
For a second, I did a double take, and my heart flip-flopped. Then I realized I was being had. My retort was, "Really! The jerk told me he wasn't married." I was learning to give as good as I got, even if it was at my husband's expense. I could imagine them giving him strange looks and wondering if they'd misjudged his quiet demeanor.
The Christmas season of my last year in college found me in panic mode. I was still carrying far more college hours than I should have been. I had two Education courses and a Psychology course, all of which required research papers. I was struggling with a Zoology course, and I still had four paintings to do for an Art courses I was taking. Final exams were approaching. The semester would end on December 18. There was no time for Christmas shopping and not a lot of money for buying presents anyway. I'd never learned to prepare ahead. The last few weeks saw me turn into a zombie from lack of sleep, and an irritable one at that.
Evan did all he could to help, but I was still prone to snap at him for no real reason. At one point, I flung a big teddy bear at him. The teddy bear always rested between the pillows on our bed. Evan must have assumed we had a game going, because he hurled it back at me with strength only a man could possess. I dodged, and the teddy crashed against a window behind me, shattering the glass. Since it was winter, frigid air soon filled the room. We taped a big piece of cardboard over the broken glass for a temporary fix. Temporary with us could last for months.
Somehow I made it until the Christmas break. With my work turned in and the exams behind me, I took a deep breath and tried to regroup for the holidays, but I was exhausted and depressed. The grades wouldn't be posted until January.
We did the necessary Christmas shopping, but our apartment was bare of decorations. I'd always had a real Christmas tree, but this year, there was neither time nor money for one. Two days before Christmas, the tree vendors were closing shop for another year and going home for the holidays. On the way home from work, Evan noticed that someone had tossed out the few unsold trees on a vacant lot. He stopped and picked up the nicest one and brought it home to surprise me.
I was thrilled. We strung popcorn, cut strips of construction paper, and made red and green chains to decorate it. There would be a Christmas after all. On Christmas day, we drove the sixty miles to our parents' homes to celebrate with them. It was a wonderful holiday.
Our tree stayed up until February, and by that time, most of the needles were on the floor beneath it. Classes were in full swing for the spring semester, and I had no time to deal with shedding trees. When it became a source of embarrassment, I shoved it into one of the large walk-in closets, where its few remaining limbs continued to deteriorate until June. As I said before, temporary solutions with us could last for months.
The tree was finally discarded, and we replaced the broken window, when our corporate landlords insisted, just before we moved out the following fall. Since they planned to tear the house down and construct condos, It made no sense to pay for a broken window, but when has there ever been a time whe corporate businesses bothered to make sense?
 Recognized |
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For those of you who have read my biography from the start, you may recognize some of this story I wrote after Evan passed away. This earlier version written was with more humor while he was still alive.
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