It was a dark and stormy night...no seriously it was, and he was leaving. He thought I was upset because he was going out of country, but I was actually happy...you see I was afraid of him. I always thought I could handle myself in any situation...a guy tries to touch me? Knock him out. But a boyfriend that is much bigger than I am chokes me, and there is nothing I feel I can do but be very very nice, and hope that the day he leaves will be the last I ever see of him.
A couple of weeks after he left, I became closer with a guy that I had, had a crush on for almost a year. He was magnificent! Handsome, strong, and a bit cocky, but what soldier isn't? He swept me off my feet and after our first date my heart was his. He too left about a month after we started dating. He was going to another duty station and I just knew this would be the last time that I would see him. There would be a few phone calls, maybe a letter or two, but the realtionship was over.
Three days after he left I was still heartbroken. I know three days isn't a long time, but usually I am able to bounch right back after a relationship. It was a Friday night and he called to tell me that he was coming back for the weekend. He was at jump school about 3 hours from where I was. I can't even begin to explain the butterflies that were flying around inside of me. The weather was horrible and I was afraid the roads were bad because of a tornodo that was chasing him, and all I could do was wait.
I had gotten a hotel room, and around 3am he finally showed up. The cologne he wore brought back all the feelings I had been haivng over the course of the month we had together. What was I thinking being with him all over again, knowing that at the end of this weekend I would have to say good-bye again.
We went out to the lake with some friends, and then went over to those friend's apartment. We all sat around watching a movie and joking around. I stood over by the door looking out as it started to rain again, and he came up behind me and whispered in my ear, " you know I love you right?" I turned around to give him a hug, and then he dropped down on his knee and pulled out a ring, and not just any ring. It was the ring that I had looked at a couple weeks previously when we had been walking through the mall. He had been planning this!
I know what you are thinking...they had only been dating for how long? They were only 19? I accepted and I spent the rest of the weekend looking at my ring. Sunday morning he went back to jump school, and this good-bye was harder than the first.
I didn't see him again until after he graduated from jump school. It was only a weekend he could spend with me before he had to report to his new duty station in North Carolina. I would still be stuck in Georgia until my medical discharge could be processed.
I went to work the next morning, and on my way I felt a shiver run up my spine. As I walked through the office door, I turned around. Driving by was a very familiar car...he was back. He pulled into the parking lot and started to come towards the door. I hadn't talked to him since I first started dating my fiance. He had been having me followed. I told him to stop, and that we were no longer together. As he walked towards me I felt the power he had held over me start to come back. I glanced down at the ring, and all the things it represented gave me strength. He stopped in front of me.
"I hear you have been busy since I have been gone." He stared down at me...had I mentioned he stood at six feet six?
"I am getting married. He is really great, I hope that one day you find happiness." I started to walk away and he grabbed my arm.
"You were mine."
"I was for a time, but you and I both know it wouldn't have lasted much longer...I am stronger than that." I pulled my arm away and walked into the office releasing a sigh of relief. He didn't follow me, and I haven't seen him since.
My wedding was in September, and we were able to see each other about once a month until I was finally discharged. Today I still get that feeling of anticipation when he comes through the door after work, and I know that no matter what he is my strength, and I can always count on him to come through the storm.
