of the evening, Corey decided that Elise was the most mature and sophisticated woman he had everencountered, which may have had something to do with the fact that she was two years his senior. Nevertheless, next to her,
all the other girls he had known suddenly seemed silly and superficial, and he couldn’t believe his good fortune when she
agreed to go out on a date with him.
Zach did not seem particularly impressed with her, but then he was a good deal more experienced than Corey, and had a whole
stable of willing women at his beck and call.
“She’s a bit chilly,” he observed on the way home to Bremerton, as they stood on the top deck of the ferry, leaning over the
rail, letting the wind blow in their faces.
“You mean, not the type to jump into bed with you on the first go-round?” Corey responded with a chuckle. “I think I like
that about her.”
After a couple of double dates, Zach took him aside. “Take it easy,” he cautioned.
“Why?” Corey asked. He was now seeing Elise at every opportunity, sometimes just for a few minutes between round-trip ferry
rides. They would step outside the terminal, weather permitting, and share a few lingering kisses in the dark. Or they would
sit inside the lobby and hold hands, saying little, their eyes locked. When they couldn’t arrange to meet in person, he would
spend hours on the telephone talking with her.
“Because there’s no need to get that serious this soon,” Zach told him. “You’re a country kid, still wet behind the ears.
You’ve never even been in the sack with anyone. And she’s a city girl, with a definite level of expectation. It’s obvious
she’s got all your hormones going crazy, which doesn’t exactly correspond to seeing straight, but you’re from two different
sides of the aisle here.”
“So what?” Corey protested. “That doesn’t mean we can’t be in love with each other.”
Zach groaned. “You’re not in love, you’re just in lust. Love takes time. So, do yourself a favor, slow down. Get to know her.”
“I know her.”
“No, I mean, get to
really
know her, before you do something stupid.”
“You don’t like her very much, do you?” Corey observed.
“She’s all right, I guess,” Zach replied with a shrug. “Just a little too anxious, you know what I mean? Anyone that anxious
always makes me nervous.”
But she didn’t make Corey nervous. And she wasn’t any more anxious than he was. His heart raced out of control at the mere
thought of her. He proposed after six weeks, two days before he shipped out on his second patrol, and he and Elise were married
a month after he returned, a week after he received his promotion to lieutenant, junior grade.
“Did you really think putting a ring on her finger was the only way to get in bed with her?” Zach asked after the ceremony.
“No,” Corey responded with a happy grin. “I thought it was the only way to spend the rest of my life with her.”
The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii, and Corey had ten days to discover that Elise was anything but chilly. When they returned,
it was to a cute little house with a detached garage they had rented on West Dravus, on the north side of Queen Anne Hill.
They spent the remaining days of Corey’s leave, in addition to several thousand dollars, furnishing their new home, and then
began the process of settling into married life.
On most Mondays through Fridays, Corey would take the five-twenty car ferry to Bremerton in the morning, driving the short
distance from there to Bangor, and the six-twenty ferry from Bremerton back to Seattle in the evening.
“Why do you have to work such ridiculously long hours?” Elise complained once she realized he would be abandoning their bed
at four o’clock in the morning, when she didn’t need to rise until nearly eight, and returning home too late to participatein the preparation of dinner, a chore she quickly learned she loathed.
“Someone
all the other girls he had known suddenly seemed silly and superficial, and he couldn’t believe his good fortune when she
agreed to go out on a date with him.
Zach did not seem particularly impressed with her, but then he was a good deal more experienced than Corey, and had a whole
stable of willing women at his beck and call.
“She’s a bit chilly,” he observed on the way home to Bremerton, as they stood on the top deck of the ferry, leaning over the
rail, letting the wind blow in their faces.
“You mean, not the type to jump into bed with you on the first go-round?” Corey responded with a chuckle. “I think I like
that about her.”
After a couple of double dates, Zach took him aside. “Take it easy,” he cautioned.
“Why?” Corey asked. He was now seeing Elise at every opportunity, sometimes just for a few minutes between round-trip ferry
rides. They would step outside the terminal, weather permitting, and share a few lingering kisses in the dark. Or they would
sit inside the lobby and hold hands, saying little, their eyes locked. When they couldn’t arrange to meet in person, he would
spend hours on the telephone talking with her.
“Because there’s no need to get that serious this soon,” Zach told him. “You’re a country kid, still wet behind the ears.
You’ve never even been in the sack with anyone. And she’s a city girl, with a definite level of expectation. It’s obvious
she’s got all your hormones going crazy, which doesn’t exactly correspond to seeing straight, but you’re from two different
sides of the aisle here.”
“So what?” Corey protested. “That doesn’t mean we can’t be in love with each other.”
Zach groaned. “You’re not in love, you’re just in lust. Love takes time. So, do yourself a favor, slow down. Get to know her.”
“I know her.”
“No, I mean, get to
really
know her, before you do something stupid.”
“You don’t like her very much, do you?” Corey observed.
“She’s all right, I guess,” Zach replied with a shrug. “Just a little too anxious, you know what I mean? Anyone that anxious
always makes me nervous.”
But she didn’t make Corey nervous. And she wasn’t any more anxious than he was. His heart raced out of control at the mere
thought of her. He proposed after six weeks, two days before he shipped out on his second patrol, and he and Elise were married
a month after he returned, a week after he received his promotion to lieutenant, junior grade.
“Did you really think putting a ring on her finger was the only way to get in bed with her?” Zach asked after the ceremony.
“No,” Corey responded with a happy grin. “I thought it was the only way to spend the rest of my life with her.”
The newlyweds honeymooned in Hawaii, and Corey had ten days to discover that Elise was anything but chilly. When they returned,
it was to a cute little house with a detached garage they had rented on West Dravus, on the north side of Queen Anne Hill.
They spent the remaining days of Corey’s leave, in addition to several thousand dollars, furnishing their new home, and then
began the process of settling into married life.
On most Mondays through Fridays, Corey would take the five-twenty car ferry to Bremerton in the morning, driving the short
distance from there to Bangor, and the six-twenty ferry from Bremerton back to Seattle in the evening.
“Why do you have to work such ridiculously long hours?” Elise complained once she realized he would be abandoning their bed
at four o’clock in the morning, when she didn’t need to rise until nearly eight, and returning home too late to participatein the preparation of dinner, a chore she quickly learned she loathed.
“Someone
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