“Hi, what’s up?” I asked as he led me, by the elbow, over to a corner that housed pay phones. It was somewhat private.
“You couldn’t wait to begin our weekend, huh?” I asked as I flicked a piece of lint off of his shirt. Since our return from Georgia, he had apologized and treated me like a queen for weeks now.
“Listen, baby, that’s what I’m here about,” he stated as he playfully penned me against the wall.
“What, are we leaving later than planned?”
“No, I have to go out of town this weekend. Sergeant Brown’s wife was in a car accident and he can’t make it and I . . .”
“And you just kinda, sorta volunteered your services,” I said as my eyes began to water and tears threatened to spill forth.
“Dammit, I knew you’d have this reaction. Listen, Mia, I have a J-O-B and responsibilities! That’s reality, not this college shit. I don’t have the luxury of sitting on my ass all day attending classes. You’ll find that out once you get a real job.”
As I tried to control my tears, I said,“You still don’t get it, do you, Brice? I try so hard to please you. I really do. I want to be the wife that you want me to be, and I don’t ask for much in return.”
I took a deep breath to continue on. “All you do is take, take, take. You are so full of yourself. What about my needs? I wanted to go away this weekend. I really wanted, no I really needed, to spend this time with you.”
“Mia, what do you want me to do? Hell, I explained the situation. What more do you want from me? Get Christian to go with you to a movie or something.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t. Why not?”
“Because.”
“Because what, Mia?”
“He’s not you, Brice. Don’t you understand you’re my husband, not Christian? Christian does have a life.”
As Brice stood before me, he threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “I give up, baby. I repeat—listen good now—I am going out of town this weekend on business. Accept it and deal with it,” he said in a tone that indicated he was through and disgusted with the entire situation.
“Fine. Whatever,” I angrily said as I attempted to pull away from him and walk away.
“Mia, you see, I can’t talk to you when you are like this. Why all the drama?” he angrily asked as he grabbed my left wrist before I could walk away.
“Let go of me,” I said as I struggled to loosen his tight grip on me and keep my voice down.
“Mia, cut all the drama before I . . .”
“Before you what, Brice? Kick my ass? Go on, hit me. That’s not your style to do that in front of a crowd of people.”
He just stared at me.
“You like to hit me behind closed doors, remember?”
Brice continued to stare at me for a few minutes with this strange expression, and I actually thought he was going to knock me down.
“I’m really sorry that you feel that way about me. We have had more good times than bad. I was going to say, before you revealed your true feelings about me, that I will make it up to you.”
“Don’t do me any favors. Okay?”
For a second, just a second, I saw this angry look cross his face, and then I guess he realized where he was. Brice released me with a slight push.
“Fine, whatever, Mia. I’m out of here. You get your act together before I come home on Sunday or I will deal with it. That’s a promise.”
He turned just like that, with me silently crying as I leaned against the wall, and he strutted away.
“I’ll call you . . .”
“Brice,” I yelled as I ran from around the corner.
He just held up his hand, kept walking and never turned around to even acknowledge my presence. Brice had dismissed me.
“I said I’ll call you, Mia.”
I slowly walked back to the corner and cried fresh, silent tears. He’d call me.
When I finally composed myself, I gathered up my book bag from the floor and headed home. I had already missed twenty minutes of my last class. What was the purpose of going to it now? As I turned the corner, I ran straight into this very attractive, sexy soldier. He gently grabbed my shoulder to keep me from falling. I had seen him around. I think his name was Malcolm. I had also heard of his reputation. He was a ladies’ man, probably with nothing going for him except his looks and gorgeous body.
“Are you all right? I couldn’t help but hear some of your conversation.”
“Thanks, I’m fine,” I said through tears.
“You’re Mia, right? I’ve seen you around.”
I nodded my head as I stared at the handsome soldier and fellow student.
“Listen, would you like to get some coffee and talk or something? I know that you don’t know me, but you seem pretty upset. You look like you need a friend.”
“No, no thanks,” I said as I quickly walked away with his eyes boring into my back.
27
Brice
A
s I walked away from the pay phones for the second time that day, my thoughts drifted back to the previous day’s argument with Mia. I had tried calling last night and first thing this morning, and the phone just rang and rang and rang. If I knew Mia, she was there, simply not answering the phone because she knew it was me. I thought about having Christian check up on her, but I was so sure that she was there that I didn’t even bother. Mia knew the deal by now. I didn’t care how angry she might be at me, she still knew that I didn’t play. She knew that I would tap that ass in a second.
As I walked back to our display area that consisted of brochures and pamphlets advertising the advantages of enlisting in the Marines, I observed my fellow coworkers. I had worked with Sergeant Barnes before. He was fortyish, with a good sense of humor and was a career soldier. Sergeant Taylor, on the other hand, was new, and I hadn’t figured him out yet. Taylor was close to my age and had checked out practically every female college student that passed within a mile radius of our table. Yet he had a wife and two children back on base. I wasn’t trying to be judgmental because I had been there and done that for many years myself, but there was one difference at the time—I’d been single.
As I approached the table, I saw this young lady that he had been flirting with slip him what I assumed was her phone number and dorm room number before she slithered off. This was the same little freak that had tried to kick it with me when he was in the restroom. I had flashed her the wedding band and she had gotten the picture loud and clear.
Taylor just smiled at me like,
Yeah man, I’m getting some of that later tonight.
He didn’t have to tell me. I knew the drill. I had had enough of these young women on numerous occasions on college campuses all over the country, including State University. A quickie between their first and third class or before lunch. They were all the same. They wanted to get off fucking a Marine. I simply gave them what they wanted. It was a thrill for them, and believe me, I didn’t suffer any. The things some of these girls would do. I remember these two roommates who liked threesomes . . . I came out of my haze with a smile on my face and walked over to our table.
Barnes was the first to speak. “Did you get your wife on the phone?”
“No, man. I don’t know where she is. We had a pretty heated argument before I left, so she’s probably not answering on purpose.”
“Women, can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” we all chanted in unison.
Taylor just smirked as he said, “Well, gentlemen, I won’t be joining you for dinner tonight. I have another engagement.”
Barnes asked, “Oh, that’s what they call it nowadays? An engagement? Man, you can be straight with us. You are going to get you some young stuff. I saw that girl slip you her number, and with that tight sweater she had on, with her titties about to bust out and that short-ass skirt, I don’t think you will be doing anything but having some good old-fashioned, hot, sweaty sex.”
We all laughed at that.
“So, Brice, I hear you are still pretty much a newlywed,” Taylor stated.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I’ve been married almost three years.”
“And you should see his wife. You talking about a looker. Mia is an angel. She’s a beautiful lady inside and out.”
Taylor continued. “Yeah, I remember those days before our two children put an extra twenty pounds on my wife, Anita.”
Barnes said, “I was just telling Taylor that I could tell him some tales about you in your single days that could put some hair on his chest.”
Barnes continued as he laughed and shook his head. “This man was a serious player. Him and Christian—you’ve met him—could show you some things.”
I said, “But now I’m married and I’ve settled down.”
“Man, I’m proud of you. When I first heard that you had tied the knot, me and the fellows bet that you wouldn’t last a year before you were screwing somebody’s daughter.”
“You hold on to Mia. She is truly a good woman if she can change a zebra’s stripes.”
Taylor laughed and said, “Well, I give you mad props, man, but personally, what my wife doesn’t know isn’t going to hurt her. Men were not born to be monogamous. Tonight, I’m getting my groove on. Can I get an amen to that?”
We all laughed and shook our heads at this fool as a few students curiously strolled up to our table to ask questions. Before the day was over, we had a few serious prospects. The Marines were always looking for a few good men and women.
Mia is a full-time student this quarter, so she is at the university most of the day in classes or studying at the library, and I am still traveling with the Marines. So, actually, we don’t see a lot of each other. I have a feeling that’s fine with Mia. She doesn’t complain like she used to about me being away all the time. When I’m at home, we are so polite to each other. Marriage is hard work. I never imagined it would be this hard, though. My child bride is definitely a handful.
I feel like I am losing her sometimes, and that scares me because I love her so much. I can’t imagine life without her now. Mia is as much a part of me as my right arm. I know I have a funny way of showing my love, but I do love her dearly. Christian has got to be sick of me crying on his shoulder, but I have to vent my feelings to someone before Mia drives me crazy.
Christian has given me some great insight into my marital problems. That’s cool, because he is friends with Mia too, and he is impartial and unbiased. He’s on the outside looking in. He’s not right up here in the midst of all this craziness. I try to follow his advice and stop myself when I’m being too overbearing or jealous. Those are my main problems with Mia. Actually, things were improving somewhat around my household. We had reached a stalemate, until the other night.
It was a Friday night, and Mia and I were both at home for a change. I suggested that we meet Christian at this local Marine hangout in town for a few drinks to unwind and start off the weekend right. Christian had called earlier and said he would be there around nine o’clock. Normally I would have gone by myself and left Mia at home. See, I was trying. I knew she would be lonely sitting at home alone on a Friday night.
I could tell Mia was glad to be getting out of the apartment. Once she had changed into jeans and a State University T-shirt, we were on our way. Christian was already seated at our usual table, and I noticed it had already started to get crowded with the usual military types, privates out for a fun night on the town. Officers didn’t usually hang out there, but Christian and I liked the atmosphere. I noticed when we first walked in that there was a table of privates, two females and a male, who were around Mia’s age, sitting at a table over near the corner, drinking beer. One of the women waved at Mia, and Mia smiled and waved back shyly. Mia said that the girl was in one of her classes at the university.
Once we joined Christian, Christian and I were soon lost in military talk and sports. Mia was quietly sitting there by my side with her head resting on the table, bored silly. I noticed that she kept looking over at the table where her classmate was sitting and having a good time from the sounds of the laughter that was coming from their direction. Christian noticed this too.
“I guess our conversation isn’t stimulating enough for Miss Mia tonight,” Christian joked. Mia smiled in his direction without answering. I noticed how relaxed they had become with each other.
Mia excused herself to go to the bathroom, and on her return back to our table, she stopped by her friend’s table to say hello. They were all laughing, Mia included, about something. Mia didn’t stay long and was soon back at my side. Later, her friend came over and asked if Mia wanted to sit with them for a while. Mia was getting ready to say no when I surprised her by encouraging her to go. See, I was trying.
She walked over, and Christian and I talked some more and drank more beer, and I would glance over in Mia’s direction every now and then. She was having fun. I hadn’t seen her smile and be happy like that in a long time. They had put some money in the jukebox and were playfully dancing now. Mia was doing her thing as well. I sat back, gulped down the rest of my beer and watched Mia slide across the small dance floor.