Remember When

Remember When…

Evan and Rob met at the entrance to the aircraft carrier, Nimitz, to plan the evening’s excursion. This was the custom of the 4500 men that were stationed aboard at the Newport News shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. Rob, an electrical technician, had showered and hoped to find female company for the evening and possibly, the night. Evan, a flight deck technician, was just hoping to unwind and find a place with less noise after a day of fueling jets.

           “Where are we going tonight?” Evan was walking in front of Rob as he was just a little on the hyper side.

           Rob slapped the roof of a nearby cab in his laid-back manner. “There is a new place I want to try called ‘The Ivory Horse’. I heard it is a great place for meeting women.”

           Evan shrugged to signify agreement and made his way into the cab thinking to himself, great, a biker bar.

           Nearly a half hour later, the cab made a quick stop in front of a medium sized, whitish building with a horse emblem on the roof. The boys exited the cab in a cloud of dust only to enter the building into another cloud.

           The room had a haze of cigarette smoke floating above the heads of quite a few people. More than Evan had expected.

           Nearly three quarters full and no blood on the floor, he thought to himself. Must be half-way decent.

           Rob could not have heard him anyway over the loud music of ‘Wham’ and ‘Madonna’ that greeted them as they entered. They were both trying very hard to blend in as civilians but the locals all knew better. This was almost a nightly ritual observed by those who were in regular attendance.

           The boys quickly found a table and ordered a pitcher of beer. Both were a little nervous and trying hard not to show it.

           “Rob, look over there,” said Evan. “Booth. Ten o’clock…” He was out of his seat and half way there before Rob was even able to locate where he had been instructed to look.

           Evan had no idea if Rob was following. He was very nervous as he slowly advanced on the girls he’d seen in the booth. He wanted to appear confident, like he’d done this, many times, but he could feel the perspiration dripping down his rib cage.

           Why am I so nervous? He arrived at the booth and both girls looked up at him.

           “Evan,” he said. It was all he could get out.

           The girls started to laugh, which was unexpected. He began to back away when he heard his name.

           “I’m Anna. This is Sharon.”

           Evan stopped in his tracks. He mumbled something about ‘beautiful eyes’, but hard as he tried, his mouth just wouldn’t cooperate with his brain. Why the hell am I so nervous?

            Sharon and Rob were hitting it off very well and their conversation was flowing. Evan managed to get out a few intelligent words here and there, but Anna was not as talkative as Sharon.

           “Do you just come here to drink or do you dance?”

           Evan stood and held his hand out to Anna. She slowly stood and moved out of the booth, green skirt flowing, to walk what seemed like a mile in the four steps needed to reach the dance floor. The sound of the crowd became like whispers as they looked at each other. She smiled at him and he had the courage to pull her into his arms. They began to move to the music as he caught the faint scent of her perfume.

           Anna and Sharon had worked together as nurses at the local hospital for over a year. Both divorced and Anna with a small child, they rarely went to bars or clubs. But they had been told by a friend about this place in Virginia Beach. They decided to go check it out and maybe meet some decent guys.

           “What do you think, Sharon?” Anna was drinking a Pina Colada and looking around the room. She was having a hard time breathing and her eyes were stinging due to the cigarette smoke. “Should we just go home or wait for a while longer? Your eyes are really red.”

           Sharon, who was the oldest, had noticed a couple of younger guys looking their way. She tended to make the decisions in situations of this nature.

           “Just a little longer. Those guys over there are looking at us. They look like kids but no one has asked us to dance all night. This place has been a waste of time.” Sharon was trying not to look at the guys.

           “What guys? Where?” Anna was starting to look but Sharon said to ignore them.

           “Just pretend we didn’t see them.” Sharon kicked Anna under the table.

           “I didn’t see them,” said Anna. “I don’t know who you are talking about.”

           They noticed the smaller guy coming toward them. Sharon kicked Anna again.

           “He looks scared as shit,” Sharon whispered. “I bet he won’t say anything. And here comes the other one.” She rolled her eyes.

            The girls looked up as the younger guy stopped by their table. Sharon kicked Anna again. She was sipping her drink and grinning knowing she was right. He wasn’t speaking.

            All of a sudden, he spoke. “Evan.”

            They started to laugh as they had just been talking about him not being able to speak.

           Anna saw him starting to back away, clearly embarrassed. She kicked Sharon under the table and introduced herself and Sharon.

           Sharon took the lead then and asked the older guy to have a seat leaving Evan staring at Anna. His gaze was uncertain so she asked him to have a seat as well.

           Anna noticed how well Sharon and Rob hit it off almost immediately. The conversation was flowing well between them but Anna was having trouble trying to think of something to say. Evan was young, but cute. He seemed nervous but trying very hard to hide it. She thought that was sweet. He kept shifting around in his seat but managed to get the waitress to order a pitcher of beer. Anna did not like beer, so the other three began to drink in earnest. She knew she didn’t need anything else to drink as she’d had two drinks already. She was feeling a little dizzy when Evan asked her if she would like to dance.

           She noticed then that he had such clear, blue eyes. She was not sure she had looked into eyes quite that blue before. Almost mesmerizing. He had a nice smile too. And the way he was gazing at her, well, it was sending tingles up her spine. She took his offered hand and together they made their way to the dance floor.

Anna had not been held quite like this before. This was a whole new experience for her. She was glad they had not left earlier. She was enjoying feeling Evan’s warm body next to her and when he began to kiss her on the neck, she knew she wanted him.

Evan felt his heart nearly pounding out of his chest. She was so soft and felt so good. He wondered what she would ever see in him. He thought she was beautiful. His brain was on overdrive with a thousand different voices all telling him what he should or shouldn’t do. Finally, he made a decision and leaned in to kiss her on the neck. He was amazed that she allowed it.

“Are you thirsty?” Evan was pouring himself another beer and still languishing in the fact he had been able to hold her for so long.

“Any longer and I would have had to get you two a room!” Rob butted in as he had a tendency to do and he and Sharon laughed.

Evan looked at Rob and noted he was trying to hide a smirk behind his cheesy mustache. He wondered what was up. Something had changed while he and Anna were on the dance floor.

Rob started to complain about how stuffy it was and was about to suggest they go outside for a while when the loud speaker announced that the place was closing for the night.

The foursome made their way outside where the air was still filled with humidity. Evan was sweating from having danced for so long but if he was honest with himself, a good majority was from nerves. He was trying to do the right things to impress this Goddess and he felt he was failing miserably. He at least wanted one kiss before they headed back to the ship.

He figured it was now or never as he leaned in toward Anna hoping she didn’t back away. Just then Rob excitedly yelled. “Hot damn! We’re going to Sharon’s place!”

Anna was the first to get into the Citation. Rob and Sharon scrambled to take the backseat leaving Evan to hang back just a little. He was so nervous and didn’t want to look over-eager to just jump in the front seat. He also didn’t want to just stand there making no decision either way. As he finally climbed into the front seat, he adjusted himself so that he could look at Anna. His excuse was that his voice was soft and he needed to be able for her to hear him. When in reality, he just couldn’t take his eyes off her. He wondered how he had been so lucky to be here in the first place.

Sharon and Rob were making out in the backseat like a couple of high school kids They were not even coming up for air. Anna was having a hard time keeping in her lane of traffic. For one, she’d had too much to drink and was feeling a little dizzy from that and all the cigarette smoke she was not used to. And the other reason was her nerves around Evan. She thought he was great but she was not sure what he would expect of her.

She kept glancing into the rear- view mirror and she could tell Evan was doing the same from time to time. She wondered what he was thinking. He was attempting to make small talk and she was attempting to answer with some degree of intelligence. She could see uncertainty on his face and she was trying to decide what to do when they did reach Sharon’s place.

Evan was having a hard time keeping his eyes to himself. He kept staring at Anna’s legs wanting desperately to reach out and touch them. However, he was not that sure of himself or confident that it would work out to his advantage. He could get himself slapped if he wasn’t careful. As the ride to Sharon’s continued, Evan realized if this night ended right here, he would consider himself extremely lucky to be in this position. Right now, there was no other place he would rather be.

           As soon as Anna stopped the car at Sharon’s place, Sharon and Rob were out of the car and through the door, leaving Anna and Evan in the dust. Evan put his hand at the small of her back and guided her through the door not knowing exactly what he would do when they got into the apartment. He was hopeful since she was still there.

           “Would you like…” Anna was a little startled when Evan pulled her to himself and began to kiss her. Deep and long creating a heat she had not actually felt before even though she had been married. Finally, Evan pulled back. She could tell he was having a physical reaction to the kiss but trying hard to hide it. She was a nurse after all.

           “…something to drink?” Anna finished the sentence she had started.

           “What drinks?” Evan pulled her in to another kiss. God, it felt so good to him. She was returning the kisses as hot as he was giving them.

           They began to sway to the music only they could hear. Evan moved the coffee table out of the way so they could have more room. They continued to kiss and lightly touch each other, not quite in the spots they would have liked.

           Evan was so nervous that she was not going to respond the way he wanted. Possibly reject him altogether. But his fascination and need of this girl was stronger than that. He moved in closer and pressed his body to hers. She did not pull away. He realized his fears were for nothing. She seemed to want him just as much as she he wanted her. He was trembling with the need he had. He hoped he would not disappoint her. He couldn’t disappoint her.

            Anna wanted him so much it was almost painful. She let him ease her onto the floor in front of the couch. She hoped she was not a disappointment to him. She knew her age and the fact she’d had a child might work against her. It might spoil the mood when he saw just how imperfect she was. She made the decision to just go with it. She wanted him and she was quite sure he wanted her just as much.

            They began to touch each other in the places each had only envisioned within their minds. Their hearts were beating so fast it was almost audible. As the night continued, so did the heat between them, bringing them both to the boiling point.  Clothing went flying as they both fumbled trying to get to the center of their heat and need.

The night progressed, as nights do, and the culmination of the evenings nerves and longing came to a climax that left them both spent. They had moved as nature had dictated. The events of the evening and night were cemented into their brains and if they were honest, into their hearts. This night marked the beginning of a relationship that would lead them onto a path neither could have predicted. But love was born that night and a fire was set that would lead them into the unknown. It was a love for the ages, but a love, none the less, that would never die.

“Are you going to move or just sit there? Move your old ass!” Rob was getting impatient as he waited for Evan to make a move. Thursday night checkers was something they both looked forward to, even though they tended to gripe at each other.

“My old ass? No matter what goes on in this world, you will always be older than me.” Evan made what he thought was a winning move.

“Hot damn! King me! I win again!” Rob was going to rub Evan’s nose in it as usual. Not that he always won, but he won enough to think he was the better player. Evan was okay with it. Rob had been through a lot of health issues the last couple of years and if Evan’s losing made a difference in Rob’s life? Well, then, it was worth it.

Evan got up just as the girls came in the door, back from picking up dinner for the four of them. Another Thursday night ritual.

“Pizza tonight, boys,” said Sharon as she and Anna began to set the food out on the kitchen counter.

“Did you get the extra cheese this time?” Rob was slowly making his way over to get a closer look.

“Yes, honey, would I forget your favorite?” Sharon gave Rob a kiss on the cheek.

“Hot damn!” Rob grabbed Sharon and spun her around.

“Get a room, you two,” said Evan. He took Anna’s hand and kissed it as was their custom. Anna had always said he was her knight in shining armor.

“You mean like that first night?” Sharon was setting out salad on the kitchen table.

“Hard to believe that was fifty years ago,” said Evan. “And that you two have been married all this time. Hard to believe that we have been married now for almost twenty years.”

“The kids still don’t know we found out about the surprise anniversary party they have planned,” said Anna. “I am glad we were all married on the same day, thirty years apart, but hey, it worked itself out.”

“Yeah, the girls have everything planned,” said Rob. “Even down to the motels for everyone.”

“Your girls were always on top of things, Rob. Good ones to be in charge,” said Anna.

“I talked to my sister yesterday,” said Evan. “She said both the boys are coming and Seth and his family as well. Thank God she could never keep a secret.”

“Well, I talked to Scott’s wife and she said Kim and her whole family is coming,” said Sharon. “So are your kids and their families, Evan. Thank God she can’t keep a secret either.”

“Hot damn! It’s a party!” Rob grabbed the first piece of pizza, then the others followed suit.

Later as Evan and Anna were settled in bed for the night, Evan thought about how things usually work out for the best in the end. He had the girl of his dreams after the long road it took to get there. But they got there. He looked over at his wife and found she was looking at him.

“We have the best friends and family,” said Anna. “Life just doesn’t get any better than this.”

Evan knew she was right but he had other things on his mind. “How about I make it a little better right now?” He saw her smile and knew that of all the years he had lived on this earth, his time with her had been the best. And with all the love in his heart he proceeded to show her just how much he meant that.