This is a story that took place in the swinging 70s. The Vietnam War and the draft were coming to an end. Richard Nixon really was a crook. We were still safe from HIV and AIDS. The internet was only a gleam in Al Gore's eye. The first portable phones were just being developed by Motorola. And General Motors, Ford and Chrysler actually made cars that people wanted to buy. Life was good.
This is a work of fiction. But in every story there is a kernel of truth, an incident that really occurred or maybe a character or characters that really existed. With that said any similarities to persons living or dead is purely intentional. My thanks to wildhafer for his editing skills and words of encouragement.
*
It was Monday and the start of a new pay period at the General Motors assembly plant. Most of our section was waiting for the buzzer to mark the assembly line startup. We were short one at our quality control station and it was beginning to look like we might have to pull our relief man or double down to cover the shortage. Just as the alarm sounded, running footsteps were heard behind the parts racks surrounding our location,
"Hold it guys, I'm here!" cried a voice and Trevor Martin came around the corner, a big smile on his dark face.
"What's shaking, Trev? Back on nights again? Has it been three months already?" I teased.
He laughed, "Hey Ken! Yep, it's time to rotate again. Breaks the monotony and let's me check out some different ladies." Trev grabbed a couple of torque wrenches and a clipboard and hopped across the moving line to take his station.
Trevor and I had been friends since we both came to work at the plant three years before. Both of us had gotten out of the Army within a few months of each other. And our overseas tours in Germany had overlapped about a year. Ironically we had been stationed within fifty miles of each other but had never met. I had been a buck Sergeant in a combat engineer unit stationed in Schweinfurt and he was a Spec5 tracked vehicle mechanic stationed in Wurzburg.
We had visited a lot of the same towns, restaurants and nightclubs. We had both spent many miserable training periods in Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels; suffering through the cold and snow in winter, and the heat and mosquitoes in summer.
We had also both gotten married before going into the army. My wife had accompanied me to Germany, Trev's wife did not.
I had met my wife Donna at the local community college. She was a year older than me and was finishing up a two year Medical Technician program. We had started dating and fallen in love within a couple of months. I had drawn a low number in the selective service lottery and when it became evident I was going to be drafted we decided to get married.
Somehow Donna ended up pregnant before I ever reported for basic training. You know when they say the pill is ninety nine percent effective? Well, we were part of the unlucky one per cent. I did manage to get home for the birth or our daughter, Samantha. And as soon as Sam was three months old, Donna and Sam came to Germany to live with me.
Trev's wife, on the other hand, had decided she wanted to stay in the States in order to save money. He did make it home on thirty days leave midway through his eighteen month tour, but when he returned home after his discharge he found his wife was six months pregnant and all the money he had been sending her gone. He later found out she had been shacking up with one of his best friends on and off ever since he shipped over to Germany. Apparently saving money wasn't her only incentive not to go with him. Needless to say the divorce was bitter and not in his favor.
Trevor was a very popular guy with the ladies; black, white or Hispanic. It didn't matter to him. But if there was any hint that a woman was married, separated or even divorced for reasons of infidelity, he would have nothing to do with her. And if you asked him if he ever thought of remarrying, he would just say, "Been there, done that and I have the bite marks in my black ass to prove it." Fact was he didn't trust women much and wasn't shy about letting anyone know it. His relationships tended to burn out pretty fast.
Trev and I would get together for a few beers after work about once a week when we were both on second shift. When we were on opposite shifts we would get together at the local American Legion a couple of times a month. Mostly we talked about our Army days and life in Germany, our progress in school and occasionally labor issues. Sometimes I would brag about my wife and daughter and Trev would brag about all the women he was dating.
Trevor also had become the assistant union steward for our plant a couple of years ago. He would laugh about that and say it was mostly so he could meet all the women that worked in final assembly. Even though we had a lot in common, we rarely socialized away from work or the legion. Trev had been busy completing his associate's degree at a local community college in order to qualify for the skilled trades program, and I had been working on my B.S. in Civil Engineering at Michigan State.
When I returned to school after getting out of the Army I had decided to pursue a civil engineering degree because of my military experience. Many of the combat engineer officers had degrees in civil engineering and most of my job had been assisting them. I admired their skills and abilities and thought it would be a great career.
However the reality of supporting a family while trying to go to school full-time set in fast. The VA education benefits and working part time just wasn't enough. I finally decided to take classes part time year round and work nights in the auto plant. Donna had stayed home with Sam until she was about two then she went to work part-time in the hospital as a Cardiac Tech, typically working three or four days a week. While not rich, with both of us working money became a non-issue. Finally I was just about to reach my goal of completing my degree. Our plan was as soon as I finished school and got a job in my field Donna would quit working, get pregnant and we would give Samantha a sister or brother and that would complete our family. Our dream was to buy or build a house in the country on a few acres and give up renting for good.
Donna was a typical Nordic blond. Her family was from the upper peninsula of Michigan where many of the original settlers had been from Scandinavia. In fact her grandparents on her mother's side had migrated from Sweden before WWII. And she had Finnish ancestry on her father's side. Donna was tall, only a few inches shorter than my six feet two inches, slim and athletic. When we had met she suffered from some self-confidence issues. Mostly because growing up she was tall and gawky for her age and she intimated the boys. She claimed she only had two dates before college, but after high school she had filled out, developed grace, style and looks.
When I met her she was a real catch. While saying someone is the love of your life seems to be a cliché, it makes it no less true when it happens. No one else I ever dated came close to the feelings we had for each other. While neither of us was a virgin when we married we were not very experienced either. Teaching each other what sex and love was all about when we were stationed in Germany had brought us even closer together.
While having Samantha was a surprise to both of us it was the best gift we had ever gotten. Sam had Donna's blond hair and eyes, my nose and chin. We both doted on her. Donna was a good mother and we both were looking forward to adding another child to our family. While it is true most men talk about having sons, secretly I preferred another daughter. I just loved hearing my little girl's laughter and listening to her talk. She was just adorable and it was a real challenge not to spoil her.
As the evening progressed Trev and I would talk across the assembly line as it moved slowly past. With the lunch period approaching, he asked me what I was doing for lunch. I told him I had brown bagged it and would eat on the table by the employees locker room. He said he would join me and we could catch up the latest news.
As we sat down we started to talk about school. Trev had finished his Associate Degree the previous semester and was excited that he had finally gotten accepted into the skilled trades program. He was expecting his notice to begin his apprenticeship in the Machinery Repair program any day now.
I was equally as excited by the news I had received in the mail from the university before coming into work today. My last elective class had been waived due to my military experience. I had taken two of my finals today and once I passed my last final exam on Tuesday I was done and my degree requirements completed. We both congratulated each other.
Trev asked if Donna was as excited as I was. I said I hadn't told her yet since she had been at work when the mail came. I thought maybe I would wait until I knew I passed that last exam then surprise her. I told Trev that I already had my resume complete and a mailing list of every architectural and engineering firm in the state, as well as every county road commission office ready to start sending them out.
As most conversations between guys tend to do, the subject got around to women. The last gal that I knew Trev had been dating was gone now. They had broken up a couple of months before. He was now involved with a woman named Vicky who worked the first shift over in the paint shop. He didn't know how long that would last with him moving to seconds but he didn't seem too worried about it. We talked a bit about some of the other women who were working in the plant in various departments. Who was fooling around with whom, who was getting married and who was getting divorced.
After a bit, Trev said casually, "Say Ken, do you still have that picture of your wife hanging in your locker? I saw a woman a couple of weeks ago I swear looked just like that picture."
I said, "Sure, but the last one you saw was at least a year old. I have a couple of new ones now. Where did you think you saw her?"
Trev kind of hesitated then said, "I don't remember off hand, but I'll think of it. Do you mind if I look at your new pic's?"
Like a lot of guys I was always proud to show off my family. I had several pictures hanging inside the door of my locker. We had had new ones taken for our church directory just after New Year's. The company that took them took a variety of poses and groupings and you then picked the free one you wanted in the directory and then they would sell you any others you might want.
I had one of the three of us, one of Donna and Sam and one of Donna alone and a couple of Sam alone. Samantha had just turned four when the pictures were taken.
Donna was wearing a v-neck maroon sweater with her long blond hair hanging loosely to her shoulders. She filled out the sweater nicely and even though you couldn't tell from the pictures Donna had great legs. Samantha was almost a carbon copy of her mother with her blond hair and pale complexion, and they had almost identical smiles on their faces. I didn't look half bad myself wearing a dark sports jacket and an open collar shirt under it. My short dark brown hair and darker complexion was something of a contrast with Donna and Sam.
