Life Goes On–Part 2
By Nancy F. Thysell (The Nifty Lady)
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Johnny had hurried away from the station, dodging sarcastic comments from Chet. He was anxious to get home to be with Chris. He pulled into the yard and rushed into the house. He found everything quiet and he tiptoed into the bedroom. Chris was still sound asleep. He gazed lovingly down at her. No doubt she was making up for staying up so late. He smiled and silently made his retreat. He’d tend to the horses before he woke her up.
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Chris rolled over in the bed. She thought she’d heard Johnny but she was alone in the room. She rose from the bed and looked out the window. Sure enough, the Land Rover was parked in front of the house. She noticed both horses in the corral, so at least she knew that she had heard her husband. She threw on a pair of jeans and one of Johnny’s T-shirts and made her way to the kitchen. With any luck, she’d have breakfast ready by the time Johnny was finished.
She reached into the refrigerator for the eggs and felt dizzy again. The feeling passed and she tried to dismiss it. She didn’t have time to be sick. She had too much to do. Besides, she didn’t want Johnny worrying about her. Finally she had everything prepared–hot coffee, juice, toast and scrambled eggs. She stepped to the back door and opened it.
"Johnny! Breakfast’s ready!" she called. He poked his head out the barn door and waved that he heard her and disappeared. She closed the door against the morning chill. Johnny appeared at the door a few moments later.
"Good morning beautiful!" he greeted happily and began to wash up at the sink. Chris crossed to him and put her arms around his waist.
"Good morning!" She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He grinned and turned his face to her and gently kissed her lips while his hands were still under the running water. Chris handed him a towel as he turned off the taps.
"Thank you!" he said appreciatively as he dried his hands.
"Come on, breakfast is getting cold," she urged. They sat down at the table and Johnny filled his plate. Chris had made herself another cup of herbal tea and took a few sips before putting the cup down.
"Aren’t you eating?" Johnny asked with some concern.
"I’m not very hungry," Chris confessed. Actually, her stomach was bothering her and even watching Johnny eat made her feel unsettled. Johnny didn’t say anything but he made a mental note of it.
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The morning went quickly as they opened the packages that had arrived the day before. Johnny was astounded at the variety of the gifts that they had received. By the time they finished, they had numerous trash bags filled with the discarded wrappings and boxes. Gifts included place settings of fine china, crystal, silverware, serving pieces plus several fondue sets and toasters. There were numerous sets of towels and sheets. Chris dutifully marked down the type of gift and who had sent it on her list so that they could send the thank you note.
They had just eaten lunch when Roy and JoAnne arrived with the gifts they had kept at their home while Johnny and Chris were on their honeymoon. Johnny chuckled as they carted the boxes into the house to add to the pile. Roy couldn’t believe it when he saw all the gifts they’d already received. It was apparent that Chris’ family was well known. But then he had seen the number of people that had attended the wedding so it wasn’t that surprising they would have received so many gifts. Then, as if on cue, the UPS truck pulled in the drive. The driver, Ted, waved to the couples while he made his way around the delivery truck as they came out of the house. Roy and Johnny offered to help him bring in the numerous boxes that he was delivering this day. He accepted their help readily. They stacked the additional boxes in the living room, wondering where in the world they would put everything.
While Johnny and Roy opened the cartons, Chris and JoAnne carried the towels and linens up to the spare bedroom. JoAnne was trying to find a suitable place to stash the extra items when she noticed Chris almost fall onto the bed.
"Chris! Are you all right?" she asked with concern as she crossed to her young friend. Chris waved her off.
"I’m okay. Just a little dizzy," she confided. JoAnne sat on the bed beside her.
"How long has this been going on?" she demanded gently.
"Not long. Actually, it just started this morning. It’ll pass," Chris assured her.
"Chris? Could you be pregnant?" JoAnne asked tentatively. Chris looked sharply at her friend and laughed at the idea.
"Pregnant? I don’t think so. I mean, Johnny has been using condoms," she stated shyly.
"Every time?" JoAnne asked. She remembered what it had been like when she and Roy were first married. Chris thought about it for a moment.
"I....I’m not sure. Maybe a time or two. But surely...I mean...we couldn’t, could we?" she asked uncertainly.
JoAnne nodded knowingly. "Now, Chris, you know biology as well as I do. It only takes doing it at the right time without protection to get pregnant. Maybe you should get it checked out."
"Okay. I’ll call and make an appointment. We weren’t really planning to get pregnant so soon," she confessed.
"You never do," JoAnne responded with a laugh. They finished putting the items away.
"JoAnne?" Chris asked. The older woman turned to her friend expectantly. "Don’t say anything to the guys about this. Let me get checked out first."
"Of course. I understand," JoAnne assured her. Secretly she was excited for Chris. She had hoped that she and Roy might have another baby but somehow it hadn’t happened. Maybe if Chris and Johnny got pregnant, their baby could fulfill that empty arms syndrome she’d been having.
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The afternoon passed quickly and it was decided that the four friends should go out for dinner. While JoAnne arranged for the sitter to stay longer with the kids, Chris ran upstairs to change. As she bent down to open the bottom dresser drawer, the dizziness hit her and knocked her to her knees. She sat down by the dresser and rested her head in her hands, waiting for the feeling to pass. Whatever this was, she’d definitely needed to see a doctor about all these dizzy spells! The room finally stopped spinning and she collected her change of clothing. Once she had the clean outfit on, she stepped to the mirror to brush her hair. She had been letting it grow. Johnny seemed to like the longer length. Again the dizzy feeling swept over her as she tipped her head to brush her hair. Chris gripped the edge of the counter, dropping the brush. It clattered on the tiled bathroom floor. She stared at it ruefully. She really didn’t want to chance another spell by bending over to reach the brush. But Johnny would probably wonder why it was on the floor. She pushed it with her foot over to the cabinet. She tried closing her eyes as she leaned over to reach it. It didn’t help. The room spun and Chris found herself sitting on the floor once more. As soon as the sensation had passed, she picked up the brush. She berated herself as she pulled herself back up. Johnny would only worry if she told him. She finished brushing her hair and then made her way carefully back downstairs.
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Dinner was at a casual, family-style restaurant. Roy began to tell Chris about some of their more interesting rescues that the two paramedics had been on over the years. She was especially amused about the woman trapped in her girdle, much to Johnny’s chagrin. Chris laughed and throughly enjoyed hearing about their exploits.
A little later, JoAnne and Chris excused themselves to the powder room.
"JoAnne," Chris whispered to her friend. "Stay close, okay?"
"Are you all right?" JoAnne whispered back with concern.
"I hope so. Sometimes when I move too quickly, I’ve been getting dizzy," Chris confessed.
"Chris! You have to tell Johnny!" the other woman admonished her.
"I will. I promise. But let me see the doctor first. I don’t want him to worry."
JoAnne turned Chris to face her. "Listen to me. This is not the sort of thing you keep to yourself. How would you feel if the situation was reversed?"
Chris pondered that for a moment. "Oh! I guess I didn’t think of it like that. Okay. You're right. I promise I’ll tell him the next time it happens."
"For real?" JoAnne asked suspiciously.
"For real. Come on. Let’s see if it happens again before we leave here," Chris said, daring the powers that be to try something. JoAnne shook her head at the younger woman and followed her into the ladies’ room.
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The ladies returned to the table without incident. Maybe it was over Chris thought hopefully. JoAnne still gave her a worried look. After dinner they took in an art movie at a small theater in Westwood. Johnny had to be talked into seeing the flick since he had been indoctrinated to Roy’s taste for this type of film once in San Francisco. For a while Johnny tried to keep up with the subtitles but found he just wasn’t getting the film. He had his arm around Chris’ shoulders. She seemed to be following the film, watching the screen intently. Johnny began playing with the hair around her ear. She shrugged away and gave him a reproachful glance but couldn’t help smiling. He grinned charmingly at her. He leaned in and nibbled on her ear sending electricity throughout her being. As she pushed at him with her hand, he grabbed it and enveloped it against his chest. She could feel his heart beating against her hand. She turned to warn him to stop and his mouth seized hers. Time stopped for the young couple and they made out passionately. JoAnne elbowed Roy and nodded her head in their direction. Annoyed, Roy pulled his eyes away from the screen to stare at his partner. He started to say something but JoAnne stopped him with a tender look. Then he chuckled quietly and wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and hugged her gently. She offered him some popcorn and he took a handful and munched on it as he returned his attention to the screen. If things got any hotter in the next seats, he'd definitely have to do something before the management did. A least the number of patrons was small so they probably weren’t bothering anyone else.
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Johnny and Chris waved goodnight to the DeSotos and closed the door to the house. Johnny was surprised that he hadn’t gotten a lecture from Roy about his behavior during the movie but what the heck, it was definitely more entertaining than that movie. Maybe he was just waiting until their next shift. Chris leaned against the closed door and fell into a fit of giggles as Johnny locked the door.
"I can’t believe we did that!" she finally exclaimed. Being with Johnny was certainly an adventure. She pulled on his shirt and began working on his buttons. Johnny grinned playfully as he tugged on her blouse. A trail of clothing marked their path to the bedroom.
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Monday morning finally arrived. Chris and Johnny bumped repeatedly into each other as they prepared for work. No time for play this morning. They both headed for work about the same time. Johnny opened the door to Chris’ pickup for her and gave her a lingering kiss before tearing himself away. Chris buckled her seatbelt and waved reluctantly goodbye as she put the truck in gear. Johnny was right behind her in the Land Rover. Life goes on and routine sets in.
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As soon as Chris was able to settle back into her office routine she placed a call to her OBGYN, Dr. Louise Goyne, and set up an appointment. The earliest opening was right after Christmas so she made the appointment. She just hoped that the dizziness wouldn’t worsen.
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Johnny and Roy were returning from Rampart after their first run. Johnny kept waiting for Roy to say something but he said nothing about the other night at the movie.
"So, do you want to hit the mall with me tomorrow?" Roy asked nonchalantly.
"Uh, yeah. That sounds like a good idea. What time do the stores open? Ten?"
"Yeah. We could grab a bite to eat and head over."
"Well, I really need to go home first and take care of the horses. Pick me up on the way?" Johnny countered.
"Hey! I have an idea. Why I don’t come help you and then we can still grab breakfast together?" Roy suggested.
"Sure. If you don’t mind mucking," Johnny responded with a chuckle.
"I’ll feed ‘em. You muck!" Roy corrected his partner.
"Okay. Next time though," he agreed. Roy decided it was time for a change of topic.
"So, Johnny, what did you think of the movie the other night?" Roy asked innocently.
His trademark grin formed. "Best movie I’ve been to in years!"
Roy laughed and shook his head. "Junior! You’re a piece of work!"
"Sure beats reading the subtitles," he grinned.
Roy backed the squad into its space in the truck bay. They entered the day room to get some coffee before they tackled their assignments. Chet was seated on the sofa with Henry, the station’s basset hound mascot, reading the morning paper.
"Hey guys. There’s some doughnuts in a container over there on the counter, if you’re hungry," he commented innocently. Roy’s sixth sense picked up a warning but Johnny eagerly reached for the box. A flour bomb exploded into his face as he pulled off the lid.
"CHET!" he yelled as he turned on his coworker, who was about doubled over in silent laughter.
"Hey pal. It wasn’t me. It was the Phantom!" he laughed. Roy had moved discretely away from the cloud of flour dust. Johnny gave Chet a disgusted look.
"I’m going to change," he informed Roy. Chet looked up disappointed.
"Oh! Johnny! Don’t change. We like you just the way you are!" he said sincerely. Gage glared at the stocky Irishman and quickly left the day room.
"One of these days, he’s gonna get you back," Roy warned.
Chet smirked. "Maybe. Maybe not. The Phantom will take his chances."
Roy sat down at the table with his coffee and picked up the paper and began to read the headlines. He shook his head in disgust. Chet looked up and noticed his expression.
"What is it, Roy?"
He laid the paper down on the table and pointed to an article. "They found another one," he said somberly.
"Man, another one! How many does that make now?"
Roy read from the headline, "Hillside Strangler Claims Eighth Victim."
Chet shook his head in dismay. "What makes people do things like that?"
"I don’t know, Chet and I hope I never do. I tell you though, it makes me afraid for JoAnne and Jennifer. It says here that one of the girls was only twelve! I hope they catch this guy soon," Roy replied. He hated the feeling that there was nothing he could do to protect his wife or daughter from this kind of evil. He closed the paper and tossed it back on the table. He took another swallow of coffee and decided he’d be better off doing his chores. He rinsed out his coffee cup and headed for the dorm. Roy saw Johnny head out to the hose tower in a fresh uniform as he crossed the truck bay to his morning task. He wondered how Johnny was dealing with his feelings since Chris worked in the area where a couple of the young women had disappeared. Maybe they should sit down with their wives and talk about safety precautions. He’d have to mention that to Johnny later. At least he'd feel like he was doing something.
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The rest of their shift was mostly routine calls, nothing overly dangerous or exciting. They stayed busy. At the end of the shift, Johnny hurried home to take care of his chores with Roy following him shortly. With Roy's help the task was accomplished in half the time. They cleaned up and headed for the mall after stopping on the way for a hearty breakfast.
Johnny tagged along as Roy perused the window displays. He was looking too but it just didn't feel like the sort of thing to get Chris for Christmas. They finally reached Madison's Jewelry. Unconsciously, both men drew in a deep breath before entering as if to steel themselves against the prices they would encounter. Roy headed directly to the display case of necklaces to locate the one that he had considered earlier. Johnny browsed around looking at the dazzling array of fine jewelry. It was then that a delicate wristwatch caught his attention. It was sterling silver and was accented by three diamonds on either side of the face. The strap was a woven chain of silver. Johnny was clearly taken with it and thought that Chris would love it. He looked around for a sales clerk. One was assisting Roy and the other was with another customer. He wondered what it cost as the price tag on all the items were discretely turned face down.
Presently, the female sales clerk was free and she made her way over to Johnny. She smiled at the handsome man peering into the display case. The smile faded with disappointment though when she noted his wedding band. As Johnny raised his head, she pasted her professional smile on.
"May I show you something sir?" she asked politely.
Johnny smiled at the lovely woman charmingly. "Yes. I’d like to see this watch," he responded pointed at the item in the case.
"Of course." She unlocked the case with her key. "It’s a lovely piece," she remarked as she reached the watch and withdrew it from the case. She placed a dark velvet drop cloth on the glass and laid the watch atop it. Johnny admired it a moment, almost afraid to ask it’s cost.
"Is it okay if I pick it up?" he asked uncertainly.
"Of course. Would you like me to point out some of the exclusive features of this timepiece?" she asked as she handed it to Johnny. He held the watch in the palm of his hand. It was heavier than it looked but it was beautiful. He turned the price tag over and about choked. The watch cost $1500! This did not go unnoticed by the sales clerk.
"Perhaps you would like to look at something a little less costly?" she asked discretely. Johnny gave her a nervous smile.
"Yeah. I think you’d better. I just got married and I wanted something special for my wife for Christmas but my budget won’t handle that at all," he admitted.
"Come over to this case. Perhaps we can find something you’d like there that’s more within your budget." The woman locked the watch back in its case and then led Johnny to another display case. The other case had many more items in it including bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces and wristwatches–all in sterling silver. She pulled out several items and laid them on the counter for Johnny to take a closer look. The prices on the items ranged from $60 to $200. More reasonable but it still felt pricey to Johnny. Then he looked at a delicate bracelet and thought it would look fantastic on Chris.
"Let me see that bracelet," he asked the clerk. She removed it and handed it to Johnny. He thought it was awesome and the price wouldn’t break his budget!
"This is the one!" he exclaimed happily. The woman smiled, happy with her sale even if it wasn’t a huge commission for her.
"Certainly, sir. How would you like to pay for this?" she asked as she started to ring up the purchase.
"Can I put it on lay-away?" he asked as he estimated in his head what he had in his checking account.
"Of course. We just need fifteen percent down to hold it," she informed him. Johnny grinned. That would work out perfectly. Not only did he have Chris’ present, he didn’t have to worry about hiding it from her. And he and Roy could pick up their gifts at the same time. He handed the sales clerk a check.
"Would you like your purchase gift wrapped?" she inquired as she entered the amount of his check into the register.
"Is that extra?" he wondered. The woman gave him a toothy smile.
"No sir. We always offer free gift wrapping to our customers."
"Then sure! Wrap it up!" he grinned back. Another problem solved. The woman gave him his receipt and explained what he needed to do to retrieve the item from lay-away. As Johnny tucked the receipt into his wallet he noticed that Roy was completing his transaction. He crossed over to his friend and gave him a friendly pat on the back. Roy looked up and smiled.
"All done?"
Johnny grinned. "Yep. I found a beautiful bracelet!"
"Fantastic! You want to go with me to the toy store now?" Roy asked his buddy.
"Sure! Why not? I need to find something for your kids too!" Johnny responded happily.
"Then let’s get going," Roy responded and the two friends headed down the mall to the toy store. Two hours later they were headed back to Johnny’s house. Roy had bought several toys for each of his kids along with wrapping paper. He planned to wrap the gifts and leave them at Johnny’s. Johnny had picked up a couple of games for the kids as well. While Roy busied himself with gift wrapping, Johnny fixed them some lunch.
Once Roy left to go home, Johnny dropped into his recliner and picked up the phone and dialed Chris’ work number.
"Hi sweetie!" he said when he heard her voice.
"Hi Johnny! What’s up?"
"How’s work going?"
"Oh, they’re keeping me busy. How about you?"
"Oh, Roy and I did a little Christmas shopping. He bought a gift for JoAnne and some toys for the kids. I bought a couple of games for them too."
"Sounds like you’ve been busy."
"Yeah. Oh, by the way, Roy’s leaving the gifts over here so the kids don’t get into them," he warned her. Chris laughed.
"That sounds like a reasonable thing to do," she concurred.
"What time will you be home?"
"Depending on traffic, six or six-thirty. Why?"
"Would you want to pick up something for dinner on the way?"
"What? Don’t we have any food in the house?"
"Well, yeah. I was just in the mood for some Chinese," Johnny admitted. "I’ll call it in if you’ll pick it up."
"Well, okay. Call me back with the total," she instructed.
"So what do you want?" Chris had to think for a moment.
"Nothing too spicy. Moo Goo Gai Pan?"
"Okay. I’ll call you back in a couple of minutes. Do you have enough cash on you?" he wanted to know before he ordered.
"Hang on. Let me check," she responded and reached for her purse in her desk drawer. She opened her wallet and counted her bills. "Johnny? I’ve got twelve dollars and some change."
"Okay. I’ll keep it under that," he promised. "Talk to you in a few. Bye now."
"Bye honey," she said and hung up. She had to smile to herself. This wasn’t something she had thought about having to do once she was married.
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The sun had set by the time Chris left the Peking Palace with their carry out dinner. She set the bag in the floor board of the truck before going around to the driver’s side to get in. She backed out of the space, not realizing that she drove over a smattering of nails, one of which lodged in the passenger’s rear tire.
Chris made it about three miles from the Chinese restaurant when the tire had lost sufficient air to start wobbling. She was on a side road that cut over to the road that led to the house. It was one without street lamps and not much of a shoulder to speak of. Carefully, Chris steered the truck onto the shoulder as far as she dared and parked. Getting out she went around to check on the tire and found that it was indeed flat. In frustration she looked in both directions but unfortunately there weren’t any other vehicles in sight. It was too dark to try and change the tire herself. She looked at her watch. Johnny probably wouldn’t miss her for at least an hour. By that time she could hike up to the main road and perhaps locate a phone. She returned to the cab and rustled in her purse for some paper. She wrote out a note indicating what she was doing in case Johnny came looking for her while she was using a phone someplace. She left the Chinese food on the seat next to the note after snagging an egg roll. She locked the door and headed down the road, regretting that this was the day she chose to wear a dress and heels.
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END PART 2--TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3
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