by Donna Faye
One morning at breakfast, George huffed and roughed-up his newspaper more than usual. Stella and Nina exchanged a knowing look.
“Alright, old man – out with it,” Nina teased her husband.
He pinned Stella with a look that underlined that he meant business.
“Stella you’re brooding. I told you I’d handle that little scumbag and I meant it.”
“It’s not about him.” She spat the word “him” like it was diseased. “It’s just, with all this Quilts of Valor stuff, I wish I’d had the guts to join up with Audrey instead of marrying that lying, cheating bastard. But now I’m too old.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted like a child.
George pulled an incredulous face.
“Darlin’ you aren’t too old.” He smiled at her. “You’re healthy and fit, if you want to go – go!”
Nina shot her a wink as she piped in, “As much as we love you – and you’re welcome here as long as you need – there’s nothing holding you back. This is your chance, baby. Go have an adventure.”
Stella’s jaw dropped as their words seeped into her brain. Could she do that? Could she just drop everything and go? Stella’s grin grew as she realized there was nothing left for her to drop. Why shouldn’t she do this? She immediately whipped out her phone and searched for the local recruiter online, then called to make an appointment before she could chicken out.
Her tummy fluttered with excitement at the notion of trying something so new and bold. She needed to get away from them to really live her life. And it was a great opportunity to create a new life for herself while serving her country.
George and Nina offered to go with her to the recruiter’s office, but it was something she needed to do for herself. It’d be ridiculous to walk in there clinging to her adoptive parents, especially at her age.
After borrowing Nina’s SUV, which was so fun to drive – it felt so weird riding so high above the road – Stella headed for the recruiting office. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as she squared her shoulders and faced her future head-on.
The recruiter was nothing like she’d expected.
“So, why should I let you into my Air Force,” Tech. Sgt. Mike Burns asked from behind the behemoth desk. He leaned back in his chair, stroking his tiny Hitler-like mustache, as he waited for her answer.
Wasn’t he supposed to be giving her the full-court press, eager for her to sign on the bottom line? This guy was entirely too laid back. And what did he mean by, his Air Force? The last time she checked, it belonged to the tax payers.
“Well, things have changed recently,” Stella said, searching for the right words. “Look, while my life hasn’t gone as I’d planned, I’m healthy and fit, I have two years of college and plenty of work experience. But, mostly, I want to do more with my life.”’
With his answering smile, a warmth of reassurance washed over Stella. Apparently, her answer had been a good one.
He asked her all matter of questions about herself, not just career and drug habits – or lack thereof in Stella’s case. Questions about favorite books and movies, hobbies, volunteer work, and what types of things she enjoyed seemed at odds with joining the military.
“You said you volunteered for your friend’s event recently,” Sgt. Burns said. “Tell me about that. What was it, why did you get involved?”
“I helped my friend’s mom with the admin stuff for a Quilts of Valor event,” Stella explained. “They gather quilters from all over the area to sew quilts for local wounded vets. She collects donations from civic groups and quilt stores who send supplies. Anyway, I just really liked being involved in that.”
He grinned. “I think I know just the job for you,” Sgt. Burns said as he again stroked his mustache thoughtfully. “Problem is, they don’t take first-term airmen anymore. Apparently, the stress tends to eat the young. But you’re more mature and experienced, they might offer a waiver. I need to make a few phone calls.”
“What job is it?” Stella asked.
“Oh. Sorry. It’s Public Affairs,” he said. “They manage the public relations…work with the press, give tours, and write the base newspaper…that kind of thing. Does that sound like something you’d like to do?”
Stella beamed. “Yes.”
She watched in impressed silence as the man made his phone calls. Before her very eyes, Sgt. Burns obtained the waiver she needed. Nothing was supposed to happen that smoothly where the government was involved. Wasn’t the phrase “hurry up and wait” synonymous with military service? Apparently, Sgt. Burns knew how to get around that.
He smirked after he hung up after his fifth call phone call. “You’re in!”
“What? How?” She asked.
He waved his hand dismissively.
“The Air Force has a waiver for pretty much everything.”
Stella sat in silence, absorbing his words as they worked their way into her consciousness. When everything finally sank in, a buzz of excitement swept through her body. This is really happening!
“Look, normally there’s at least a four-month waiting list for enlistment in the Air Force, but that field is severely undermanned. So, pending your test scores, you’re good-to-go.” He grinned as he shook her hand, then gathered the information she would need.
Sergeant Burns spent a long time going over the benefits package and what she could expect in the way of salary and accommodations, before he told her about what to expect at the entrance exam.
Seemingly before she could catch her breath, she was on her way out the door with directions in her hand. The following morning she’s report, bright and early, to the Military Entrance Processing Station, aka “MEPS,” where she’d take the infamous Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
Better known as the ASVAB test, the military required applicants to undergo a battery of physical examinations in addition to the written exam. If she scored well enough on the test to qualify for the Public Affairs career field, Stella would be on her way to Air Force Basic Training in San Antonio the following week.
The booklets and leaflets lay in front of Stella, stacked on Nina’s pristine dining table, their pale sheets of paper contrasted sharply against the polished mahogany surface. Stella sat in the rigid seat and stared at the stack, unable to believe she was really doing this. It wasn’t a dream. Talk about drastic measures. Then again it was more like an answered prayer.
She’d start over far away from Fabian and Calista and the soap opera they’d made of her life. Even though she’d changed her phone number to stop the harassing phone calls from them, she knew it was only a matter of time before one of them would track her down.
When she called her friend Katie to give her new number and explain all that’d happened, it’d hurt when she seemed unsurprised. Her tender heart squeezed in her chest at the idea that her friends had suspected something was up and hadn’t bothered to warn her – some friends.
When she thought about it, her rush to the altar was probably an attempt at being the opposite of her own mother. Whereas she’d only ever been with Fabian, Calista hadn’t known the identity of Stella’s father, as she’d been the product of a one-night stand.
Stella had wanted security and love, but in hindsight, she could see that she’d clung to the first man she’d given a second look, and had unwittingly made her life significantly more complicated. At least they hadn’t added children to this mess.
Pulling her train of thought from that rail, Stella checked the time before she gathered her nerve and dialed Audrey, glad it was after her friend’s shift on Okinawa.
“Yello!” Her friend answered loudly through the phone, making Stella giggle.
“Girl you’ll never guess what I’m doing tomorrow,” Stella said, knowing full well how much Audrey hated guessing games. It felt good to be silly again, even just a little bit.
“I’m sorry. Who is this? You sound like my friend Stella, but she clearly crawled under a rock and died,” Audrey replie
d.
“Ha-ha. Guess,” Stella countered.
“You’re going bungee jumping?” Audrey countered.
Stella wasn’t one for extreme sports, but who knew what the future might hold? Maybe she’d swear off men and become an adrenaline junkie. Nah.
“Nope, it’s something ...better!”
“You won the Lottery?” Audrey replied.
“Nu-uh.”
“Stella,” she groaned. “Tell me already.”
“I’m taking the ASVAB and if I qualify for Public Affairs, I’ll be in San Antonio next week.”
Stella swore she heard crickets on the other end of the line. Her boisterous friend remained eerily silent.
“Wait...you’re serious?”
“Yeah,” she replied in a tone that clearly said “duh.” Then panic crept into her gut. “Why? Don’t you think I can do it? Am I being dumb? Of course, I am. I’m too old for this. I knew I shouldn’t have-”
“Stella, shut up a minute. Jeez! You’re impossible, you know that? You surprised me. That’s all. I know you can do this, quit beating yourself up, okay?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Stella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “It’s just I’m scared I’ll be older than the instructors.”
Audrey laughed. “Don’t sweat it. There was one guy in my brother flight that was thirty two. The guys called him Grandpa, but he ran faster than everyone else there, including the instructors. Don’t worry about it. Once you’re past basic training, you’ll see there are people of nearly all ages in active duty, and even older ones in the guard and reserve. And we’re not that old, you brat.”
“Right...sorry...I mean this is all so sudden. A few weeks ago, I was obliviously married and working at a job I hated. Now I’m single, unemployed, homeless, and possibly enlisting in the Air Force.”
“You’ll do great. Just go for a few runs before you leave so you won’t have a shock to your system when you get down to Lackland,” Audrey reassured her.
“Audrey, I run all the time. Remember? I got that treadmill for when the Prairie Path is too cold or wet?” Annoyance overtook her mouth for a moment, “I bought it at a garage sale, and Fabian got annoyed. But whatever, it’s not like he had to move it or use it or even earned the money to buy it. Not that I’m bitter or anything.” She chuckled mirthlessly, and like the stench of a breeze from a landfill, memories of her horrible marriage soured her mood. Why had she tolerated his garbage?
“Knock it off, Stella. Don’t think about that asshole. You’re way better off without him.”
“I know. I just wasted eight years of my life on that scumbag,” Stella replied in agitation. “Anyway, as I was saying, I run a seven-minute mile on the treadmill. I should be okay in basic training, right? What else do I need to know?”
Their conversation continued with Stella taking notes on what to expect and what supplies she’d need versus want while in training. Looking through the paperwork from the recruiter, she learned that her potential technical school was located in Maryland.
Stella had always wanted to go to Washington D.C., and if all went well, she’d be living nearby for a few months. And for the first time in forever, Stella felt the thrill of anticipation for something that was just for her.
Chapter 4: “Meat Gazer”
– A medical laboratory specialist who oversees compliance in urinalysis testing.
Uncle Sam packed the MEPS process full of little indignities unlike any Stella had experienced before.
She’d always struggled to urinate in a cup under normal circumstances, however having the attendant boldly watch as she attempted to pee in a door-less stall caused Stella’s bladder to all but shrivel.
After several false starts, she finally shut her eyes and made it happen. What a repulsive job! Though a necessary evil given that there were people desperate enough to cheat on a urine test, Stella couldn’t imagine having to do that job.
They herded them from station to station, including an uncomfortable physical examination that rounded out her top five list of most humiliating experiences.
She shivered as she stared at the bright light above the examination table where she laid with her feet in stirrups.
Before that day, she’d only ever received an intimate examination from her own doctor, whom she’d known most of her life. It was humbling enough to have had a strange woman check her undercarriage. But everything about it was extremely cold – physically and mentally. Even through the barrier of the doctor’s latex gloves, the lady’s hands felt glacial. And the room was frigid and dark. The woman spoke barely two words to Stella, which made her feel like a number rather than a person.
She’d have to wait to redress. They needed her to step through the doorway into another chamber. Unreal. It was a room full of women also wearing only their bras and underwear. They lined up and awaited orders as another doctor walked the line having them bend at the waist to check their spines. But the piece de resistance was when they ordered the women to crouch down and walk like a duck across the room and back.
Eventually, the strain of undressing in a crowd of other women would probably decrease, but that didn’t help while shivering and stumbling across the arctic tundra, which the military had cleverly disguised as an examination room.
But that wasn’t nearly as bad as the guys at MEPS. Their leering and pick-up lines made her feel as naked as her examination, and all but ruined her illusions about men in uniform. A sailor in his khaki uniform gave a low whistle as his gaze devoured her chest. She shot him a nasty look and all but threw her paperwork his way. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of creeps…nothing like feeling like a piece of meat.
It wasn’t all bad, though. She’d chatted in line with a few other recruits, and the time passed fairly quickly. The written exam, though long and boring as was typical for standardized tests, made her thankful for Nina yet again. She’d brought home a stack of library books on taking the ASVAB and helped Stella prep for the test. The questions weren’t difficult, just tedious.
Despite being nearly catatonic from exhaustion at testing so early that morning, Stella scored really well on the entrance exam, definitely high enough according to the Air Force recruiters on site. In fact, upon learning her score, they swept her into an open area among others who’d succeeded with their testing.
They milled about, then a lieutenant colonel congratulated them. Her chest swelled with pride as they each raised their right arms and repeated after the lieutenant colonel standing before them.
“I, Stella di Imbrogliado, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
She did it! She enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.
Holy crap!
…
Stella’s head spun as the commercial airliner lifted off the tarmac for her first-ever flight. But it wasn’t the physical act of flying that had her soaring. Rather, it was the total departure of her previous life…inside of a month, her marriage and relationship with her mother had vanished, she’d packed up her life, sold her dinky car, left the details concerning her divorce and annulment in George’s very capable hands, parted from her proud pseudo-family, and said a fond farewell to Chicagoland.
She’d return sometime later that year to finalize her divorce, whenever her schedule allowed. With two months of basic training and another four of technical school looming ahead of her, a disbelieving and somewhat giddy Stella gazed out the window in the direction of her former home. She could see Villa Park if she leaned forward and squinted. That old life felt out of reach in every way. Stella’s previous world shrank as she soared into adventure.
As Stella sat crammed in a busload of people on their way fro
m the airport in San Antonio to Lackland Air Force Base, she wondered how Fabian would respond when they served him the divorce papers. Picturing his response, probably a huge tantrum, made her giggle aloud, earning odd looks from the fellow recruits in the seats surrounding her.
When she peeked at the other people seated there, Stella wanted to laugh again. They looked terrified. She felt ancient when she saw their baby faces…they looked no older than teenagers, and were obviously away from their parents for the first time. She sighed, it was going to be a long eight weeks.
Even after their arrival at Lackland, the legendary Gateway to the Air Force, Stella still lingered in the fog of her thoughts. As she started down the steps of the bus, her foot slipped on something bulky. She lost her balance as she careened forward, mowed over several people down as she fell spectacularly. She landed hard, sprawled across the stack of fellow recruits. Mortification spilled over her in hot waves – all this because somebody dropped her purse.
To make matters worse, training instructors, known as TIs, already surrounded the buses at the Welcome Center. Several of them swarmed around the pile, screaming at her to get up and watch where she was going. As she scrambled onto her feet, with face redder than ever before, she offered a hand to the people she’d inadvertently tackled. Guilt ate at her gut over having knocked them down, especially with such a massive and hostile audience.
Once everyone was upright, she grabbed her bag, turned around abruptly, and walked straight into the chest of someone who was about a foot taller (and wider) than herself. He was solid, too, like a brick wall. She resisted, barely, rubbing her poor nose and whining out an “ow!”
Embarrassment swept through her, yet again. As she searched for words to apologize, Stella’s gaze trailed up the defined pectoral muscles, past the broad shoulders, above the strong neck and jaw line, beyond the smirking lips and crooked nose, then locked onto his stunning turquoise-colored eyes.