by Donna Faye
Finally, he released her hair and grabbed for her throat, but Stella struck fast with an open palm to his nose, followed quickly by a knee to his groin. He grunted and was momentarily distracted. She broke his grasp on her throat, and bolted away. She darted for the crowd and yelled for help.
The Marines charged, with Jones and Moore leading a swarm of angry Marines and a few soldiers.
Carla pulled Stella aside, leading her back toward the bathroom. But Stella wasn’t going to hide, she needed to see him suffer. They returned to their seats at the table, and watched as Jones and Moore hauled her assailant outside.
Stella’s heart pounded in her ears as she witnessed her friends beating the hell out of whatshisname. Thank God for good friends.
Involuntary tears ran down her face at the thought of what might have been. Chills crept down her spine, and left her darting for the trashcan as the beer she’d drunk made an encore appearance.
Sooner than expected, Moore reappeared with Jones and a host of their brothers trailing behind them. Both sported bloodied knuckles and huge grins. They dusted their hands as if to say done deal. She didn’t want to know where he’d ended up as long as it was far from her.
She offered to buy a round before calling the MPs, but they’d declined on all counts. Nobody had witnessed his attack, and her brothers had pounded in a valuable lesson. Plus the guys might get slapped with assault charges as people had definitely seen them haul his sorry self out of there.
Instead, they turned down yet another offer for her to buy a round and called a cab for the ladies, then walked them out when it arrived.
As the cabbie pulled around the parking lot, something in her peripherals caught Stella’s attention. She turned and spied that idiot lying next to the dumpster groaning.
When Carla saw what’d caught Stella’s attention, she shrugged. “Oh look, they took out the trash.”
…
The grind of the last week of school amped impossibly higher. Stella had never struggled as much as she did with the pace and intensity at DINFOS – she often found herself retreating to her quarters at lunch to cry out some of her stress.
While classes were difficult, she found that she thrived on the challenge. The learning environment and variety of classes were so different from college, especially the respect everyone showed each other inside and out of the classroom.
She was six months into her new life, and Stella loved being an airman, or rather an airman first class, or A-one-C as the rank was called, thanks to the two stripes she’d earned for her college education.
Despite it being her least favorite portion of training, Stella took to the journalism and page design portions of training best of all. She despised sitting still, and most of the stories involved boring topics like construction and renovations, or basic news stories that were formulaic at best. However, she discovered a silver lining in the form of writing features with a human-interest bent. Telling stories about exceptional people, places, and events was much more challenging and satisfying.
Nervous anticipation bubbled in her stomach at the knowledge that all PA newbies went straight to the newspaper staff duty at new bases – supposedly it helped them get a feel for the base and make contacts that help with other parts of the job. Though it made sense, her anxiety amped up – would she be up to the task, and more importantly, how long would she be stuck as a staff writer? She shook that off. It didn’t matter where they sent her, she’d give it her all.
Almost before she knew it, everything was done.
Once again, her life was neatly packed into bags and boxes, which she’d secured in Betty Lou’s cab. Their professors had graded the student newspaper, Final Cut, finals were behind them, and all that remained was the goodbyes before she hit the road for Villa Park, where she’d finalize her divorce and change her name in a whirlwind visit before heading out to Washington State.
Stella tried not to squirm as she listened intently to the final words of graduation speech and the rounds of applause. Relief and exhaustion settled over her. She’d done it! Training was done, and she could finally start living her life.
She’d miss her new friends, but they were all off to their own adventures. Social media meant they could stay in touch much more easily than in generations past.
The heady anticipation of those new journeys had been the fuel to get them through the grueling months of training, so it felt surreal to reach that moment where they’d finally part company for their next adventures.
Chapter 12: “FPCON CHARLIE”
– The Force Protection Condition Level that denotes a situation when an instance occurs or when intelligence reports imminent terrorist activity.
Stella gulped when she spied the giant stack of paperwork on George’s desk.
“Alright Darlin’” George said getting Stella’s attention as she sat in the chair next to him in his home office. “Here’s the deal: you’re gonna sign about a million different forms here. I’ll walk you through them but you know I wouldn’t steer you wrong, right?”
Stella smiled at him. “Of course.”
George grinned at her then spelled out everything as she happily signed her old life away. He’d put Fabian over the proverbial barrel and had obviously enjoyed every minute of it. They’d been kind enough not to spell out the painful details about his other infidelities, which she was certain had been many. She didn’t need to know, the whole thing was humiliating and best put behind her.
“I laid out the facts for Fabian, and by the end, we got every dime demanded on your behalf,” George said as he dusted his hands dramatically. “You’d paid his way for six years, gave up a valuable scholarship, and put your dreams on hold. We decided to treat that like a loan, rather than alimony. We offered him a fair estimate for what he owes you, and Fabian will, in turn, pay it back in monthly installments. Best not mention this to anyone, it’s err…unusual.”
He winked at her and she wondered, briefly, what exactly George had on Fabian to get him to agree to this. She shook her head, wanting to clear that thought. She honestly didn’t want to know, and judging by the look in his eye she was better off without that knowledge.
He went on to explain that the payments would last for the duration of fifteen years even if her marital situation changed during that time, as it was a debt not maintenance payments. His installments would be paid to George’s practice, who would then transfer it to Stella’s account. This meant that should Fabian ever default, George’s firm would take care of the situation.
“It sure would be a shame if information leaked about him and sullied his reputation,” George said with a menacing grin.
Stella supposed there was a fine line between extortion and defending herself from a scumbag. Either way she trusted George with her life and was glad to have him on her side.
As George flipped through the pages, he showed her the paperwork for the “loan repayment.” Stella’s eyes bugged out, and she nearly swallowed her tongue when she saw the number of zeroes involved.
“Holy cow, how much is he earning at his new job?” Stella asked in a tone of outrage. “That bastard told me I had to wait another year to go back to school and he was making money like this?”
“Now do you see why I demanded your money back?” George asked. “I know you’re not vengeful, but this really is more like being repaid a long-standing debt.”
She struggled to comprehend the depths of his deceptions. She felt so violated.
“The first payment includes a lump sum to cover the time from that first day,” George explained, snapping Stella out of her thoughts. That was one downward spiral she’d gladly skip.
She gulped, again, as he showed her the deposit receipt – it was way more than she’d expected.
“You won’t need to pay taxes on the money since he’s repaying you money that was already taxed, but it’d be a good idea to invest it. I can help if you want,” George said.
She could only nod as she absorbed the shoc
k of having so much money at her fingertips.
After about an hour of explaining and signing, George slipped a final sheet of paper before Stella and smiled.
“This is it…sign this and you’re a free woman.”
She all but squealed as she signed.
George explained how he’d handled everything, including her name change and annulment papers that she’d filed back in March. The following morning, Stella would need to visit the Social Security and Secretary of State offices for documentation, but when she signed on this final bottom line, her marriage was null and void. With this last signature her name was officially, Stella Anne Tobias.
She sighed, unable to believe this was real. One door closed, and another opened. Stella now had a new name and family to go with her new life.
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty I’m free at last!” Stella cheered.
Nina burst into the room with a bottle of bubbly and set it and three glasses down on the desk, then kissed her husband and told him, “Congratulations, Daddy, it’s a girl!”
George and Stella laughed as she popped the cork. She poured them each a glass and raised her own.
“To Stella’s bright and fabulous future!”
…
Stella groaned as she opened her eyes the next morning. She’d insisted upon treating her new family to dinner, and it’d been ages since she’d had saganaki, so it fit that they went to the Greek restaurant where she’d worked as a teen.
After Max and Tommy had joined them, the cocktails and wine flowed freely.
It’d all been so delicious the night before, but the light of day told another story. Feeling parched, she stumbled to the bathroom to take care of business. She’d never had a hangover quite like this, then again she didn’t usually drink anywhere near as much as she had last night. There’d been champagne, followed by the superb red wine served with dinner, then her brothers kept the drinks and weird shooters coming. With each new round, there was a new toast. Her favorite had been when Max toasted to Fabian’s bits rotting off.
But Stella didn’t have time to reminisce. She had places to go and a name to change. It was a Tuesday, so there shouldn’t be a crowd at the government offices, especially if she got there when they opened. She showered and primped, taking her time to dress up. She’d make sure her first full day as a single woman, especially as a Tobias, was extra special.
After her errands, she was in high spirits and did what any other red-blooded American woman would do if she found herself with extra money to burn…she went shopping.
After wearing mostly masculine uniforms for the last six months, she was ready to look, and feel, like a woman. And she’d found that wearing pretty underwear under her ABUs helped remind Stella she was still a woman – it’d become her own version of under armor, shielding her femininity.
With armloads of pretty bags, she strutted back out to Betty Lou and nearly fell into the cab, exhausted but pleased with her haul. She’d spared no cost in buying herself pretty and even sexy lingerie, a novel experience since she’d never had money for more than her ten-pack of cotton undies.
Stella shook her head as she looked at all the bags strewn across the back seat. She’d probably gone overboard, especially in the shoe stores, but she didn’t care, she was starting over and had vowed to herself that she’d take good care of herself from then on – mind, body spirit, she’d never lose herself again. Plus she’d bought good quality, so it’d last.
She was tempted to return for a few more pairs of boots, but she was meeting a couple of friends from high school for dinner at a restaurant by the mall. Stella nervously checked her appearance, taking a moment to reapply her makeup. She hadn’t seen Ashley and Katie for what seemed like ages, though it’d only been since her old life disintegrated. They’d both faked their surprise when she told them what’d happened, but Stella saw through their act. Suddenly she wondered why she was bothering to meet them.
A voice niggled at the back of her mind, they’ve been your friends since grade school, go and have some fun.
She straightened up and decided to wear one of her new pairs of booties – a delicious pair of black leather stilettos with a sweet bow on the ankle. They’d looked so hot when she tried them on in the store. She fished out their bag, and a hot little top she’d nabbed in Nordstrom’s, and the butter-soft leather blazer would top everything just right.
Stella giggled as she quickly changed in her truck, praying no one would witness her primping. She’d perfected dressing quickly in the Air Force and had managed to swap tops without flashing anyone, happily zipped her boots into place, and slipped on the gorgeous leather jacket.
Another glimpse into the rear view mirror revealed a new woman…sure she had the same reddish blonde curls and pale blue eyes, but now those eyes had confidence that had nothing to do with new clothes or makeup.
Feeling infinitely better about meeting her old friends, Stella quickly and neatly settled her stuff back into the rear seat, before she pulled her truck around to the other end of the shopping center. She didn’t want to walk alone in the dark later. She’d learned plenty at DINFOS, the top of that list was that there’s safety in numbers.
…
Stella strolled into the noisy restaurant and looked around for her friends. Just then Ashley strolled out of the little hallway behind the hostess stand and stopped dead.
“Oh my God! Look at you!” she screeched. “You look so buff.”
Stella felt her face heat with the unwanted attention from other patrons who turned to see why the tiny woman was yelling. She hadn’t ever been heavy, and had always been a runner, but Stella had to admit she’d gained quite a bit of toned muscle from boot camp.
They exchanged pleasantries until Katie strolled in and the hostess finally seated them. More benign conversation followed.
The room was loud with the main feature of the place being a Mongolian barbecue where people cooked in woks. She couldn’t complain because the food was amazing. But their conversation was all so…dull.
As they caught up on each other’s lives, realization dawned in Stella’s heart. She had nothing at all in common with these two vapid women. Sure they’d grown up together, but that was the end of it. Where the beginning and end of their lives was still partying and shopping, Stella’s was about learning and bettering herself.
She nodded as they droned on about parties and people they’d seen, knowing that as soon as they saw those people, she’d become their new fodder to gossip. They thought her crazy for running off to the military, and no matter how many times and ways Stella explained it, they just didn’t understand her decision.
It quickly became obvious that Stella would never belong there, with them, again. And that begged the question, had she ever? Somehow, she doubted it.
Stella’s feelings of gratefulness for the fallout from that craptastic day intensified tenfold every day. She would never go near Fabian or Calista again. It still hurt an awful lot, but she was glad she was no longer stuck in that dull life. She was finally living, and if it meant finding new friends, she could cope.
…
The day Stella left for Washington, George, Nina, and the boys took her out to brunch at a delicious crepe restaurant in nearby downtown Wheaton. As they strolled back to the car laughing and enjoying their last moments together, Stella turned the corner onto Main Street and froze.
Standing just a couple feet away with her face twisted into a mirthful smirk was Calista. Stella’s blood ran cold. What had she done to warrant this kind of karma? God willing, this would be the last time she ever had to lay eyes on that deceitful witch again.
“Hello, Stella,” Calista taunted.
How dare that woman speak to her?
Stella took a deep breath and looked through the woman but said nothing as she started walking again. Calista was a shallow and insecure woman who could never handle being ignored, which was why she probably stalked Stella to confront her.
&n
bsp; “Oh, so you’re just going to ignore your own mother now? I’ve been trying to reach you for months,” Calista shouted at her back.
Stella was a private woman and downtown Wheaton was rather conservative and quiet, so this overt display garnered a considerable amount of uncomfortable attention from other pedestrians. Stella held no doubt that had factored into Calista’s plan. She played the wounded party far too well.
Annoyance snapped her resolve to ignore the woman. Stella turned on her heels and stormed over to her. Venom dripped from her words, “You’ve got some nerve, Calista.”
At the shock that flashed across the other woman’s face, supreme enjoyment hummed through Stella. She’d never called her mother by her given name to her face.
“The only mother I have is standing over there.” She pointed at Nina. “You are no longer my mother, you good-for-nothing whore.”
The color drained from Calista’s face as she flinched from the words. “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this. Fabian told me about all the money you’re getting from him,” she countered.
Stella pinned her with a look of disgust. “You slept with my husband, and you don’t know why I’m making a big deal out of it?” Stella roared. She didn’t care who watched at that point. “Get this through your thick skull: You. Are. Dead. To. Me. Do not call me. Don’t write. If you see me, don’t acknowledge my existence. I hope he was worth it to you because you and I are through.” Stella held her head high as she did an about face and marched back to her real family.
By the time they arrived at George’s car, her heart pounded in her chest, and legs shook from adrenaline. Stella dropped into her seat and took a deep, cleansing breath. Before she could speak, her family pounced.
“Baby, I’m so proud of you,” Nina reassured. “I kept telling her to leave you alone, but the woman wouldn’t back down. Here I thought we were in the clear with you leaving today and she ambushed you like that. I could go back and choke her with my bare hands.”