by D. F. Jones
Anna was a complete bundle of nerves as she taped up the last box. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m doing the right thing leaving, aren’t I?”
“Come on, honey. Stop second-guessing. You were born to be a doctor, and I’m going to be the next Barbara Walters.” Sandy grabbed the rubber band around her wrist and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She grabbed a box and headed out the back door.
Anna sat on the floor and looked around the empty house. It was hard to believe, but this time next week, she would be living in Florida.
* * *
Anna and her friends had met at the back entrance of Murphy Center one hour before the MTSU graduation ceremonies began. Anna, Jerry, Ruby, and Sandy were in their caps and gowns, and Reed had his Minolta 35mm capturing every moment. Their families had already left to find seats.
Ruby hugged Sandy, Anna, and then Jerry. “I’m finally graduating with the best friends in the whole wide world.” Tears began to stream down Ruby’s face, and Anna reached up to brush them away.
“It’s going to be okay. We’re all going to be okay.” Anna tried to convince herself as much as she tried to convince Ruby.
Sandy bellowed, “Come on, y’all. Stop your caterwauling. This is the best time of our lives. We’ve made it through college, and we’re beginning our next chapter. It rocks!”
Anna caught Jerry’s hand and smiled. He had agreed to drive her to Florida and help her move into her new apartment. Jerry had forgiven her, but the awkwardness remained between them.
Reed adjusted the lens on his camera. “Come on, one more shot, and I’m going to grab someone to take a group shot of all of us.”
Reed snapped a few more shots and asked another graduate to take a photo of all five of them together. Anna knew the moment the camera flashed it would be a memory that would never fade away.
Reed dipped Ruby backward and kissed her. “I’m so proud of you, wifey. George and I will be the ones whistling the loudest when you guys walk across the stage. Then y’all need to get your asses out to our house where the real party will get started.”
Jerry leaned down and kissed Anna. “I’m proud of you, too.”
Anna clutched at Jerry’s arm and accidentally knocked his cap out of his hand. “Sorry ’bout that.” She bent over and picked it up. “I’m proud of you, Jerry. You’re going to accomplish great things with your new company. And before you know it, I’ll be back here opening up a practice, and you’ll be a millionaire selling those software programs of yours.”
The pomp and circumstance music started, so they separated and took their respective places in the processional line.
By two o’clock, everyone had met back at Ruby and Reed’s house. Reed had spared no expense to celebrate his wife’s graduation from college. He had hired a local event company that set up a dance floor and hired caterers, along with a bartender and a DJ.
Anna and Sandy helped Ruby with the last-minute details. Ruby went over the checklist with the caterers. Sandy made sure the bartender had plenty of glasses and ice, and Anna gave the DJ their playlist for the party.
It was hot for early May, with loads of sunshine and bright blue skies. The DJ cranked up Earth, Wind and Fire’s “That’s The Way of the World” and music filled the air. Two dozen patio tables, chairs, and umbrellas were scattered across the backyard, and strings of Japanese lanterns hung from the maple trees to help illuminate the area through the evening.
Jerry walked over to Anna at the DJ table. Something about him today reminded her of a posh Robert Redford with a John Wayne swagger. It was going to be so hard not to see him every day. Jerry picked up a vinyl record and flipped it over to check out the title.
The DJ started playing The Manhattans, and Jerry grabbed her hand. “Hey, let’s boogie.”
“Sure.” Anna twirled around and shook her tush. “Let’s do it.”
On the dance floor, Jerry pulled Anna next to him and nuzzled his face in her hair. “You smell like oranges, and I love oranges.” He nibbled on her ear, and she giggled.
Anna grabbed the loops on his waistband and shook her head. “Stop, you’re making me have chill bumps. And for the record, I know I screwed up. I should’ve asked you to come with me a long time ago. I wish you were moving to Florida with me.”
Jerry’s brows drew together, and his facial expression softened. “I can’t, Anna. I just hired two new techs and a new assistant. Besides, you need to focus on school. I’ll visit, and you’ll come home for the holidays. If the Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll be married when you become a doctor.”
The DJ played a song by Aretha Franklin, and Anna swayed back and forth in his arms to the music. She leaned her head on his shoulder. Anna loved hearing him say they’d be married when she became a doctor, but she had a feeling things between them would never be the same again.
Jerry cupped her chin and said, “Hey, this is supposed to be a party, not a funeral. No more talking about Florida.”
She nodded okay. “You’re too good to me.”
He chuckled and twirled her around. “So true, so true.”
Anna nearly crashed into Sandy and Brent. Brent had graduated in 1977 with Reed. He’d been in California on business but flew back in time to celebrate their graduation. Brent and Sandy had dated for a while and remained friends after their breakup. Sandy was famous for staying in contact with all of her old beaus.
“What’s up, Brent? Long time no see, brother. How’ve you been?” Jerry danced with his elbows bent, hands in fists and rocked his shoulders back and forth to the beat.
Brent wore a pair of RayBans and strutted his dance moves. “The West Coast is where it’s at, brother. I just landed a new account out there. Hey, man, you need to go with me sometimes. Can you dig it?” Brent grinned at them.
Jerry said, “Since I’m going to be on my own, I may have to take you up on the offer.” Anna elbowed Jerry in his ribs.
“Ouch, what was that for?” Jerry winced and started laughing.
“You know what that was for, and California couldn’t handle you,” Anna said sarcastically.
Ruby came over and grabbed Anna’s hand. “Can you help me in the kitchen?”
Something was up. Anna followed Ruby inside the kitchen through the house and into the master bedroom, and Ruby shut the door.
Nervous now, Anna said, “What the hell is going on?”
Ruby looked downright mean and placed her hands on her hips. “I just overheard Reed talking to Brent before y’all hit the dance floor. The night you and Jerry had your big fight, he got drunk and spent the night with Rachel.”
Anna felt like she’d been sucker punched in the gut. She couldn’t breathe and started to cry.
Ruby sat beside her. The door opened, and Sandy walked in. Ruby said, “Shut the door.”
Sandy said, “What’s wrong, Anna?” Ruby frowned and shook her head.
Anna brushed the tears away from her eyes. “Did he sleep with her? Tell me, did Jerry sleep with Rachel?”
Sandy’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open. “Double dog damn. Anna, man, I’m so sorry.” Sandy looked at Ruby and said, “What the hell is wrong with you? Couldn’t you wait until after the party?”
Ruby fumed and shouted, “No, dad-blame it. I couldn’t wait. Anna has raked herself over hot coals about leaving Jerry. If he did sleep with Rachel, Anna needs to know.”
Sandy put her hands on her hips. “Well, Ms. Busybody, don’t you think maybe it would’ve been wiser to tell her after the party ended?” Ruby flipped Sandy the middle finger.
Anna went over to the dresser and grabbed a tissue from the box. “Stop it, you two. Stop it! I mean it.” Anna walked out the door and went to find Jerry. He stood at the bar with Reed and Brent. She stormed over to him. “Jerry, a moment, please.” She frowned at Reed and Brent, grabbed Jerry’s hand, and dragged him to the side of the house.
Jerry said, “What’s the matter?”
She was breathing hard, and h
er fingertips tingled with energy. “Did you sleep with Rachel?”
Jerry took a few steps back and paled. He stammered, “Ah, well, technically, I spent the night with her, but if you’re implying I had sex with her, you have it all wrong.” His face turned red, and his voice quivered with anger. “It was the night you dropped the bomb about Florida. I kind of got wasted and couldn’t drive. Rachel was at Faces and staying in town, so I crashed at her place instead of killing myself driving home.”
Anna paced back and forth without saying anything for a couple of minutes. She stopped and looked into his eyes. “Jerry, you know that woman is in love with you. Why do you think she wanted you to crash at her place? And if you were trashed, how do you know you didn’t sleep with her?”
Jerry placed his right hand on his hip. “Damn it, Anna Kelly. Do you honestly think I would cheat on you? And if you do, then you don’t know me, and maybe you never did.”
Tears threatened to spill again, and he leaned down and caressed her face. “Annabelly, I’m in love with you. I would never cheat on you, ever. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but there was nothing to tell.”
She glanced up and blinked a few times. “Promise?”
Jerry tilted his head to the side. “Pinky promise.” He held his little finger out for her to take it. She did.
She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Jerry. I hate this—I hate this feeling of separation between us.”
He pulled her into his arms, hugging her. “Me, too. Come on. I have a bone to pick with Ruby.”
“No, Jerry. I don’t want to ruin the rest of the party,”
Jerry brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on it. “Okay, but she is going to get an ass chewing when it’s over.”
Through the rest of the afternoon, Anna laughed and reminisced with her friends about their college glory days. The older adults began to leave as night fell. Reed informed the hired help they could leave. Finally, the only ones left at the party were Anna’s oldest and dearest friends. They sat at one of the tables, munching on chips and eating barbecue.
Reed extended his hands out. “Look, I want you all to spend the night. No drinking and driving.”
Collective sighs and “oh, dads” came from Brent, Sandy, Anna, and Jerry.
With a look of concern, Ruby said, “He’s serious, y’all. We’ve been partying all day.”
Brent turned around sheepishly and looked back at the group. “Well, I’ll stay if you guys try some of this ganja I brought back from the West Coast.”
Sandy went over, jumped on Brent’s lap, and draped an arm around his shoulders. “Ooooh, Brent, you’ve turned into a bad, bad boy.”
Reed waved his hands and shook his head vehemently. “No way, man, I’m not smoking that shit.”
Ruby brushed the hair from Reed’s forehead, leaned in, and planted a kiss. “Oh, come on, Reed, live a little. It’s not like we’ll turn into stoners with one hit.” Everyone roared with laughter.
Reed played Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young’s “Teach Your Children” on the stereo and placed a speaker in one of the windows. The Japanese lanterns sparkled in the backyard and candles flickered on the tables. Thirty minutes later, they were laughing their butts off over the dumbest stuff.
Jerry fired off one-liners left and right that had them doubled over with laughter. “You know if you crossed a bear and a shark, it could shit anywhere?” Jerry tried to catch his breath from laughing. “Okay, okay. The last one, I promise. What’s a day without sunshine?” He grabbed onto Anna’s hips when she tried to stand up, and he said, “It’s a day without you.”
Anna shook her head, giggled and kissed him. “Aw, Jerry, you’re stoned, but God, I love you.” The tension from earlier in the afternoon had dissipated, and it was fun to be together with everyone again, at least for one more night.
God knows when we will all be together again.
Chapter 8
Makin’ It
Jerry drove Anna to Florida in the U-Haul with her VW Bug in tow. A wall of silence went up between them when they crossed over the Florida state line. The trip took ten hours, with stops, to pull into her new apartment complex. Anna should’ve been ecstatic, but a deep sense of dread came over her.
Anna and Jerry unloaded her mattress first and struggled with it on the stairs. Jerry said, “Hold up. Let’s switch places. I’ll push, and you can pull.” They swapped places in the stairwell and finally got it through the door. Once they had the mattress inside her bedroom, they collapsed on top and crashed for the night.
The next morning, Jerry nudged her awake. “Come on, sleepyhead. Get up. We have work to do.”
It took nearly all day to unload the truck with her furniture and boxes. One of her neighbors, a young med student named Wes, offered Jerry a hand with the furniture while Anna unpacked the boxes.
Wes was from Texas and starting his first year in med school. He was tall and gangly with glasses and dark red hair. Jerry bonded quickly with him and made a point to ask Wes several times to watch over Anna.
The following day, Anna and Jerry drove over to St. Augustine’s beach to catch some rays and swim in the surf. Late in the afternoon, they walked along the beach.
Jerry stopped walking and turned to her. “Anna, I’ve been thinking. I want you to hear me out before you interrupt.”
Instinctively, her stomach did a few flips at the seriousness of his tone. Anna nodded okay while her worst fear came to fruition.
Jerry said, “I’m flying home tomorrow, and I think it’s best for us to make a clean break. I’m not angry with you. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.” He placed his palm on the curve of her face and moved his thumb gently back and forth across her cheek. “I wanted to make sure you were safely moved into your apartment before I said anything. It’s just going to be too hard on both of us to only see each other two or three days every six months or so. It’ll hurt too much. And you don’t need the added stress of worrying about me or what I’m doing. I’ll always love you, I will. But I have to let you go. Do you understand?”
Anna staggered back and plopped her rear down in the sand. She dropped her face forward into her hands and began to cry. Jerry dropped down beside her and wrapped his arms around his knees, digging his feet into the sand. Anna shook her head back and forth, but Jerry remained silent. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “Jerry, I don’t want to break up.”
He sighed deeply and tilted his head toward her. “I know you don’t. I know you like having me in Tennessee waiting for you. It must feel like some insurance policy, but I just can’t do it. Anna, I’m not saying we can never be together again. I just think it’s best for us to work on our careers for now.” He placed his hands palms down on the sand and leaned back.
Anna leaned against Jerry’s shoulder and cried until she could cry no more. “I know it’s the best for you. But it’s not for me. I can’t stand the thought of you being with someone else.”
“No worries about me dating for a long time, sweetheart. You’re kind of a hard act to follow if you know what I mean.”
Anna pushed him back into the sand and straddled him. “Jerry, I want you to know there will never be another man for me. You can be sure of it. I came here to study. I don’t want to spend my life with anyone but you.” She leaned over and kissed him, and he enveloped her in his arms.
* * *
Anna watched Jerry’s flight take off the tarmac with a buzz of noises in the background of the airport terminal. She turned to leave and passed by people standing in line at the check-in counter to board the next flight. Adrift in a sea of unchartered waters, she passed the lounge filled with laughter and soft music. Anna stepped through the sliding glass doors, made her way to her Bug, and drove back to the apartment.
Anna changed into her gym shorts, T-shirt, and running shoes and went for a long run. She pushed herself to the limit. Her muscles screamed by the time she unlocked the door to her apartment. She threw her keys i
n the glass bowl on the table next to the door. Exhausted and depressed, she fell asleep on the couch.
* * *
Anna’s biochemistry class wasn’t overly large. She’d waited a lifetime to sit in her first class at medical school and found a seat near the back of the classroom. Anna noticed only two other women in a class full of men. Her professor came in and began to go over the class objectives for the semester. Anna took meticulous notes and tried very hard to keep up. At the end of class, she ran to her apartment, threw herself on the bed, and screamed in frustration. What in the world am I doing five hundred and forty-six miles away from the man I love?
She picked up the phone and dialed Ruby’s home number on the off chance she was home from work. Ruby still worked for Everglade General Store but was working on a deal with Mr. Burns to buy the store.
“Hello, Jackson’s residence.” Ruby sounded so much like her mother, Lee.
Anna sat up on the bed and tried to quit crying. Her voice cracked. “It’s Anna.”
Ruby said, “Honey, what’s wrong?”
Anna walked outside to the small balcony with the phone and sat down in the chair next to the wrought iron bistro table. She began to vent her frustrations. “Oh, Ruby, I shouldn’t be here. I hate it. I miss Jerry. I’ve been to one freaking class, and I’m in way over my head. How in the world did I ever think I could be a doctor? I want to come home.” Anna was near hysterics.
Ruby stayed quiet until Anna finished her rant and she began her pep talk. “Anna Kelly, I love you like a sister, and you’re not upset about the class. You’re the smartest person I know. You’re experiencing separation anxiety because you miss Jerry, your family, and us. Once you get settled, you’ll ace this class and all the others. Your biggest problem is you miss Jerry. And well, honey, there’s not a lot I can do to help you, except to say he’s as miserable as you are. Right now, darling, you have to try not to dwell on him. Focus all your energy on school. And when you’re not doing homework, you need to work out and meet some new friends. Are you still there?”