Chapter 6 - Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave...

For Leslie time seemed to drag a bit that evening, she could hardly wait to close the store and head home. She was even a bit put out when Sandy arrived on time, she was kinda hoping she would be late again so she would have an excuse to walk to the guard shack and talk to Jamie. As it was she had to put up with Victoria’s whining all the way home…once there, however, things brightened considerably Mrs. Holland had ordered pizza for the girls and was letting them stay up to watch the rest of “Pride and Prejudice” The kiss at the end was fabulous, Leslie positively got goose-bumps. As she headed to bed her phone rang, it was Jamie calling to say goodnight. She talked with him for a few minutes and they decided to go see another movie when she got back into town on Sunday. As she hung up, Leslie sighed with happiness, was this what it was like to be in love, to feel cared for and appreciated? “God,” Leslie whispered to the ceiling, “Please, let...” she paused should she really ask God to help her lie, “everything go good when I go home this weekend and give Jamie a good weekend too.” Wearily, Leslie crawled into bed and fell asleep dreaming of Jamie's arms around her. The next morning, Leslie helped Sandy grade the younger kids papers and did some touch up cleaning, she didn't want anything to make her suspicious when she told her about Sunday. She was still deliberating how to tell her when Victoria unknowingly gave her the perfect opportunity. “Hey, Leslie,” she said excitedly, “we can watch ‘Sense and Sensibility’ Sunday night when you get back from your folks” “Sorry, kiddo, my friend Jamie and I are going to the movies Sunday night when I get back ,” Leslie answered slowly “Oh, that reminds me, Sandy, you won't need to pick me up at the train station, Jamie is going to meet me there and then bring me home after the movie.” “Oh, who's Jamie? Do we know her?” Leslie breathed a sigh of relief, she was glad that Sandy had picked the feminine pronoun for Jamie so she wouldn't be lying when she responded “Oh, just one of the soldiers that comes into Burger King for lunch, we got to talking and realized we had a lot in common, so we decided to meet up and see a movie and hang out when I get back in town.” “That’s fine” Sandy said, “just don’t stay out to late. Oh, and, I hope I don't need to remind you of the no boyfriends rule!” Leslie smiled lazily “No, you don't have to remind me.” Luckily they were at the train station, so there was no more time for questions, Leslie jumped out of the van waved good-bye and hurried to catch her train. By the time she got to her next stop the sun was high in the sky and it was getting warm, Leslie daydreamed about what it would be like to take Jamie home to meet her family, what would her mom say? Leslie giggled to herself at the thought of taking Jamie home with her and introducing him as her husband, she figured they would be married before she could take him to meet the family, especially since no one thought she was old enough to do anything. Leslie really wanted to get married, she wanted someone to take care of her, and treat her special. She thought she had a realistic view of marriage, but in reality she had no idea how much work a relationship was. She figured they would get married and all of her problems would disappear. Sunday morning James got off work at 6 am and headed home, since there wasn’t a Baptist church on base, his routine pretty much stayed the same, the only difference is that he, Chad, and the guys would have their weekly Bible study and accountability check-in that afternoon. This was something they did in addition to meeting with the guys every morning for prayer. Jamie and Chad had done this together every week, since their senior year of high school. They had been to a youth conference (just for the guys) and the speaker had talked about the importance of having regular Christian fellowship, studying the Word with other believers so we don't become reliant on our own wisdom or interpretation of the Scripture. He had also talked about the importance of having some one that you were accountable to; for your walk with the Lord and your thought life. He had said this was especially important for men because as the head of their home they are the first point of attack and in a vulnerable position; a position that makes it easy for them to think that they have all the answers and get cocky, acting like little gods in their “kingdoms” and forgetting that they ultimately will answer to God for how they lead and treat their families. With great power comes great responsibility! Before they had even got home Jamie and Chad had sworn to be each other's accountability partners for life, when they had gotten to Germany they met Justin and Blake and had decided to form a bible study group based on those principles. Jamie woke up and went for his usual run and got ready for the day. He really wasn't looking forward to this meeting, he knew Chad would pick up on his feelings for Leslie and he was pretty sure he wouldn't agree with the course of action they had chosen. “Oh, well it can’t be helped, at least not right now. Maybe talking about it with Chad, and the guys, will help me see things clearer and come up with a solution for our predicament.” He thought as he showered and changed. When he returned to the living room the guys had already gathered, Jamie walked through to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge trying to find something to eat. He found a pizza box that had half a pizza in it, after checking it carefully for mold, he threw a couple of slices on a plate and put it in the microwave. His quest for food successful, Jamie reached for his Bible to look up the verses they had been studying. “Let’s start with prayer requests today I have a rather important one,” Chad began “I got my orders...” he paused “I'm headed to Iraq. I leave the end of the month” Everyone present was torn, they knew the seriousness of his orders, they knew he was excited to get to be where there was some action, but they also knew his family would be worried sick about his safety. “Man I don’t know what to say,” Blake said “We’ll definitely be praying for you and for your family as well!” “Yeah, definitely” Justin echoed They talked and prayed together for some time, and since most everyone was focusing on Chad’s new orders the subject of Jamie and Leslie never came up and though he didn’t say anything Jamie was relieved. They were out shooting some hoops at the park when Jamie's cell phone rang. “Hello? Sergent Jamison speaking” “Hi, Jamie, it's Leslie.” “Leslie, how are you? I missed you so much.” “I'm great! I missed you too! I'll be at the Hauptbahnhoff in about 30 minutes.” “So, how was your trip home?” Jamie asked It was ok,” she said “I tried to convince Dad that I need to get my own place, but he got all upset and almost made me quit my job and move back home. Saying Mom needs my help there anyway. So, I don't think I'll bring it up again anytime soon. Other than that it was the same old, same old stuff, my brothers fought, my sister wined and I scrubbed the house for Sunday. And Mom and Dad fought again.” Leslie sighed as she ended her description of her weekend home. “I missed you and thought of you a lot” she added quickly. Jamie laughed “I missed you, too, and can't wait to see you again. How 'bout I get off of here and so I can come pick you up, Ok?” “Sound good. I'll see you in a bit” Leslie said as she hung up the phone. Suddenly, 30 minutes seemed like an awfully long time. To Jamie however it seemed just the opposite, he was wearing his dirty shorts and was covered in sweat. As he hung up the phone Chad turned to him and asked “Who was that?” “That, was Leslie.” Jamie answered, “I’m going to have to split. She’s on her way back into town and I got to go pick her up, we’re going to the movies this evening.” “Oh, really?” Chad teased “I think these two might need a little watching what you say guys, you want to go see a movie?” “Whoa, slow down I haven’t seen her in three days I sure don’t want to share her with you buffons! And secondly I got to get home and take a shower.” Jamie said as he headed to his truck. The guys followed. “So what does her family think of her dating any 'wild' soldier boy?” Justin asked. “Well, actually they don't know,” Jamie paused contemplating how to continue, “Leslie just casually mentioned that she had made a new friend, Jamie, and they assumed Jamie was a girl, and she didn't correct them.” “Wow, seriously, bro, do you think it's a good idea to be lying to her family?” Chad said. He held up his hand as Jamie tried to interrupt “even if it's only lying by omission.” Jamie sighed “I've gone over this and over this a thousand times, and I don't see any other way. We're not 'officially' dating, we're just friends, and it's not her family that has a problem with it, it's just the people she's living with and they don't really have any authority over her. So I think we're doing the best that we can considering the situation. I'm hoping maybe by Christmas we'll have figured out a better way. Maybe I can take leave and go meet her family.” “Wow” Blake exclaimed “I'm speechless. You're serious about this girl, aren't you? How long have you known her?” Jamie laughed “Two weeks. I know this sounds crazy, but I think she's the one” “I hope you're right and be careful. I don't want to have to come bail you out of trouble.” Justin said as the truck squealed to a stop in the driveway. Jamie threw the truck in park and bolted for the house peeling off his shirt as he went. “That boy’s got it bad!” Chad said as they followed him into the house. Thirty minutes later clean and fresh they walked into the train station. Jamie scanned the Arrival board “Ah, there it is. The 1:30 from Koblenz, Track 4b.” Leslie scanned the crowd waiting on the platform nervously, she hoped Jamie would be there especially since she had told Sandy not to pick her up, she also hoped that she wouldn't end up regretting going out with Jamie, she knew what could happen, of course, but she would just have to be very careful. Then she spotted him “Oh, my Gosh, he is sooo cute!” she thought to herself, “and he looks good in civilian clothes, too. Come to think of it this is the first time I've seen him out of uniform, he really makes jeans and a T-Shirt look good” she took a deep breath and tucked a stray curl behind her ear “I'm glad I changed into something more casual before I left.” she had almost tried to wear her church dress to the station, but had decided that would attract too much attention. The train pulled to a stop the doors opened and Leslie stepped from the train. “Wow,” Chad thought, standing next to his best friend, “I can see why you’ve fallen for her. She's beautiful, even in that simple jean skirt and pink blouse she looks stunning. With that blonde, curly hair softly framing her face she looks like an angel.” Jamie stepped forward “Hey, babe, you look great. Can I take your bag?” He asked, reaching for her suitcase as she walked toward him. “How was your trip?” “Yes, thank you.” Leslie answered, as he took the suitcase from her “The trip was ok. That last half-hour seemed to take forever, but I made it. So what movie are we going to see?” “Hello there, just where do you think you’re going?” Suddenly Chad stepped in front of Leslie, she looked around and noticed Justin and Blake circling around the other side. “Oh yeah,” James laughed, rolling his eyes “the guys thought we needed a posse of chaperones. Now our movie choices are: Legally Blonde 2, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Hulk, and Cheaper by the Dozen. So what's it going to be?” “Ooh, Cheaper by the Dozen sounds nice,” Leslie gushed, then checked herself, “ but why don't you guys pick something you would like to see” Leslie stammered to a halt, nervousness straining her features. “You two lovebirds decide,” Chad said leaning casually against the pillar “I'm just here to chaperon.” “Cheaper by the Dozen, it is then.”Jamie said briskly “It doesn't start for another two hours so Leslie and I are going to grab a bite to eat. I'm sure Leslie's hungry and I could do with some chow myself. The rest of you guys can come if you want but you’re paying for yourselves ” “You're always hungry,” Justin said rolling his eyes. “Oh, and you're not.” Jamie teased back “So where are we going to go try and fill your bottomless pit,” Blake asked “Actually, I was thinking maybe we could go to that little authentic German place on the Square. That is, if you wouldn't mind translating, Leslie.” “Of course not” Leslie replied “However, I do charge 50 bucks an hour for my translating services. Just to let you know.” Leslie busted out laughing at the looks on the boys faces.