one was worse.
A week later they went out to dinner at a very nice upscale restaurant that had a dress code, evening dresses for women and a suit for men; they have been trying to get into this place for weeks. Once he was able to get reservations he decided it would be the ideal place to propose.
The dinner was great and everything was lovely, at the end of the meal, John scooted his chair back, moved over to Mellissa, he got down on one knee, took her hand, “Mellissa Ann Grey, I love you with all of my heart and I would love to spend the rest of my life with you, will you Marry Me?”
Mellissa sat there for a bit, making him squirm, she took his hand with both of her hands, looked at him in the eyes, “Can we get some dessert? I’m still hungry.”
Not exactly the answer he was hoping for, now struggling for a response, “Well yeah I guess.” he said clearly confused.
Mellissa still looking at him, squeezing his hands, “Of course I will marry you.” The entire restaurant broke out in applause and chuckles.
Chapter Eleven
Almost nine months from the date they were married a gift from God was bestowed on John and Mel, at least that’s how they looked at it, Kai Mark Clayton was born, nine pounds two ounces, a baby boy. Mom was doing great and Dad was ecstatic, John was in the birthing room holding Mel’s hand and encouraging her the entire way, in John’s eyes the entire process was a miracle.
He remembered that his first twelve or so years after college were all about taking life and the best and most efficient way to do that. How his life had changed a hundred and eighty degrees, now it was about making life and doing everything he could do to preserve it. Right after the baby was born he was asked to leave the birthing room as mom needed her rest.
John stepped out and called his mom and dad and told them the good news, they were no longer able to travel, too many medical issues, but he assured them they would be out as soon as possible so they could meet their new grandson. On the other hand Mel’s parents who lived near Berkeley were there at the hospital in the waiting room to hear the good news, which after his phone call he shared with them. From there they made phone calls to all of the other relatives to let them know. For John the only phone call he made was to his parents, he was an only child and he had no idea where most of his childhood friends were. He had lost track of them while he was in the Army and his life was entirely different and he was sure he had nothing in common with those people any longer.
He ended up making a couple of other calls to some friends from work and they spread the word there, essentially letting everyone know that John wouldn’t be in for a couple of weeks at a minimum. When he was in the Army he had a lot of friends, of course they were teammates and their families, then everyone they hung out with at the local dives and clubs. For some reason the civilian world was very different he found no one really had your back like they did in the Army, everyone was always out for themselves.
Although he loved his job and his wife and his new born son he missed the camaraderie of the Army and his team, he missed it a lot. He even went so far to talk to a US Army National Guard Recruiter about joining. When the recruiter saw his DD-214 he damn near shit himself, it was impressive, quite impressive was his exact words. He was shuttled into talking with the recruiter’s commander who was an O-3 (Captain) who then shuttled him off to talk to the Battalion Commander a Lieutenant Colonel; none of them had ever met a man with John’s background.
Last he heard from them
A week later they went out to dinner at a very nice upscale restaurant that had a dress code, evening dresses for women and a suit for men; they have been trying to get into this place for weeks. Once he was able to get reservations he decided it would be the ideal place to propose.
The dinner was great and everything was lovely, at the end of the meal, John scooted his chair back, moved over to Mellissa, he got down on one knee, took her hand, “Mellissa Ann Grey, I love you with all of my heart and I would love to spend the rest of my life with you, will you Marry Me?”
Mellissa sat there for a bit, making him squirm, she took his hand with both of her hands, looked at him in the eyes, “Can we get some dessert? I’m still hungry.”
Not exactly the answer he was hoping for, now struggling for a response, “Well yeah I guess.” he said clearly confused.
Mellissa still looking at him, squeezing his hands, “Of course I will marry you.” The entire restaurant broke out in applause and chuckles.
Chapter Eleven
Almost nine months from the date they were married a gift from God was bestowed on John and Mel, at least that’s how they looked at it, Kai Mark Clayton was born, nine pounds two ounces, a baby boy. Mom was doing great and Dad was ecstatic, John was in the birthing room holding Mel’s hand and encouraging her the entire way, in John’s eyes the entire process was a miracle.
He remembered that his first twelve or so years after college were all about taking life and the best and most efficient way to do that. How his life had changed a hundred and eighty degrees, now it was about making life and doing everything he could do to preserve it. Right after the baby was born he was asked to leave the birthing room as mom needed her rest.
John stepped out and called his mom and dad and told them the good news, they were no longer able to travel, too many medical issues, but he assured them they would be out as soon as possible so they could meet their new grandson. On the other hand Mel’s parents who lived near Berkeley were there at the hospital in the waiting room to hear the good news, which after his phone call he shared with them. From there they made phone calls to all of the other relatives to let them know. For John the only phone call he made was to his parents, he was an only child and he had no idea where most of his childhood friends were. He had lost track of them while he was in the Army and his life was entirely different and he was sure he had nothing in common with those people any longer.
He ended up making a couple of other calls to some friends from work and they spread the word there, essentially letting everyone know that John wouldn’t be in for a couple of weeks at a minimum. When he was in the Army he had a lot of friends, of course they were teammates and their families, then everyone they hung out with at the local dives and clubs. For some reason the civilian world was very different he found no one really had your back like they did in the Army, everyone was always out for themselves.
Although he loved his job and his wife and his new born son he missed the camaraderie of the Army and his team, he missed it a lot. He even went so far to talk to a US Army National Guard Recruiter about joining. When the recruiter saw his DD-214 he damn near shit himself, it was impressive, quite impressive was his exact words. He was shuttled into talking with the recruiter’s commander who was an O-3 (Captain) who then shuttled him off to talk to the Battalion Commander a Lieutenant Colonel; none of them had ever met a man with John’s background.
Last he heard from them
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