Risking All for Love (Wattpadprize14)

Chapter Six

Gary began his first day of teaching at St. Patrick's High School run by the Catholic Order of the Holy Cross based in Southern Indiana.  Gary was selected to teach Senior English there. Showing up early, well dressed with a white shirt and tie, he carried a medium-size brief case and a portable Brother 11 manual typewriter.

As he entered the classroom, students stood up for him.  He knew not to challenge this minor show of respect that had been part of Saint Pat's traditions from the beginning.  With an outward confidence perhaps more than he was feeling on the inside, he turned in military fashion toward his students.

"Please take your seats."  But instead of talking, disgorging words like he thought he might that first day, he remembered Margaux's words to set the tone the first day, and then he could let up when he felt confident. So he stood staring at the students for what seemed like an eternity.  One by one their eyes fixed on his for a while, but then each one of them blinked.  Their eyes looked left and then right but away from Gary.  He looked up at the clock on the wall.  It has taken him but fifty-eight seconds to gain psychological sway over his class.

"Welcome to Senior English.  I am Gary Newton, your Peace Corps teacher assigned to St. Patrick's High School. I am not easy, I have my likes and dislikes, but after you work with me, you'll be efficient in English grammar and composition. But you'll also be competent in English Literature."

The uniformed boys and girls said nothing.  The room was quite silent.

"Today you have two writing assignments.  For the first fifteen minutes write about yourself but no more than two pages.  The second assignment is to choose a partner."  They then paired off.  "Write  fifteen-minute fictional story about your partner. Make it all up, inna?"

The students laughed at his sudden informality.

That is how the whole day went on.  By the end of the day, Gary had a whole stack of papers for his brief case.  After the last student had departed his classroom, he then took out his portable typewriter and banged out lesson plans for the next day.  Two hours after the end of the school day he reported to the principal's office.

"Still here, Gary?" Brother John said.  "I have heard good things about you already.  How you handle the kids, for instance.  It looks like you are going to work out fine here."

"Thank you. By the way, do you have a few spare stencils for me to take home?"

"Gary, Saint Pat's has a copy machine. You can set up pages on your typewriter that you want printed.  I can have them reproduced if you get here early enough every morning."

"I'd like that."  He then asked, "Where can I get some more white copy paper for preparing lesson plans and tests?"

Brother John reached into a cabinet and produced a ream of paper with five hundred sheets of white paper.  "By the way..."  He looked out the window.  "Do you know somebody who drives a Mercedes?"

"Yes."  Gary smiled. "I do."  He betrayed his calm.  "How long has she been here?"

"An hour, I think."

In a flash Gary was in the parking lot.  Margaux leaned out and said, "I got off early.  Want a ride home?"

"What have you been doing while waiting?"

She held up a paperback titled The Odyssey.  "Want to discuss it over dinner at Oscar's Chalet?"

"I wouldn't miss it."

Ever since leaving Margaux after pizza that other night, Gary had been doing a lot of thinking.  Here sitting before him was a girl he was enamored with.  At home if a girl had admitted sleeping around like Margaux confessed at his apartment, he'd have dropped her like a hot potato.  But years had gone by, and he no longer had his inflated youthful ego about marrying a virgin.  Here was a beautiful, enamoring girl, who had such a hard time just staying alive. More important was that Margaux had the capacity to love him, Gary, for himself.  Few people cared so much for others. She was generous.  How did she get herself into some kind of illicit activity?  And why or how did someone have such unfair sway over her?  She hated what she was doing, having to go to bed with some older man.  Who was forcing her to do what she did? Was it possible that all that she needed was enough time to get herself out of whatever crap she was in?  What he wanted to see were signs that she was willing to give up what she was.  Given time and patience, she would be his someday.

"Gary, Oscar wants your order."

Gary looked up at Margaux.  Smiling, he said, "Sorry, for the delay, Margaux." He looked up at Oscar, the restaurant's Swiss-born owner, who spoke both German and English.  "Gibben Sie mir ein Schnitzel mit Kloss.  Trauben saft fuer Trinken."

"Dankeschoen," he said.  Then he disappeared in the back room.

"So, Marge, how do you find Homer?"

"So different from the War Commentaries of Caesar?"

"I've read both. Care to share your take on it?"

"Their styles of war war fighting were such a stark contrast to each other."

"Wouldn't you expect that from works hundreds of years apart?"

"Yes, but the Greeks fought more like American Indians."

"How so, Marge?"

"The business of the Indian Chief was to get his braves to the battle.  Say, against the US Cavalry.  Once there, it was every warrior for himself.  Compare them with Homer's Hoplite Warriors.   Perhaps the Homeric Greeks had no phalanx or such mass battle formation at the time.  Nevertheless, it would not have mattered to Homer because he is concerned with portraying individual acts of bravery and warlike prowess."

"And the Romans under Caesar, Marge?  What about them?"

"Caesar's men were brave, but they resisted salient forays into the enemy lines just to show off.  Rather they kept formations while fighting.  They provided mutual support and protection.  The result was a far more effective war fighting machine."

"Wow, Marge!"  Gary smiled at her astute observations.  "Congratulations, Marge, yours is a first-class analysis!"

After Oscar brought the food, they ate their fill and bade good-by. Gary hung on Margaux's arm while they walked on the beach.  Leaning against a palm tree, they stood locked in embrace.  The ocean tide had a calming, romantic effect on them both.

After a long kiss, Gary held up her chin.  "Marge, I will say this over and over until it happens. It's going to be all right between us.  I promise you.  I am as patient as Job nowadays with a girl  like you."

"Gary, it is going to take effort, careful maneuvering, and enormous risk to free myself from this sleazy life I'm living.  Now that you're here to see me through this, I trust you implicitly.  Just believe that whatever I do apart from you is against my will."

"Then, Margaux, I commit myself to staying with you through this whole thing. By the time my full tour is over here in Africa, we'll know each other well. We'll be one with each other or totally apart. Nothing in between."

Darkness came early as they shared such sweet, tender moments together under the palms as the ocean waves worked their romantic magic on them both.