Come to Your Senses

Roxie twirled in her bright orange sundress and smiled at her reflection. She had done her hair in curls, carefully applied her makeup, painted her nails to match her dress, and put on her favorite high heels. She applied lip-gloss and blew a kiss to the mirror on her way out the door. Her heart was pounding as she skipped into the kitchen acknowledging her future mother-in-law with a pearly white smile. 1

“Excited?” Deborah asked finishing up dishes in the sink and wiping the counter down. 2

“Of course, I just hope his flight gets here on time, there is nothing worse than waiting another two hours after six months.” Roxie sat down at the counter with a glass of water to calm her nerves. Her fiancé had been deployed to Iraq for six months. Of course she had talked to him a few times in between his convoy runs and weeks out in the field but the idea of seeing him for two whole weeks was enough to drive her mad. 3

While Deborah finished up laundry and picking up the house Roxie continued to daydream about her Marine, Jonathan. It’s true that Jonathan was not perfect, but Roxie knew that not everyone was. There were things about him that would bother her, like his two line emails that responded to her two page ones, or calling her three times a day to see what she was doing, after he said that he wouldn’t be able to talk. She attributed this to his being bored and in the office. Jonathan was the kind of man who needed cowboys and Indians in his life to be happy. This was the characteristic that gave Roxie the most trouble. 4

Jonathan was hell bent on being on a Special Forces team even if it meant being further away from his family and the woman he supposedly “loved with all his heart.” Roxie believed it was a childish fantasy and wondered what man in his right mind would give up his wife and her love for a life of fortune, fame, and excitement. Other than a few controlling tendencies, and a huge streak of indecision, Roxie loved him to death and refused to see any of his negative attributes. She knew she would make the perfect military wife and mother some day. She just hoped to God that he would get out of his funk once he saw her at the airport and their love was rekindled. 5

An hour before his flight was scheduled to come in, Deborah, Roxie, another family friend Lance, and his two kids were piled into a grey minivan on the way to Atlanta, Georgia. Roxie’s nerves were so shot she refused a cup of sweet tea at the nearest fast food joint and opted for a glass of ice water. 6

Waiting in the airport for Jonathan was more than Roxie could bear. For two hours she stood at the gate with hundreds of other families waiting for their loved ones. She hopped back and forth on both of her feet to ease the pain of her fashionable heels hoping that the next batch of passengers would include the love of her life. Deborah and Lance were busy talking to themselves while the three kids were running around, terrorizing other families. Roxie could care less, all she wanted was Jonathan and to see his gorgeous smile. 7

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity she spotted him coming up the escalator, looking fatigued but no worse for the wear. Roxie squealed with delight and ran to him wrapping her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go. Their reunion kiss was rushed, and not nearly as romantic as Roxie had imagined, as Jonathan quickly excused himself to the bathroom. 8

His absence seemed an eternity to Roxie who had waited six months to see his smiling face. Once he reemerged she firmly attached herself to his side through the baggage claim and out the doors to the stifling mini van. Once seated in the van with the air conditioner blowing heavenly cool air, Roxie began asking questions.9

“How was your flight? Did you get a lay over somewhere? Where did you stop? How long? What do you want to do tonight?” All of her questions went unanswered as Jonathan immediately began talking about the sign up bonus he would get for joining SF, the cool places he would go, the people he would meet, the equipment he would need, and the opportunities that would be opened for him. 10

Roxie tried as tactfully as she could to interject her own opinion on the subject, but to no avail. It seemed that his mind was set on joining whether it was what she preferred or not. She understood that it was his life and his career but she also understood that once you asked someone to marry you, their ideas, needs, and desires need to be recognized as well. Roxie was summarily overtaken by Jonathan’s voice each and every time she attempted to speak. On the rare occasion a word of hers was heard it was dismissed as her being clingy and spoiled into getting her own way. 11

For the rest of the drive back to Jonathan’s home in southern Georgia Roxie kept her mouth shut and stared out the window. She thanked God for the sunglasses she wore that hid her glistening blue eyes. For six months she had tried to pretend that he really didn’t want to leave her and let the Marine Corps take over his life but it seemed to be that he was taking the things he could never get and giving up the love he already had. The revelation had finally dawned on her that her feelings had changed too. She was tired of playing second fiddle for a man that never noticed her bright orange sundress or the blisters that had formed on her feet from her high heels. 12