A Marine’s Proposal (4 page)

“I've got to go,” he said.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To figure out the red tape. You know, how to get married in Okinawa.”

Caitlyn smirked. “You mean you haven't planned every step of the way.”

Slade smiled. “I wasn't sure you'd say yes. That was plan A. Now that you have, I have to work on plan B.”

She rolled her eyes up to the heavens as he trooped out the door. “You're hopeless, Masters.”

He grinned and said, “Utterly,” then entered his room and shut the door behind him.

Now what was she going to do, she thought as she entered her empty room. It was a Saturday evening and she
thought
she'd be with Slade. Maybe it was a good time to call her friend, Laura, back in the States. Everything was moving too fast. She needed to talk to someone who had some distance so they could be objective. But, first she figured she may as well take a long bath.

“Donnelly? Sanchez?” Caitlyn said as she knocked on the door separating the rooms. “I'm going to take a bath in a few in case you need the bathroom.” She shared a bathroom with two privates who had recently arrived in Okinawa, while she was lucky to have her own room for a few weeks since her roommate had recently returned to Camp Pendleton. As a Lance Corporal, she wasn't high enough up on the chain of command to warrant her own room and another Marine was moving in in two weeks. A stranger moving in to share her cramped space. Being the youngest of two brothers and two sisters, she dreamed of the day she’d have her own space and a little privacy, another reason that made Slade’s proposal difficult to refuse.

She heard Sanchez's voice come from the other side. “Go ahead.”

Caitlyn had the urge to knock again and talk to Sanchez about her situation. But since they didn't know each other that well yet, she didn't think she could burst in there and bare her soul. Besides, this marriage of convenience had to be kept top secret. Slade told her not to tell anyone. But she had to talk to someone about it. Too bad she had to call from the other side of the world. What she would give to be able to talk to Laura face-to-face. They usually communicated through e-mail as it was so expensive to call from Japan, but this predicament needed a two-way conversation. Oh well, she'd have to worry about her astronomical phone bill next month.

As Caitlyn ran the water, she threw in some lavender bath salts and played an album Slade had bought her a few months before. While they were driving to the beach one day, she heard a song on the radio that she loved—something about a girl in a short skirt and long jacket. She didn't know what it was called, but Slade surprised her the next day by sending her a digital album from a band called Cake. He had done some research on the radio station's web site to figure out the song then bought the album.

He’s such a good guy. If he ever married, he’d be a wonderful, considerate husband for one lucky woman. Until then, I’m happy to be the lucky one.

Caitlyn lay in the tub for so long that the playlist ended and the water had grown cold. Reluctantly, she climbed out of the tub, toweled off, and threw on her pajamas. As she sat down on her bed to call Laura, her eye caught her alpha-hydroxy mask tub and thought she should have used it when she was in the tub. Oh well, it wasn't too late, she could put it on now and let it set while she talked to Laura. She knew she was procrastinating talking to Laura because she knew what Laura was going to say. She was going to tell her that it was a stupid, if not dangerous idea, and that she should go tell Slade the whole deal was off before it progressed any further.

Maybe she shouldn't talk to Laura after all. Did she really want to hear a voice of reason to throw a reality check into her fantasy?

I better do it now before Laura finds out after the fact. She'd kill me if I didn't tell her beforehand.

After slowly brushing her wet hair and putting it up in a towel then carefully putting on her mask, Caitlyn finally sat down and dialed Laura's number. With the zillions of numbers involved in placing an international call, Caitlyn had too much time to think about hanging up.

The phone rang. She could hang up now before Laura answered. On the third ring, Caitlyn was both relieved and frustrated thinking that Laura wasn't home.

Then, she heard, “Hello.”

“Hi Laura, it's me Cait.”

“Hey, what's going on? I haven't talked to you on the phone in ages.”

“Yeah, well. I figured this was best said over the phone.”

“Uh oh,” Laura's voice dropped ominously. “What trouble have you gotten yourself into now?”

“I haven't gotten myself into
any
trouble,” Caitlyn answered defensively. “As a matter of fact, I called to tell you that I'm getting married.”

“What! To who? Oh my God! This is so exciting. I didn't even know you were seeing anyone.”

“Well, technically, I'm not. Don't get too excited yet. I have to tell you the whole story.”

“Should I sit down for this?”

“Um, yes. I think you should. Remember Slade?”

“Is this the guy you have the hots for, but are too chicken shit to let him now?”

“Yes, that's the one. Although there are legitimate reasons—I would not call them being too scared.”

“Yeah, sure,” Laura said with disbelief. Then her voice brightened when she asked, “Did you finally tell him you want him? Did he say he wanted to bonk you, too? And then after you both admitted you wanted to get it on, did he propose?”

“Um, let's see. No. No. And yes.”

“What? I don't get it.”

“Well, you see, it's complicated.” Caitlyn proceeded to tell Laura the whole story, beginning with Slade's proposal and ending with him figuring out how they can get married this Friday.

“Oh God, Caitlyn. You've got to be kidding me. Are you seriously considering marrying this guy who doesn't love you just so you can get to live in an apartment?”

“No. Correction. So I can live in an apartment off base
with him
.”

“But, Caitlyn, he’s not into you that way. You told me he just thinks of you as a friend. How on earth can you stand to be living with some guy who you're crazy about, but who only thinks of you as another one of the guys?”

“He doesn’t just think of me as one of the guys, Laura.”

“Are you screwing him?”

“Well, no.”

“Then forget it. If he doesn't see how hot you are right now and if he hasn't made a move in all these months, it's not going to happen.”

“Laura,” she said as she tried to think of an explanation.

“Is he gay?”

“No. He’s had girlfriends before. Just not since I’ve known him.”

“Suspect, don’t you think? It might be a cover.”

“He’s not gay.” That would be a tragic discovery for all of womankind, especially her.

“Caitlyn, listen to yourself. You sound utterly ridiculous. This isn't some fairy tale, this is real life. He is not some romantic guy who wants to whisk you off your feet, he's some conniving bastard who's using you to get what he wants.”

“You don't know him. He's not conniving at all. He's very sweet. He does a lot for me.”

“Then why is he risking
your
career?”

“He's risking his, too.”

“And for what? Is it really that bad living in the barracks?”

“It's—I don’t know how to describe it. Imagine living in a dorm-like situation only there's nineteen guys to every one girl. You’re under a microscope all day. Many guys treat you like you’re a piece of meat because so many other guys are doing it, so they think it’s okay.”

“It's still no reason to get into a fake marriage. It would be legal, you know, not some game. It would be on your permanent record. How would you explain to someone down the road, someone who you
really
love and want to marry, that you had a marriage of convenience back in your Marine Corps days?”

“I honestly care about Slade and I don’t want to think about being with anyone else right now so it’s not an issue.”

“But do you love him?”

Caitlyn didn’t answer. She didn’t know how to answer.

“And he doesn’t love you. You don't honestly think that he's going to suddenly fall in love with you once you get married, do you?” Laura asked.

Caitlyn remained silent.

“Caitlyn?”

Frustrated, Caitlyn chose not to answer. She knew Laura was being sensible while she didn't have any sense at the moment. “Why can't you be happy for me? I'm getting married. Who cares about the reasoning behind it?”

“I can't be happy for you because you're setting yourself up to get hurt. I don't want you getting screwed over.”

“Who says I will?”

“The law of probability.”

“Laura, why do you have to be such a realist? Don't you have a romantic bone in your body?”

“Caitlyn, let me ask you something. Why did you call me of all people to talk to about this? You know how I would react. You probably wanted to hear it.”

“That's not true,” Caitlyn lied. She knew that was exactly why she wanted to talk to Laura.

“What about your parents? What are you going to tell them?”

“Umm. I'll probably tell them the truth. They know we're friends. I'll explain how we decided to do this together and our reasons for doing so.”

Laura exhaled audibly. “Well, I know you. And it's not like you're going to listen to me anyway. Once you have your mind settled on something, I may as well talk myself blue in the face. So congratulations, I suppose.”

“What? That's it?” Caitlyn asked incredulously.

“What's the point in talking about it any further? You obviously have your mind made up. I hope it works out well for you and that you don't get into any serious military shit.”

“Well, fine. Thanks, I guess,” Caitlyn said coolly.

“Bye,” Laura returned, equally frosty, then she hung up.

Caitlyn wanted to throw the phone across the room. Why couldn't Laura be happy for her? Why couldn't she be optimistic for once?

She's right, Caitlyn thought. I'm being stupid and blind. I should listen to her.

Her fuming was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Caitlyn asked.

“Me.”

Was he psychic or what? Just as she was starting to think doubts about this whole marriage thing, Slade showed up. But hearing the sound of his voice sent such a thrill through her body, her doubts dissipated.

When Caitlyn threw open the door, Slade gasped. “Am I interrupting?”

“No, why? I just got off the phone with my friend.”

“Your face.”

“My face?” Caitlyn asked, then glanced in the mirror. “Agh. Oh my God, I look like the Incredible Hulk.” The anger was still on her face from Laura's call and combined with the green mask, she looked positively scary, “Go away, go away!”

Slade chuckled and strode into the room, closing the door behind him. “If we're going to be living together, I have to get used to seeing you in all your glory.”

Caitlyn furiously began splashing water on her face. How could she have forgotten the face mask? Yes, this was a
real
good way to seduce the man you wanted—scaring him away.

“I found out what we need to do by Friday,” Slade said.

“That's nice,” Caitlyn said. She was more concerned with getting the green goop off her face than anything else right now.

“So here's the plan,” Slade said.

“We need to get blood tests,” Slade began.

While Slade laid out the details, Caitlyn realized that she wasn't as enthusiastic as she was earlier. She couldn't get her conversation with Laura to stop replaying in her head. Why did she have to put a damper on this whole affair? A voice nagged in the back of her mind saying Laura was right. She was being deceitful. They were being deceitful no matter how they rationalized it. And she wasn’t being straight with Slade either.  He saw it as a business proposal, a marriage of convenience and she hoped that it might lead to…

No, she couldn’t go there unless she wanted to end up hurt. But she couldn't back out of it now. Well, she supposed she could. Nothing was set in stone. She didn't
want
to back out of it.

“So I guess it's all settled.” Caitlyn forced a smile.

****

During the work week, Caitlyn’s mood lifted. Although she was usually no-nonsense and professional at work, focused on the various legal paperwork she was responsible for managing, she was distracted by the wedding. She daydreamed about the affair, swept up in the excitement. During lunch or after work, she took care of little details and paperwork before their wedding on Friday.

When she passed Slade in the office, she asked, “Are you going to class at Kadena tonight?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Can I hitch a ride with you? They have a better PX and I have to shop for some things.”

“Like what?”

“A dress.”

Caitlyn never learned how to drive. A car accident, when she was, fifteen left her scarred both mentally and physically. Luckily, Okinawa had a decent public transportation system and a number of taxis. And since she spent much of her free time with Slade, when he wasn’t in class or studying, she rarely had to use them. He drove them all over the island.

The shopping area on the Air Force base was much bigger than the one on their Marine one and she needed to find a wedding dress. Not the traditional type, but a simple dress that she bought especially for her big day. The last place she ever expected to buy her wedding gown from was a military PX, but she didn't know where else to look in town. Most of her shopping off base was for gift items to send back home.

“Can I help you find something?” a saleswoman asked.

“No, thank you. Just looking.” It was difficult to describe what you were looking for when you weren’t sure yourself.

At last, she found what she was looking for—a soft champagne satin design with spaghetti straps that could pass for elegant or more casual depending on the occasion or accessories. She tried it on and it flowed down her body, hugging her curves in all the right places and flowing down to her calves. She lingered in front of the mirror, twirling one way then the other as the satin gathered around her in slow-motion. This was it, it was perfect. Her wedding dress.

Caitlyn picked out a simple pearl necklace and matching earrings. She had a pair of strappy sandals that would work fine. Wonderful. She was all set.

On the drive back to the base, she realized she was missing a couple of things: something borrowed, and something bluethree of the four criteria.

Guess it's a simple wedding. Correction: a fake wedding. Besides, it's not like I have any family or friends around, or any bridesmaids to help me with this stuff.

****

Caitlyn’s uncertainties about their upcoming wedding almost vanished once they began their apartment hunt. They both couldn’t contain their excitement.

“Check us out, Slade. Young twenty-somethings living on our own in an apartment in Okinawa, Japan. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Pretty cool.”

“I know. Being on base is okay, but living on the island with the locals is—I don’t know—awesome!”

Slade laughed. “All right. Practical matters. We need an apartment not too far from the base so we can get to work easily. Two bedrooms. Off the main highway. And it needs to be affordable.”

They were only E-3s on the pay scale, which wasn't exactly high up the totem pole. They should get a living allowance since the on-base housing for families were completely full, yet they weren't sure if it would cover the full amount of rents in Okinawa, which could be astonishingly high for such a small living space.

 If they made a decent salary, they wouldn't even have to do this wedding thing. They would simply pay rent for an apartment like normal people, like roommates. But this was the military and they had to play by their rules. Or bend them a little to make them work for them.

Thursday afternoon at work, she couldn't get it out of her head that it was the last day she would be single. When she returned to work on Monday, everything would be different. She would be married to Slade.

After work, they were going to visit a few more apartments that Slade had called about that afternoon.

At the first apartment they entered that evening, Caitlyn squealed with delight. “Oh, this is perfect, Slade. It's quaint, so homey. I would love to live here.”

The apartment was small, but it had character. There was a living room/dining room with a tiny kitchen and two small bedrooms off a hallway. Nothing special there, but Caitlyn envisioned all the things she could do to spice up the place, make it a home. She'd have a place of her own. In the barracks, her chance to decorate or spruce things up was greatly dampened by restrictions and routine inspections. The main draw to this apartment, however, was in the main room. It had two glass doors leading out to a beautiful, shared courtyard with a fountain surrounded by stone benches. The courtyard was filled with all sorts of tropical plants and tiny trees making it appear like a miniature paradise.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

Slade opened closets and cabinets and peered in. “It seems all right.” Checking out the two bedrooms, he said, “We'll have our privacy, our own space.”

“Come and look at this view,” Caitlyn prodded.

Slade came over and scanned the courtyard with an appraising eye. “It looks like a quiet spot to read.” Then he turned to Caitlyn and said, “Yes, I like the place. Shall we take it?”

“Yes,” Caitlyn said nodding vigorously.

“You sure you don't want to check out the other apartments tonight? You might like another one better than this.”

“No, this is it. This is the place.”

“Okay,” Slade said. Then he turned to the building owner and said, “We'll take it.”

After going through some paperwork and exchanging a check for some keys, the owner said they could move in over the weekend. The apartment had been vacant for a month after another military couple had lived there and he was eager to rent it out.

“Are there many military families who live in the complex?” Caitlyn asked.

“Two others. One with a couple of young children. Most of our other residents are locals and have lived here for years.”

On the drive back to the base, they were both in a great mood. They had an apartment and tomorrow they would be married.

“Let's get something to eat first,” Caitlyn said.

Slade smirked and then said, “Let me call about the two other apartments and cancel.”

After making the calls, they decided on a little Okinawan restaurant near their base that they often went to for some quick, healthy food. One thing Caitlyn loved about Okinawa was the food. Everything was clean and light. Even the fast food chains seemed healthy with seaweed on their burgers.

Over their noodle and vegetable dishes, Caitlyn asked, “So are you ready for tomorrow?”

“Absolutely,” Slade said. “I've been preparing for it all week. Finally, it's here.” Then, he asked, “You?”

“Yes,” Caitlyn beamed. Laura’s cautious warnings had quieted in her mind, drowned out by the excitement of what lay ahead. Almost all her doubts were gone. But she wasn't going to let doubts spoil her mood now. She had an apartment and tomorrow she would be Mrs. Slade Masters.

Later that night, though, she found it hard to sleep. The doubts began to come back to her. Should she really go through with this?

Yes, damn it, she would. This was her life and she could do whatever she wanted with it. The tiny voice in the back of her mind came back—
even if she wanted to screw it up.

After tossing in bed for a couple of hours, Caitlyn finally climbed out of bed. She was so frustrated that it was the night before her wedding and she couldn't sleep. One technique she relied on in the past when she couldn't sleep was to write down what she was thinking about. Usually with her thoughts on paper, she could get them out of her mind enough to fall asleep. She pulled out her journal and poured out her conflicted emotions onto the pages.

Why shouldn't we live together? What's the difference between having two rooms across from each other in one building than two bedrooms inside another building?

I know, I know, I could have it much worse right now and be in a tent in a war zone. But it looks like we’re going to be stationed here for three years. Why not settle in someplace livable?

Why shouldn't I marry Slade? I have feelings for him. There's nothing illegal or wrong about that. Even if he doesn't feel the same way about me, I know that he cares for me as a friend, or maybe more like a sister.

How do I really feel about him? Is it wanting someone because I can’t have him? Or is it more than lust—could it be—love?

No. I can’t think that way. I’d be setting myself up to get my heart broken. Am I being a fool? Marrying a man who has informed me that this is only a fake marriage, only a temporary marriage, and here I am like an idiot, playing the part of the fool.

To hell with it. This is my life, my chance, my decision. I'm going to go through with this wedding. And if it doesn't work out, well, I knew I was being a fool. Better to take the chance than to wonder...

Before she knew it, she had several pages filled. With that torment out of her mind, she figured she might be able to relax now. Maybe a long, hot shower would ease her body first.

After several minutes in a steaming hot shower, she put her pajamas back on and climbed back into bed. This time she was able to fall asleep. Mercifully, she slept hard until the morning, not being awakened by any dreams, which she was sure would be all too colorful and remind her all too vividly about her decision or its potential consequences.

The next morning, Caitlyn took her time getting ready, lingering over a cup of coffee. This was her wedding morning after all. She had to dress the part, even if she wasn't wearing a traditional wedding gown. She ritually went through the motions of doing her hair and makeup as if this was a true marriage ceremony. She curled her hair in loose ringlets, allowing a few tendrils to escape to soften her appearance. Since she pinned up her hair in uniform, she wanted to have her hair fall down her shoulders on her wedding day. Then she applied a tasteful amount of makeup to enhance her features. After putting on her dressing gown and shoes, she added the jewelry that she bought from the PX and added a spritz of a floral perfume she had bought back in the States to remind herself she was a woman, even if she wore shapeless camouflage and combat boots almost every day.