World Turning. I Gotta Get My Feet Back On The Ground...
Previously: Chapter 3: Sweet, Wonderful You. You Make Me Happy With the Things You Do...
In addition to the beach, music played a big part in our relationship, both before and after we were married. When I met Susan, I had just gotten back from the crazy time I spent living in Florida with Moose, and one positive I took from that experience was my love of Fleetwood Mac.
The summer Susan and I met, there was a Fleetwood Mac concert at Schaefer Stadium, and by then, Susan had become a Mac fan, too. She had little choice. It was all we listened to in the car. We got tickets, and one of her friends and her boyfriend went with us in the GTO.
Once inside the stadium, we found ourselves at the end zone opposite the stage, so I grabbed Susan's hand and told her to come with me. I wanted her to have the best view of the band. We weaved our way through the crowd on the playing field, and went 100 yards, all the way to the other end zone, where Fleetwood Mac was getting ready to play. I told her it was the longest run of my football career, and that I couldn't have done it without her.
When our forward progress was finally stopped, we were on the goal line, standing directly in front of the band. Then we wiggled our way over so we were standing right in front of Stevie Nicks, Susan's favorite singer.
I was resting my elbows on the stage when I yelled to Susan, "I can steal one of her shoes. Do you want it?" She laughed, but I was half serious—that's how close we were. We watched the entire concert from there, and it was an incredible night.
Leaving the parking lot was always challenging, and waiting three hours to get out was not unusual. I had the stereo on the entire time, and when we could finally move, I tried starting the car, but the battery was dead. I went knocking on car windows to see if anyone had jumper cables, and just when it seemed futile, I recognized a guy in a nearby car. It was my old friend from Norwich University, Mark Harvey from Hingham. He and I were "Rooks" when we traveled by bus to Montreal to play rugby. After the match, we went into the city and got shitfaced, and just narrowly escaped getting arrested at 3:00 am for being drunk and disorderly.
After a spirited reunion, he opened his trunk, got out his cables, and we got the GOAT running!
That summer, I picked Susan up every night, even when she was working at Matthews, a department store that replaced Mars Bargainland. After she got out of work, we went directly to Bill's Pizza in the Sharon Heights Plaza. Susan always got a small Italian sub with extra pickles, and after a while, we didn't even have to tell Bill; he knew.
Every couple has their go-to restaurant; ours was Sorrento II on Route One in Foxboro. Other than Bill's, Susan didn't like fast food places, and Sorrento was a legit restaurant with atmosphere. It had a world-class salad bar and great Italian food. We really didn't know what Sorrento meant at the time; we just knew it had something to do with Italy. Forty-three years later, we went to Italy, and after spending three nights in Rome, we stayed in Sorrento, and then we knew the origin of the restaurant's name, which had long since closed.
The Opal ring was still in my glove box, and Susan's birthday was still a week away. We went out one night and just hung out in a clearing by the railroad tracks on East Foxboro Street. After several shots of Drambuie, I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to see the ring on her finger!
I told her I knew her birthday was a week away, but I wanted to give her the gift now. Right now! She was excited and didn't mind me jumping the gun.
She looked so happy when she opened the box and first saw the ring. She slid the ring on her finger, the correct way, with the pointed end facing her fingertips, and it looked unbelievable on her tanned fingers with polished nails. She used "Misty Lilac" nail polish, and I loved how it looked. Once she knew how much I loved it, she never wore anything else.
She held her hand before her and admired the gold band, fiery pear-shaped opal, and the three diamond chips. She said it was perfect! Giving is so much better than receiving!
We went on to have three children together, and maybe the three diamond chips weren't just there for the glitz.
Susan and I enjoyed everything Fleetwood Mac released, but my absolute favorite was "World Turning."
It was a rebellious song for me back then, but now, with the passing of my wife, it has taken on a completely different meaning…
Everybody's trying to say I'm wrong
I just wanna be back where I belong
World turning
I gotta get my feet back on the ground
World turning
Everybody's got me down...
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To be continued…