That’s How Heartaches Are Made: Book Ii

By Elizabeth Cooksey

Cornelius Alexander Anderson, Jr. a.k.a. “The Deuce” is not only a skilled and talented professional basketball player but he also shows potential as a leader and a coach. Serving as a coach and motivator at the Olympic Games in Montreal he finds himself in an important position to influence the decisions of the IOC.
He has made some decisions and investments that have made him quite wealthy. With his loyal circle of friends, he has helped to make their special group savvy investors who carry on a note-worthy enterprise.
The Deuce is the namesake and only son of his father, Cornelius Alexander Anderson, Sr., president of an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). The whole dynamic family still seeks to guide The Deuce’s life and influence his decisions.
When he meets Elaine Drummond, a beautiful, shy college girl, she proves to be much more of a dynamic go getter than he could have ever imagined. Her life takes an unexpected turn that will cause conflicts for both of them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984581952

Elizabeth Cooksey

Elizabeth Walton Cooksey has been a high school teacher of English, a social worker, a newspaper reporter, and a college professor. She is a wife, a mother and grandmother. Her love for writing and telling tales of adventure and free-wheeling lifestyles has roots in her childhood. She loves animals, dogs in particular and loves writing and hearing stories about them. She is a Mississippian and with her husband who is a retired General Motors executive she has lived in many states. She helped her husband to write his autobiography, No Time to Cry, which tells of his Army service during the Viet Nam conflict and his time as the plant manager of the world’s only Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She is now working hard to finish Book 2 of her novel, That’s How Heartaches Are Made.

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Copyright © 2020 by Elizabeth Cooksey.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/04/2020

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Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

This book is dedicated to those who bought

and read book 1 with the firm belief

that there would be a book 2.

Here is your reward.

Thank you for believing.

Elaine Drummond sat stiffly in the seat of the huge American Airlines Lear Jet as it rose into the air and seemed to leave the bottom of her stomach on the ground. It was her first ever flight on an airplane. Delores’ presence beside her was comforting but it was not enough to soothe her fear of flying. She had hurriedly consumed a tuna fish sandwich and gulped down a glass of sweet iced tea at a small cafe in terminal A of the Nashville International Airport. Now her quickly gobbled, late lunch was threatening to rise up and cause problems. Before the airplane was aloft and had completely smoothed out, it made a wide bank to the left and her stomach seemed to turn with it to a very upsetting angle.

Delores reached into her lap and grasped her hand. By now, Elaine had learned to accept such graciousness from white people. The Bernsteins’ who were more loving parents than her own mother, had accustomed her to warm affection much more than her mother ever had. The Bernsteins’ had been more than friends for most of her life. Her mother, Helen Louvenia Drummond, was as close in appearance to a white person as she could possibly be but Helen’s tight controls and general misanthropy had inadvertently caused Elaine to be much more wary than accustomed. Elaine had come to the realization now that appearance was not the reason that she had not immediately felt alienated from white people like Delores. It was far more complicated than just that. Elaine’s short journey in life had already taught her that outward appearance did not determine a person’s character—only the within and how people treated others were what really mattered.

More than once, Elaine had berated herself for her lack of trust but now she had settled herself on that score. She had grown to like Delores very much and she liked Sal and Andre despite her wariness and past experiences of growing up in a strictly segregated society. Since the beginning of her life she had more than once seen attempts by some evil people to dehumanize others on the basis of race. By now she had grown to believe through association with previously unknown people, that there was some inherent good in many people. Delores’ friendship with The Deuce had brought about their shared friendship yet Delores had not wavered once from her promise to see after Elaine though Delores had certainly known The Deuce much longer than she had known Elaine. Even after The Deuce was no longer in her life, Delores had continued to be a friend and mentor to Elaine. By now Elaine knew for certain that Sal and Andre were very valuable to have as friends. Both Sal and Andre were optimistic that Elaine would succeed in the fashion world and they all seemed to be confident that her talent and diligence would bring rewards her way.

That very week-end after Elaine had left the university and taken refuge with the Shermans, Delores informed her that her company that had arranged for her to fill a position as a model in the huge Fashion Extravaganza that was held seasonally at the Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center in Chicago and now she and Delores were on their way there. Delores had picked her up from the Shermans’ house. They drove to the airport and ate a quick lunch before boarding the plane to fly up to Chicago.

They planned to make it to the rehearsal at the Apparel Center that Friday evening, stay in the rooms that Delores had secured for them in the attached hotel on Friday night and spend Saturday with Elaine modeling in the show. The show’s director, Sam Cox, had asked Delores to serve as one of the coordinators and Delores was set to lend her expert voice as a narrator and to give fashion advice and details where it was needed. They would fly back to Nashville that Sunday afternoon, pick up Delores’ car from the airport parking lot and Delores would drop Elaine back to the Shermans’ house. Elaine saw now that a hectic schedule like this could keep her mind away from feeling sorry for herself or any regret.

This is here for you to use in case you get motion sickness, Delores said as she pulled up a slender bag made of heavy green paper from the seat pocket in front of Elaine as the plane made another turbulent sway. Elaine was fairly sure now that the excitement of takeoff had not upset her stomach to the point of complete rebellion, so she shook her head briefly and Delores pushed the bag back down into the pocket of the seat.

Elaine silently congratulated herself on surviving the takeoff and tried to settle in. As soon as the plane leveled out Delores stood up and retrieved her briefcase from the overhead bin, pulled out a pen and a folder full of papers, replaced the briefcase, let down the tray on the back of the seat in front of her, opened the folder and began to concentrate on paperwork. The perky young woman with short blonde hair who was sitting in the seat next to the window closed the shutter down on the window so that there was only a streak of light beneath. Apparently she had enjoyed the takeoff but she did not like the bright light and moving clouds now that they were aloft. Elaine was glad of that. Finally, Elaine felt relieved that her stomach had settled. She was thankful that she had endured this strenuous new experience with her dignity intact.

There had been so many people at the Chicago fashion extravaganza that it seemed to be a huge success by any standards both monetary and in exposure for the designers, the models, the managers, and the presenters. Elaine took great pleasure in her own success: the applause and acceptance she got as she walked and posed under the bright lights of the runway was gratifying. Delores gave her a bonus check which was more than a pleasant surprise. She was asked more than once to walk in other shows that were coming up. The next show in Chicago was a smaller one that a promoter was putting together to showcase four new young designers. She took his card and several others that were offered to her. She gave out her information and made promises that she would consider walking in their shows later this summer and during the holiday season.

Once Elaine was settled on the plane for the trip back to Nashville Elaine was relaxed enough to really think deeply about the sudden turn that her life had taken. She certainly had faced some very turbulent times that had left her hurt and demoralized. The ordeal that had resulted in her leaving college had devastated her and often rose up in her mind.

She had faced Marsh at the very last class meeting that she had ever attended at Tennessee State University on the Tuesday morning after they got back from Spring Break. Except for the fact that she was overly alert, she made sure that she gave no sign at all of what had occurred over the past week. It was more than obvious that Marsh avoided coming near her because she had kept her eyes upon him for the whole time that he paced back and forth and counted cadence for the class. At last, when his eyes met hers, he quickly turned his head. Chastened, she had dropped her gaze then. I’ve stored away enough unexpected pain, Elaine chided herself, I won’t allow Marsh’s snub to give me more hurt now.

When the class was over, Veronica stopped to share Spring Break experiences with some of their classmates. Elaine quickly and quietly took that opportunity to slip out of the gym. With her head held high and her eyes completely dry, she hurried back to Hankal Hall. Once inside, she had gone to her mailbox where the letter summoning her to face the Discipline Committee hearing was waiting.

That next morning at the time that the formal letter from the committee had designated, Elaine walked into the student affairs conference room. She had tried throughout a sleepless night to prepare herself, but she knew that she would never be ready to encounter the stern faces of the committee members sitting at the long table in the room ready to pass judgement upon her. She had pondered endlessly over the questions they might ask. She was surprised but not in the least relieved when she found Dr. Legette, the chairman of the committee, sitting alone at the end of the table in front of the windows. The woman’s lips lifted in the semblance of a smile of greeting but to Elaine, it looked more like a self-satisfied leer.

Sit here, Miss Drummond, the woman said indicating a chair just to her left side.

Elaine had intended to take a seat at the other end of the long table, as far from the woman as she could possibly get save for the few chairs against the wall next to the door. She moved forward as the professor bade her. She pulled the armless side chair out from the table, sat down, and met the woman’s eyes for only a brief moment before she looked down at her folded hands atop the small shoulder purse that she had laid across her lap. She tried hard to settle her nerves as she stiffly settled herself into the chair.

Did you enjoy your spring break? Dr. Legette inquired of Elaine in a voice that was nothing short of condescendingly syrupy. When Elaine raised her eyes and met the woman’s slightly bulging eyes, she felt nothing but revulsion as the woman sat there peering intently at her across the half-lenses of her glasses.

I was busy. Elaine said mildly. I got a job as a model at Castner-Knott downtown and—

I know all about that, Dr. Legette cut her off and pulled her face into a tight expression that was a likely indicator of how this meeting was likely to proceed. "And that is a part of our concerns today. I dare say that Student Affairs did not give you approval to do that. I know that it has nothing to do with your future aspirations nor does it add to your training in any way. This makes it a rather questionable and an unfitting pastime especially since Student Affairs did not approve beforehand."

Elaine shook her head briefly: Uh … it—it came about during Spring Break while the university was not in session. Everything is quite above board. I only got into it because—

"Miss Drummond, you say that it’s above board but we have no proof of that except what you are telling us today, the professor cut in. It would have behooved you to check with the Dean of Students as well as Student Affairs before you proceeded because that is within their area of concern. They must ultimately approve any outside employment of our female students. It is within the realm of their responsibility to see that our female students should stay cautious and extremely careful. Also … it is university policy to approve of the methods that our students use to earn money while they are away from their parents and under our jurisdiction here. That especially applies to young women like you who are also work-study students."

By her very tone of voice this woman was making it seem that Elaine had done something suspect or underhanded and against university policy. Elaine fought down the response that was on the tip of her tongue. She had planned to say something more about the timing and such as that but now she realized that it would be useless to do so. She had vowed to herself during the previous night’s sleepless pondering that she would not be forced to make any excuses to defend herself. She was certainly not going to make any kind of admission that she had done anything wrong or broken any rule—written or unwritten. Her instincts told her that this woman had her mind made up not to accept anything she might say in her defense in any case.

When it became apparent that Elaine was not going to say any more, Dr. Legette opened the manila folder in front of her on the long table. Elaine could see the familiar pages of the papers in the folder. She had frequently placed student transcripts in such folders during her job in the dean of students’ office. She wondered what else was inside that folder. She could only hope that copies of the glowing letters of recommendation from her high school teachers, counselors, and principal might also be in there along with her transcripts showing the excellent grades that she had accumulated at the university.

As if she was reading Elaine’s mind, the professor indicated the folder and said: Up until right now, your record has been excellent—exemplary—but I have to conclude now that this was because your mother has been so diligent in closely monitoring your everyday activities. Now it seems that such was very much needed. I don’t have the complete record of all of her calls to the authorities here at the university, but I understand that her calls have been quite numerous since your freshman year here. For the four years that you’ve been here, she has been in constant contact with the university. She called the police and reported you missing during Spring Break. It seems that you did not go home as she expected you to do. While you were … ah … adventuring, you seem to have completely broken your mother’s trust and ours as well.

Still Elaine remained silent. She could have said that she was not adventuring—she was working just as she had done for most of her life since she had been old enough and responsible enough to do it. Also, she had been under her mother’s constant regulations for her entire life. It was true that she had been on her own during Spring Break and she had stayed at a man’s apartment—their president’s son’s apartment—but she was not about to admit to that even if someone held lighted matches against her bare feet.

In any case, Elaine had never had her mother’s trust even though she had never done anything or broken any rules until now. Helen Louvenia Drummond had not spent any extra money on Elaine in years—Helen had always expected Elaine to use whatever scant resources that she had managed to earn to buy the necessities to meet her needs. Elaine had not enjoyed the least bit of extra money or had any leisure time since her freshman year. Louvenia had hounded Elaine’s every step while she was away at college even more closely now that she was of age. Elaine could have said a lot of things about Helen Louvenia Drummond’s lack of trust and dictatorial suppression as well as her lack of support and encouragement, but she did not. Somehow, she knew her mother’s behavior would be exactly what the professor believed was justified.

I assume you have already read the charges against you that your mother’s calls have precipitated?

Elaine nodded stiffly looking away toward the windows. She knew the reason that these charges had been brought against her but she hardly believed that her mother’s insistence was the only reason—or the real reason—that she was here today.

As you know a formal hearing is required when the charges are this severe.

The woman paused and stared at Elaine as if she was fully expecting Elaine to say something more.

Well … there’s no need for us to discuss any of this just yet, the professor went on pursing her lips, but you should be aware that the committee will require your version of the circumstances that caused these charges to be brought against you. No doubt, a written letter giving your answer to the charges will be needed for the committee records, Miss Drummond. This is just a preliminary hearing to see what might be worked out beforehand.

"… what might be worked out beforehand …?" Elaine repeated feeling totally ignorant of this procedure. Nothing had been said in the letter to cause her to expect this.

You have admitted that you defied your mother’s wishes by remaining in Nashville during Spring Break rather than returning home as your mother required you to do. That is documented right here in the charges.

Elaine knew about Helen Drummond’s obsessive threats to bring sanctions down on the university many, many times for one reason or another over the years. That was surely documented. Elaine could only wonder how much credence the committee would put in the gossip from the campus grapevine as another part of this. Otherwise, she could only guess who else might have had a hand in levelling these charges.

Under these circumstances, we would expel you for defying your mother’s orders and breaking the university rules and send you home immediately. That, however, seems unreasonable since, by this time, there has been so much invested in you by this university. Your work in the Dean of Student’s office seems to be of great value and we cannot help but consider that. I have personally spoken to your mother—the last time just yesterday afternoon—and I tried to make the interests of this institution clear as well as our determination to see to the welfare of each and every one of our students. We assured your mother that we would not expel you forthwith and send you home only because we have been in charge of you here for over three years and it is more than obvious that we should deal with your situation and bring it to a fitting and proper conclusion. She paused staring hard at Elaine before she went on:

Your mother could see my point and expressed her wish to make sure that you will follow the solution that I personally proposed. The professor’s face seemed to glow as she leaned toward Elaine and her self-satisfaction showed plainly as she went on:

Of course you cannot stay in the dormitory for obvious reasons. The reputation of this university would be compromised with parents and patrons of this university and with the state board if we were to leave you among the rest of the young women for whom we are responsible. That would make it seem that we condone or at least tolerate such behavior from our female students should the facts of this matter become any more widely known amongst our partisans and patrons.

Elaine knew that she could say nothing in protest now but she would not say anything or implicate Carla or give any information—no matter the question. Obviously they had already gathered the proof against her so she could do nothing about that. From across the half-lenses of the glasses on her nose, the professor’s large eyes stared fixedly at Elaine.

Miss Drummond … we very much intend for you to finish the work left on your degree this semester. Therefore we’ve worked out a way to avoid most of the embarrassment that a formal hearing by the discipline committee would surely cause us all. She leaned toward Elaine again with her eyes gleaming. She seemed to swell with self-importance. Your mother asked me to allow you to stay at my home and under my close supervision for the remainder of this semester.

Elaine drew an audible breath as she stared at the professor because she was certainly not expecting that!

Seemingly satisfied with Elaine’s response, the professor sat back in her chair. We did not speak about compensation, she went on, but we agreed that this might be worked out with the understanding that I would be providing the proper supervision for you for the remainder of the semester. Your scholarship award and continued participation in the work-study program would not need further discussion. Our main objective here today is to inform you that you will follow our intent to keep you to your studies until your matriculation. I have assured your mother that I would personally see that you maintain the proper diligence at all times toward that end.

The woman couldn’t hide her self-congratulatory smugness but Elaine only vaguely heard her words as she talked about her expectations for Elaine going forward. Before she knew it, Elaine found herself pushing her chair back from the table. Now she clearly saw the professor in quite a different light. She did not see a kindly person whose intent was to help her—she saw an opportunistic predator—a merciless taskmaster who intended to insert herself and take over her life … and this with her mother’s blessings! Elaine felt total revulsion that made her feel sick to her stomach. She could think of nothing worse than to be oppressed by this horrible woman after almost four years of freedom from her mother’s smothering strictness.

Elaine did not even realize that she had risen to her feet until the professor snarled: Sit down, Miss Drummond! We’re not finished here unless you intend to further endanger your matriculation because that’s exactly what you will be doing if you leave here before we properly conclude—

Professor Legette … Elaine said softly, I don’t need to conclude anything with you … or the members of the committee … She was surprised at the evenness of her own voice because she felt almost faint with the weight of her momentous decision. She could feel herself trembling so she clasped onto her purse tightly to steady her hands. I’ve done everything that was required of me by my scholarship and by the work/study program since I’ve been here. I have been more than personally responsible for myself and for my studies during that time. That is a matter of record. She paused to catch her breath and she felt the wetness on her cheek but she was determined not to let herself fall apart. She swiped at her cheek with the back of her hand and went on:

My grades have always been better than average because I have always done nothing but studied and kept them up since I have been at this university … Again she paused to catch her breath: "As much as I appreciate your … proposed solution to this—this … I have already made a decision. I do not need you or anyone else to make decisions for me or—or to take charge of me! Therefore, I respectfully decline your offer to do so."

The professor glared at her. "Miss Drummond, this is your mother’s decision! She implored me to do this and I agreed to do as she asked. I thought we could meet today to inform you of our decision so that none of the … salacious details of your … ah … indiscretions need to be brought up and discussed openly by the committee or fall on anyone else’s ears. The committee will only need to know that you disobeyed your mother’s wishes. They will be far more likely to allow you to get on with your academic program if we have this particular issue already handled. There’s no question that you’ll be required to move out of the dormitory—the committee would insist on that first and foremost. I was offering you a chance to change the tenor of these charges against you in order to preclude the committee’s having to consider that particular aspect of these charges. You have far too much potential and this university has far too much invested in you to allow—"

As I said, Professor Legette, Elaine interrupted, "I’ve already decided—for myself—what I intend to do. There’s no need for further discussion between us and … no need for the committee to consider anything if I get out of the dormitory on my own. She looked down at the woman. I’ll get my things out of my dormitory room just as soon as I can."

She turned and calmly departed the conference room and left Professor Legette angrily spluttering behind her about her mother’s wishes, the clearly spelled out rules, and the dire consequences for any student who did not follow the rules. Her last pronouncement that sounded in Elaine’s ears was how she had intended to help her as much as she could.

Elaine was not proud of herself, not proud of the decision that she had made to leave the university, abandon her job and her friends but she knew that she had done the only thing that was left for her to do. No way could she control the rumors nor would she be able to live with the salacious whispers that were sure to follow but, most importantly, she was fiercely determined not to let her life be controlled and restricted by anyone ever again.

When she walked out of the ASCS building her steps somehow took her to Professor Sherman’s office for in the recent past he had given her understanding and she surely needed that again. She thanked her lucky stars that she found him sitting behind his desk taking notes on a pad from a huge book in front of him.

Come on in, Miss Drummond, he said hastily when he looked up and noticed her standing in his open doorway. He bade her to clear the books and papers from the chair in front of her and put them on the corner of his desk so that she might sit down. Then he sat leaning back in his chair, without saying a word while Elaine became tearful again as she told him what had happened and that she had been told to leave the dormitory as of today.

Finally, the old professor stirred and throwing the pen he still held between his fingers on the desk. He sighed and shook his head. You don’t have a choice but Pauline and I can put you up until you decide how to get your feet back beneath you. I’ll have two of the young men in my afternoon class to take my car over to help you get your things out of the dormitory. Then, we’ve got to decide how to bring these charges that are leveled against you to a proper resolution.

He blew out a long breath then he said: I hesitate to say what your mother might demand but from all my prior experiences with Professor Legette, I expect that she will surely pursue these charges to a conclusion. I’m afraid your assumptions are correct—since you’ve defied her wishes, she will seek to extract more than the requisite pound of flesh from you. We need to try to find a way to lessen the impact of her charges as much as we can.

When Elaine had left Professor Legette in the conference room, she had had no idea at all of what to do. She had not nearly thought everything through when she came up to Professor Sherman’s office. Her poor befuddled mind had no hope of settling itself. She feared that her reputation would be under a cloud at the university so she knew that she could not bear to go back to classes with those charges staring her in the face. She only knew that if she faced the formal hearing, she might be compelled to leave the university anyway and she could not even think of going home to Memphis to face Helen Louvenia Drummond’s wrath and recriminations. She was indeed thankful for the kindness and understanding of Professor Sherman for he was effectively providing an immediate though temporary solution for her most pressing problem.

Thank you Professor Sherman, she whispered through her tears.

Pauline will surely want us to take you under our wings, the professor said smiling gently, These days it’s just the two of us and we haven’t had this much youthful drama in our lives since our youngest chick married and left the nest almost five years ago.

Elaine moved into one of the upstairs bedrooms in the Sherman’s house that afternoon. It smelled musty and closed up from long lack of use and the furniture in it was a mixture of extra pieces from other rooms but Elaine found it to be more than cozy and comfortable. Housekeeping had never been among Pauline’s favorite things to do so she was delighted when Elaine took over the kitchen that afternoon, made their supper, cleaned up the kitchen, and ran the vacuum sweeper in the den. Both the Sherman’s obviously understood that Elaine found it therapeutic to be busy so they only spoke gently to her of inconsequential matters, praised her efforts, and stayed out of her way.

The Sherman’s called Elaine to sit down at the kitchen table that first evening with cups of warm chocolate and a plate of oatmeal cookies in front of them to discuss what might be the subject of the discipline committee hearing and to plan for what Elaine might say. When Elaine declared that she could not bear to go through that hearing or go back to classes, neither of the Sherman’s wanted her to leave the university under a cloud like that for she was only a half-semester away from graduating with honors and she would be forfeiting the good grades that she had accumulated so far this semester if she did not go back. Despite the fact that she had already accumulated enough hours to graduate, she would have the incomplete courses on her record even if she did participate in the graduation ceremonies.

Reluctantly, the Sherman’s finally agreed that Elaine should take a temporary leave of absence since she was so very adamant that she would never be able to face Dr. Legette again either in class or at the discipline committee’s hearing. Rather than waste any time, Professor Sherman proposed that Elaine might try for a computer programming job over at Fort Campbell where he taught off-site computer classes for the university on Friday evenings. It seemed like a good idea since Elaine was sure to do well and certainly she had the necessary credentials and enough experience with the professional machines already. Professor Sherman suggested that she should arrange to secure an interview with the base personnel as soon as possible. Then, after Elaine had worked for the rest of the present semester she would be able to come back to the university and finish up her degree during the summer session. Professor Sherman told her that he would make some calls for her the very next day because he had the telephone numbers for the personnel department at Fort Campbell in the rolodex on the desk in his office on campus.

Lieutenant Colonel Bertrand Hicks, who headed a work group at Fort Campbell that included technicians and computer programmers, gave Professor Sherman a positive answer as soon as he called. Lt. Colonel Hicks instructed that Elaine should send him a formal letter of application then to request that a copy of her transcripts from the university be sent to him. He wanted her to come to the post the next day for an interview.

The Lt. Colonel was a tall, brisk, brown-skinned man with bright, close-set dark eyes next to a tall-bridged nose. He hired Elaine immediately at the interview and arranged for her to stay in a small furnished two-bedroom, second floor apartment in the South Barracks that had been used for civilian employees and their families who were in the midst of a transition and needed to live near their work stations on the post until they found permanent living quarters in the city. From there, Elaine could easily walk between the barracks to the technology building. Lt. Colonel Hicks had a telephone installed in the small apartment so Elaine could be on call if she was needed at the Tech Center after regular working hours.

That week-end before she began her job at Fort Campbell, Elaine flew to Chicago with Delores for the Fashion Extravaganza at the Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center in Chicago. That following Monday evening, Professor Sherman and Pauline helped her to move her suitcases containing clothing and necessities to the apartment on the second floor in the South Barracks at Fort Campbell so that she would be ready to begin work as a computer programmer the following Tuesday morning. They left her small trunk filled with off-season clothing and the things that she could not wear to work in the Sherman’s garage.

When she met the people in Major Blount’s group who would be working with her on the second floor of the technologies building she knew that she had no hope of remembering all of their names right away but she felt that she would gradually become familiar with them as they all worked together to write the programs that would run on the giant machines with the whirling reel-to-reel tapes on the front in the laboratory on the first floor.

That Friday after her first week of work, Elaine clutched her small case in her hand as she waited outside in front of her barracks apartment for Dr. Sherman to pick her up after he had taught his afternoon class at the post. On the ride back to Nashville Elaine told him all about her first week on the job as a computer programmer. It had been enjoyable work she told him but after so much sitting at her desk, she was looking forward to spending the week-end standing and walking on the floor as she modeled clothes for Delores at Castner-Knott.

Thus Elaine’s day-to-day life had begun to unfold before her with hardly any glitches at all.

From the beginning, Delores had assured Elaine that she could use her help with the computers on any week-end when she came back to Nashville. That very first week-end after she had started her job at Fort Campbell, Delores put Elaine on a flexible part-time payroll schedule and moved her permanently to the upstairs show in the giant Castner-Knott department store on Friday evenings. That way, whenever she was back in Nashville, Elaine could work modeling clothes on Friday evenings and on Saturdays. If Delores needed her for anything on Sunday afternoon, it was easy enough for Delores to drop her off afterwards at the Greyhound bus station on Sunday evening so she could take the scheduled bus ride back to the base at Fort Campbell, catch a taxi to the apartment building on the base, and be ready for work at the tech building on Monday morning.

Elaine continued to write letters to Louvenia rather than call her or give her the number of the telephone in her new apartment on the post. She grimly decided not to subject herself to her mother’s non-stop telephone rants and admonishments until she had gotten herself established. She knew that Louvenia would call her constantly and those telephone calls would be filled with probing questions and demands that she should come home to Memphis. After Elaine had made the important decision not to give her telephone number to her mother, she couldn’t help feeling grown up, liberated, on her own,