Gerry and I had been in Ireland—primarily for a family wedding—from May 9 until May 20, when we flew home. After that I had about two weeks to get ready to travel to the Chicago area with Katie to see Jesse graduate from the Navy's boot camp on Lake Michigan. With very few exceptions, there is a boot camp graduation at Naval Station Great Lakes every Friday.
Oh, yes, I'd done a little prep for this trip. We'd all done a little prep. Here's the story.
• • •
As I've noted elsewhere, Jesse's audition for the Navy Fleet Band was in August 2017. Then, for a variety of reasons—the high school band job Katie was already committed to, for one; physical preparation for boot camp another—it was decided he'd delay signing up so he could do boot camp in the spring. Further, the recruiters advised Jesse to marry before he took the oath, and so suddenly we had a wedding to plan (it happened in mid-November). Oh, how I wished my father had been alive to see all of this! He would have been so proud.
That spring, we threw a little open house farewell get-together for Jesse here at the house. Then just a few days later he left for boot camp in very early April 2018.
Where he then became incommunicado. No phone use.
Fast forward four weeks. Katie and I were breakfasting on the Square one Saturday morning and she got a phone call; looked at it, puzzled. "It's from San Diego," she said. "ANSWER IT!" I tried to keep my voice down but may have yelled … and she did answer and it was Jesse, who was not actually in San Diego.* He was calling on the naval station's band director's phone (Joe—the guy who ran the recruit band for all the graduation ceremonies). On Saturday mornings they have band rehearsals and for that brief time, Jesse belonged to Joe, rather than the gentleman in charge of the recruits at the boot camp who were forbidden their phones.** That particular morning, Joe had asked how long it had been since Jesse'd spoken with his wife and then kindly suggested he call her, handing over his own phone.
As Katie's face began to shine, I got up and ran over to the farmer's market and let Katie talk to her husband without my hovering.
And that was when we really started planning. I booked a hotel in Chicagoland, as they call it, that very afternoon. A low-key Holiday Inn in Evanston, easy off the freeway, served breakfast, and had a nice city view. And thirty-nine more days.
During those days I'd touch base with one of my dearest friends, Chris Olsen, who lives in Chicagoland, to see if we could meet up. I'd also research the area around the hotel, create an itinerary … and go to Ireland for a couple weeks.
The graduation would be June 8.
*But I already knew San Diego is a Navy town.
**Hope all that made sense.
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