Julie and Howard Graduate

“When I Fall In Love”

Listen to Chapter 18, “Julie and Howard Graduate”

Graduation ceremonies for Julie and Howard were very festive, especially as the two lifelong best friends shared the excitement of beginning their teaching careers together at Orchill Hills Academy. They would leave for North Carolina early in July to get settled in, to get the music building organized and ready for students, and—for Julie—to get oriented to the job of being the girls’ dean. On the way, Howard and Julie had a mini-itinerary of concert performances scheduled in Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Finally, they would both attend the annual teachers’ convention in Miami before starting the school year.

Howard helped Julie move out of her dorm room. Janelle would stay at La Paloma for the summer.

“Oh, by the way,” Julie told them both, “did you hear that Allen Macintosh is getting married next week?”

Howard chuckled, remembering how Allen had caught the garter at Sandra and Bob’s wedding. Howard knew, too, of all the meanness that Allen had heaped upon Julie when he was her boyfriend during those long-ago high school years.

“Yeah, I heard,” Janelle interjected. “Some nurse named Shirley, isn’t it?”

“I think so,” Julie said. “Someone said she’s very ‘wholesome’.”

Howard laughed, giving Julie a sisterly hug. “Well, that his loss!” Howard said with a tone of disdain.

Janelle rolled her eyes.

As Howard made one last trip to Julie’s car with her last box, Julie turned to say goodbye to Janelle and found her staring out their third-story window. Julie put her arm around Janelle.

“You’ve been such a great roommate,” Julie said. “I’ll miss you.”

When Janelle turned to face Julie, there were tears in her eyes—the first time Julie had seen tears in Janelle’s normally sparkling countenance. Her voice was low and cracked with emotion. “I’ll miss you more than you know,” she said. Then, impulsively, Janelle threw her arms around Julie and hugged her full body for a timeless moment.

Julie relaxed into her embrace. “You’ll write to me in North Carolina, won’t you?”

“I will never lose touch with you,” Janelle promised.

On Fourth of July weekend, Julie was at home in Riverdale, still trying to convince Momma that she was “grown up enough” to move across country and live on her own. Howard stayed at Julie’s house in a spare bedroom, and then they would drive across the country to North Carolina together, pulling a small U-Haul trailer with their belongings, and doing their concert tour.

Howard was playing the piano when Julie came in with the mail.

“This is odd,” she said, holding up a letter. “It’s an envelope from Orchill Hills, but it looks like a personal letter.” She tore it open and began to read. “Hmm,” she said, more to herself than to Howard, “it’s from someone named Linda Niles, a sophomore girl. She says they have assigned her to be my ‘student hostess’ or something like that, since she’s a dorm monitor and I’m the new dean. I guess it’s kind of welcome letter or something.”

“Oh, yes,” Howard said, remembering that he had forgotten to tell Julie about the letter he had received. “I got a similar letter from the girl who will be my student secretary in the Music Department. I had already heard about her from the band teacher, though, as she is a very brilliant student and talented soprano. She’s really operatic quality.”

“Wow, that’s something!” Julie smiled. “At least we’ll already know two of the students when we get there. What’s her name?”

Howard pulled an envelope from the Bach Three-Part Inventions he had been practicing and unfolded the letter. “Let’s see here,” he said, scanning it. “Oh, yes, it’s Lina Jackson.”

That was when Bill showed up unexpectedly. The Army had granted him, at the last minute, a week’s “R&R” from Vietnam to Hawaii, but he scheduled a flight to Riverdale instead. No one knew until he called his mother from the L.A. airport. He was under strict orders not to enter the continental United States while on R&R.

He would be AWOL, a court martial offense, if he did! But he had to come home, anyway. He had to see Julie! He had sensed there was a growing bond between Julie and Howard, one that he felt Julie did not even know existed. That bond was the music that they both shared a deep and abiding passion for. What if…?

But soon his ‘57 Chevy appeared in Julie’s driveway.

“Bill!” Julie screamed in delight when she answered the door, rushing into his outstretched arms. She cried tears of joy. “How—why—what are you doing here!” And he told her the story.

Howard sauntered out into the living room, surprised to see Bill. Bill saw Howard, whom he had first met last summer at Sandra and Bob’s wedding. An instant surge of jealousy swept through him, even though his mind—or at least Julie’s letters—told him that there was nothing more than friendship between Howard and Julie. The two young men exchanged pleasantries, then there was an awkward silence, until Howard decided he really needed to get back to his practicing. Bill had seen that unmistakable look on Howard’s face, with feelings plainly written there just as if by ink. Bill and Julie went out to the porch swing to talk.

Bill did not speak for a long time. He put his arm around Julie and held her close. Finally he said, “Howard really likes you, Kitten.”

She nodded. “He’s been my best friend on campus these past two years. Well, he and Janelle this past semester. They’ve both been great to me.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he agreed, “and I’m glad they’ve been there for you since I haven’t been here.”

Julie hugged Bill close. “Oh, baby, I have missed you so much! I can hardly wait for the next four months to pass when you’ll be home for good!”

“A lot can happen in four months, baby,” he spoke pensively. “There’s still no guarantee I’ll return home.”

A shiver of fear shot through Julie, as it always did when she thought of anything ever happening to Bill. “You will!” she exclaimed. “Don’t even think of anything else!”

“I want to come home alive,” he said. “More than anything else I want to come home to you and spend the rest of my life with you. But—” He paused. “My guess is that Howard would like to do that very much, too.”

“Howard is my best friend—that’s all!” she insisted. “I love him like a brother. But you—Bill, you are the love of my life, my ultimate Prince Charming! Forever and always!” She reached up, putting her arms around his neck, and he pulled her onto his lap. They kissed, gently and sweetly at first, then with increasing passion and desire.

After a while, Bill lifted her gently from his lap and stood up, still embracing her. Then he took her hand, and they walked to his car. She did not have to ask where they were going now. Bill’s ‘57 Chevy made its way in the growing twilight up to the Riverdale Bowl, across the parking lot, and onto the dirt road that led to the hay pits.

It was a balmy summer night, and it seemed like a million stars shone in the velvet-black night sky. Soon the Riverdale fireworks would begin, but Julie and Bill had other thoughts on their minds.

“I have to go back tomorrow,” he said, once they settled into the hay pit on the blanket that Bill always kept in his car.

She sighed. “And day after tomorrow Howard and I will need to drive to Orchill Hills.”

He squeezed her. “I will never share you, my love. I will fight to fill any desire that you have to the fullest extent that I can—and three times over. I will make every dream and fantasy come true for you!”

A feeling of hot electricity surged through Julie’s entire mind and body at Bill’s words. Truly, to love and to be loved is the greatest joy on earth!

Making love was inevitable. It had been so long! Their every embrace and caress was slow and gentle and bonding. The minutes turned into hours, until the fireworks, clearly seen in the skies over Riverdale, had come and gone. But Julie and Bill knew only the fireworks that were exploding, over and over, inside both of them. They both knew that, despite a still uncertain future, their love was for eternity. No matter what.

As they finally lay together in deep contentment before they knew they would have to leave their special place, Bill held her very close. His voice broke the cozy silence. “What are you thinking, my love?” he asked, lazily tracing her lips with his finger.

She grinned, then kissed his hand, as she looked up into his intense blue eyes, like pools of pure love, and windows to his very soul. “Marvelous, baby!” she said, as she always did. “Just marvelous!”

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