Chapter 4: Spring Term Loving and Breaking Up

After New Year’s, I was eager to return to school. More so than my first and second years of school. I’d had enough of the glances and comments everyone in town were making, as well as the jabs from my relatives. I loaded my car and returned to school three days sooner than intended. I did not live in the dorms and had a key to the fraternity house. So I didn’t have trouble locating a spot to crash.

When I got to the fraternity house, there were a few of my brothers present. So I wouldn’t be alone. It was a fantastic opportunity to unwind and burn off some nervous energy with some buddies before lessons. There was snow on the ground, so someone got the bright notion of going sledding in the hollow. We created this with trays taken from the Student Union dining room. It was sheer genius on his part. We had a great time. I got a few bumps and bruises from one of the trees near the conclusion of the run, but it was worth it. We also passed the hat and were able to finish a few of cases of beer during those three days. It was good we did it before school started. I doubt any of us would have been in any condition to start class the next morning.

I received a phone call late on Sunday afternoon, the day before classes resumed on Monday. Ginny called, and she requested me to meet her in the student union grill room. She insisted it was important. I accepted because I had nothing else going on and walked six blocks to the student union. I wondered why she sounded so excited on the phone. Ginny was sitting in a booth with an older couple, and I recognized them right away. These were her parents. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” This was not going to be good. I stepped up to the booth and gathered my strength, fearing what was to come.

Ginny sprang out of the booth and rushed at me. Grabbing my neck while engaging in an unsettling unladylike kiss. I looked over to her parents. I was in a panic; this was not appropriate. Her mother laughed at us, and her father, despite being small in stature, looked ready to take out the trash.

Ginny gripped my arm tightly after the introductions. She pulled me down into the booth, and I spent the next 20 minutes recounting to her parents all about my life. I additionally provided them a brief summary of my future aspirations. Her father was courteous in paying attention to my babbling. I believed her mother was giving me an expert assessment considering the questions she asked. I kept wishing that they had a deadline and would be leaving soon. But that was not how things occurred that afternoon.

Her father looked at his watch and said, “The book store will be closing soon. Ginny, take your mom with you and get your textbooks for this semester. Your young man and I can take a walk to get to know each other a little better.”

When he mentioned the walk, my bladder muscles weakened. Additionally, the room was one hundred degrees hotter than before.

“OK, Daddy,” said Ginny. “It won’t take long to get my books. We will be back in 15 minutes.”

Ginny steered her mother down the street to the bookshop, as her father and I headed the opposite way. We walked for maybe 100 yards in silence until her father came to a halt and turned towards me. I flinched as I feared he had planned to take a poke at me.

“So you love my daughter, she tells us. Could you please explain to me how this came about?”

I opened my eyes, expecting the delivery of a blow, but none came. I responded with my normal wise response of, “Huh?”

“Why does Ginny think that you are in love with her?” he asked me. “You didn’t say anything to take advantage of her, correct? If that’s the case, I’ll lose all of my respect for you.”

“Oh no, sir, I would never do anything like that. I care too much for your daughter to treat her that way. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I would never do anything to lose something so precious to me. All we have ever done is share a good night kiss after the fraternity formal.”

“Good answer, son,” her dad replied. “Exactly what I expected you to say. Your stock with me went up 100 percent.”

I informed him how Ginny acted at the fraternity party and made it clear that I did not supply the alcoholic drinks. Being serious, I conveyed my appreciation for what his daughter meant to me. I wasn’t sure what the future held because I only had one year of college left. There were three additional years of graduate study following that. While I adored his daughter, we were far too young to consider marriage. There was also the possibility that our feelings for each other could change. He appeared impressed once I finished my brief speech.

I must have scored brownie points with her dad. He told me that when it came time to choose a graduate school, he would use his influence to help me. Ginny’s parents must have liked me. As they were leaving, her mother gave me a hug and told me to be good to her daughter.

Ginny came back to the fraternity house with me, telling me about her break the whole way. It was about shopping and spending time with her hometown girl friends. She enjoyed telling them about her dreamy college boy friend.

Dreamy, huh? I smiled at that. That was a new experience for me, described as being dreamy. I was a nightmare to my parents when I was younger, but never dreamy. Ginny stayed with me all through dinnertime. I ordered a pizza for us to share. After the pizza, we visited with my fraternity brothers and their girl friends. We talked about our Christmas breaks. Close to midnight, the BS session broke up, and everyone left to get ready for the first day of classes the next day. Ginny did not have class until late in the morning, and I did not have any classes until Tuesday. She decided to stay and talk some more. When it got close to 2 AM, I offered to take her back to her dorm. She didn’t go for that, so we cuddled together on the couch in my room and fell asleep.

The next morning, my roommate woke us up, grumbling about how some of us had classes to go to. He would appreciate some consideration in the future.

Ginny glanced at him, stuck her tongue out, and told him, “Deal with it.”

That caused us all to laugh. We fell back to sleep. At 10 AM, I walked Ginny back to her dorm so she could get ready for class.

We settled into a routine: when she wasn’t in class or eating in the school cafeteria, she was in my room at the fraternity house. She’d study and hang out with my fraternity brothers and me. Initially, it did not worry me. I truly enjoyed it. In the first two and a half years of college, I never had a steady girl friend and was envious of those who did. I was no longer an outsider looking in, jealous of those who did.

However, there were some hiccups along the way. Ginny expected all of my attention during fraternity parties. At home basketball games, she expected me to sit with her and her friends rather than with my fraternity brothers. Being in a “relationship” was new to me, so I expected to make mistakes. We could compromise, although the “we” part was always on Ginny’s terms.

When I mentioned something, she would reply with, “Remember, you belong to me, and don’t you forget it.”

I’d smile at her and stew inside. We’d talk again soon, but in the in the meantime, I’d put up with her antics.

Things escalated faster than I anticipated, resulting in a significant breakdown in our relationship. At our annual Spring Greek Week Party, a girl from the sorority we were affiliated with for the week invited me to dance. I saw no harm in it, so I got up and proceeded to dance with her. Ginny glared at me as though I had abandoned her; she was upset.

I knew I’d receive an earful, but I didn’t care. I wanted to enjoy the festivities without being kept on a short leash. What was the harm of having one dance with another girl? It would have been impolite of me to tell her no. After all, it wasn’t a slow dance, but a fast one. We did not touch each other on the dance floor. Ginny glared at me the entire time I was dancing with the sorority girl. After the dance, I thanked the girl and returned to sit with Ginny.

When I sat down adjacent to Ginny, she clutched my arm. Ginny dug her nails into my flesh. Damn, it stung!

“James, “What do you think you were doing?” she snapped. “You made a fool of me in front of our friends by going out and dancing with that skank.” Ginny was angry, and she made it clear to me. “YOU BELONG TO ME, Dammit!” she shrieked.

This time, she went too far, and I called her out on it. “Ginny, I’m not your property. I may be your boy friend, but you do not own me,” I explained. “I love you, but there is a limit to what I can put up with. I will not allow you control me or dictate when I can and cannot dance. If you cannot accept this, we ought to reconsider the boyfriend-girlfriend arrangement. I’m going to get a beer. You want one?”

I got up and headed over to the kegs. When I returned with two cups of beer, Ginny was gone. Not exactly what I hoped would happen. I figured the time it took me to get the drinks, she would have calmed down some, and we would then talk. Guess not.

I looked all over the fraternity house for her. She was not there. I went to the front door, thinking she had wandered outside on the porch. I was getting concerned that I could not find her.

“You looking for Ginny?” one of my frat brothers hollered at me over the noise. I nodded my head in response. “She came running out of the house in tears,” he said. “She looked upset.”

I figured I would let her cool down, then tomorrow go over to her dorm and beg for her forgiveness. I spent the rest of the party drinking beer, hanging out with my frat brothers, and dancing a few times.

The next day, Sunday, I waited until mid-afternoon before walking over to her dorm. When I walked into the foyer, the girls who knew me scowled at me. Oh yea, this was far worse than I anticipated. I decided that I should call her and was about to leave when Janet, the resident advisor, caught up to me.

“What did you do to her last night? All she wants to do is lay in bed and cry,” Janet said.

“Nothing,” I said.

I told Janet everything from my perspective, even showing her the bruises on my arm where Ginny dug in her nails.

She shook her head. “That girl has it bad for you. I understand your point of view, though,” she added. “Why don’t you give her a few days to calm down and give me a chance to talk with her?”

I thanked her and would do as she requested. I walked out of the dorm and back to the fraternity house. I felt free for the first time in a long time.