A Husband For Maria

The cavalcade reached Johnny and Maria's home. There were people everywhere. The oldest twins were shy, the younger ones and Jamie were baffled by these men who said that they were their fathers. The celebration lasted the rest of the day, with Johnny and Jimmy as the stars. After all the kids had been put to bed and the adults began to ask questions about the last four years. All Johnny and Jimmy would say was, 'It wasn't any fun.'

When all the friends and relatives either went to bed or home, Johnny and Maria stood by the pool. They quietly reflected on the last four years. Johnny held Maria in his arms and kissed her softly, possessively and tenderly, again and again. He said,

"I lived through all of that because I knew you were waiting for me. I love you sweetheart, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I'm so glad you married me." They walked back into the house where Johnny spied Juan and Carmelita. He had seen them all day and had kissed them hello, but now he wanted a moment alone with the aging couple. He led them into the den with Maria and gathered them into his arms, holding the pair of friends a long time before he spoke.

"My friends, my family, I thought about you almost as much as I did Maria during those years, and I knew that my wife and children were safe, because you were with them. Thank you so very much." Both Juan and Carmelita cried as they held Johnny in their arms. Softly Carmelita said......

"Welcome home.......son."

For the next thirty days Johnny and Jimmy were on P.O.W. Returnee leave. Johnny and Maria went down to Carmel for a week, where they could get to know each other again. Johnny told Maria that he had less time to get to know her before he had married her than this. Maria was very happy that they would have a whole week together all alone. It was to be a second honeymoon for sure.

Johnny and Maria had a few problems that the war had caused. Johnny couldn't make love to Maria. Major Shaw had told Maria to expect soemthing like this to happen. He had read a lot about P.O.W.'s and their problems. So Maria Teresa Victoria O'Rourke was prepared. She just used her natural talent for patience and gave him all the love that she could muster. They took long walks on the beach, drove the little Mercedes along the Seventeen Mile Drive and ate at some of the unique restaurants that Carmel is famous for.

Nothing had happened after six days and nights, so they decided to pack up and go back to San Rafael. Maria was wearing shorts and a halter top as she slowly folded their clothes and put them into the suitcase. As she bent over to put a pair of Johnny's slacks in the case, Johnny stepped close behind her. She felt the heat of his erect manhood touching her hip. She turned and put her arms around him. Maria kissed Johnny as she had never kissed him before.

She held him tightly, afraid that it would go away. Johnny stroked her raven hair, his lips sealed to hers. Maria twisted around and threw the suitcase to the floor as she pulled Johnny onto the bed and on top of her. Johnny and Maria both felt that this particular act of love was the most exquisite since their honey-moon that night in Dallas. The return of Johnny was complete. He could make love again and he knew that he had Maria to thank for her love and patience with him. Johnny helped his beautiful wife unpack and they spent the next two days, never leaving each other's arms. Calling out only for food.

They arrived back in San Rafael about eight P.M. to find that Jimmy and Desiree had returned from Yosemite. Johnny suggested that the four of them indulge in a little wine. Carmelita brought a bottle each of their favorite 'Vinyard De La Rosa' wine into the den and the four of them got drunk as skunks before the night was over. They had four bottles each for Maria and Desiree and eight for Johnny and Jimmy.

Next morning Johnny and Maria were sure that they would die from the terrible hang-overs. Maria reminded Johnny what had happened to her the last time she got drunk. Johnny told her that he hoped it happened again. Then four little O'Rourkes came flying into their bed at seven A.M.. By ten, Johnny had read the funnies to all of his brood. Maria and Carmelita had made breakfast and there were crumbs scattered in the bed, on the carpet and in the bathroom. At eleven Maria shooed them all out and Johnny got up and got a shower. He emerged feeling lots better.

"How would you like to go visiting?" Johnny asked. "Maria call Napa County and I'll call Texas. Jimmy you call Oregon and ask your folks if they'd like to go to Spain. I really want our kids to see where their roots are. We'll see Spain, then Texas and Oregon." Then Johnny got serious. "If there ever is another war and any of our kids are caught up in it, I want them to know who they are and what their lives are all about. Is there any interest in a three week vacation, one week in Spain, One week in Texas and one week in Oregon. We'll take everybody, you know we have the money, so let's spend some of it."

Maria, Desiree and Carmelita took Johnny's checkbook and went to San Francisco to shop. If they were going on a trip, they had to have new clothes.

Jimmy's mom and dad arrived in San Rafael the next afternoon and Johnny found out that it was easier to charter an airplane than to buy all those tickets. By Monday morning the entire group had gathered at Santa Rosa Airport for the trip to El Paso to pick up Marjorie and Pete. After the takeoff from El Paso, the ret-inue was complete and it was off to Spain.

The sun was coming up over Barcelona as the big silver bird landed. Two air conditioned busses were waiting for the crowd of Americans and they climbed aboard. They all made the trip to the ancestral home of the De La Rosa and the Torres Families. There was quite a crowd on hand to meet them and in the forefront was Caroline De La Rosa Torres, with her husband Humberto. Victorio stepped from the first bus and walked to the still beautiful Caroline and held her for a very long time. The crowd exploded into cheers and laughter. Then Victorio held up his hands for quiet and turned to his nephew, Desiree's father, and asked him.

"Why did you send you pregnant daughter to me, couldn't you keep her at home?" People were laughing so hard that the tears rolled. Johnny whispered to Maria,

"Crying really is the way Spanish people show their Joy." Again Maria and Carmelita banged on his head.

The small hotel was swamped with all the American visitors, so most of the De La Rosa family were housed with the Torres'. Victor and Raul looked and grapes and winerys with Humberto and Manual. Little Pete went with Victorio,his interest in grapes showing already. Pete and Marjorie looked at cattle with a nephew named Jose Torres, who was running cattle in the hills above the village. Pete taught the kids rope tricks and Margie did a Texas Bar-B-Que. The Myers grew flowers in the Wilamette Valley in Oregon so they got to see the huge gardens of the village of Santa Rosita. There was something for everybody to do, to see, and to enjoy themselves. For the whole week it was Fiesta time. The entire village was treated to a slide show by the Myers family, of the slides they had accumulated over twenty years. It also seemed to Johnny that half the population of the village were twins.

"Now I know where it comes from," Johnny laughed at Maria, "it's not the water after all."

When the week ended, the exhausted, happy Americans climbed aboard the busses to take them back to Barcelona. The entire village turned out to say goodbye. There were promises to return, to write and to come to California or Oregon or Texas. A lot of lasting friendships started that week that would continue through the years. Many interesting stories were told on the trip back to Texas where phase two of the 'Vacation' would start.

Before Johnny had gone to the Air Force Academy, he had given Pete and Margie a million dollars of his money to make it easier for them in their later years. They had built a new home and several new barns. There were a lot more cattle on their range now. They were very proud of their ranch and their son. All that the two sets of twins and Jamie wanted to see were the dogs. Pete showed the kids their own steer and showed them the papers that proved that they owned Texas Beef. Since Jamie had also been given a steer, he was proud and that made Jimmy and Desiree happy too.

The whole week was a madhouse as the kids ran everybody ragged. Jamie even found that skunk again. The only time that the adults could relax was at siesta time, when the kids and the dogs slept beneath the spreading Oak trees.

Pete and Margie decided that they wanted to go on to Oregon so Margie could see all the flowers. At Portland they again crowded into busses and toured the beautiful farm that Jimmy Myers had grown up on and of which his folks were so proud of. It rained for several days in Oregon and the children were delightful balls of mud. Bob Myers rigged a hose that the kids could run through and get the mud off before they were allowed into the house by the adults.

The trip was over. Pete and Margie flew to El Paso from Portland while the rest of the family flew to Santa Rosa. Jimmy, Desiree and little Jamie stayed in Oregon for another week, but Johnny, Maria, little Pete, Victoria, Charles, Teresa, Juan and Carmelita came home to San Rafael. The De La Rosa family left Santa Rosa for Napa County. There were a thousand things to do but Johnny took the Mercedes out to the base and his old squadron.

"Where am I going Skipper?" Johnny asked.

"Where do you want to go Johnny?" The Colonel replied. "You can have any assignment you want since you are a P.O.W. returnee."

"Well," Johnny told him, "I wouldn't mind staying here and flying for you Sir."

"OK Tex," the Colonel drawled, "You got it. You and Jimmy too if he wants it."

"We talked about that Sir and he wants Desiree to be near Maria, so if you don't mind I'll call him and let him know the news. I'd kinda like to stay with him for a few years too, after our little ordeal over there. I think that we should be close for a while."

Johnny raced home and broke the news to Maria, then called Jimmy. Jimmy and Desiree were overjoyed that they would all stay together. When Jimmy, Desiree and Jamie arrived in San Rafael a few days later, Johnny took Jimmy out by the pool, where they sat drinking a few beers. Johnny told Jimmy something that he had not said before.

"Major Meyers, if you hadn't been with me over there I don't think that I would have made it. You kept me sane with your crazy drivel about the house you were going to build. Maria and I own the two acres across the street from us and we want to give it to you and Desiree. You can stay with us until you can build that damn house. I think Desiree has the money to do it, ask her."

Jimmy sat there with brimming eyes as he touched Johnny's shoulder and said to him.

"Major O'Rourke, you crazy Irishman, I thought that it was you that got me throught those years with that damned mumbling about the nuts and bolts and systems on that damned C-130. We are lucky men Johnny, finding two girls like we have and who stood by us for all those years when they didn't know if we were dead or alive. I think Desiree would divorce me rather than leave Maria. So I'll take what you have given us and hope that we have a lot of flights together and lots of years to have our families and lives here in this place. You are my Friend, Johnny O'Rourke and I know that I am yours. There is only one problem, we gotta find a man for Angela Mahoney,"

Chapter 14

Victorio De La Rosa was pruning grape vines in the autumn of the year after Johnny came home from the war. He was humming to himself as he expertly snipped the runners and dead wood from the plants. Poppa Victor was teaching young Peter O'Rourke to feel the vines, to love them. He bent over to clip a short runner at the bottom of the vine. His forehead broke out into a heavy sweat and his vision blurred. He straightened up and reached for his bandana to wipe his forehead and eyes. His heart stopped and he crumpled among the vines that he had spent so many years nurturing and loving. Peter O'Rourke was five years old and he loved to work with his great grandfather in the vineyard. Pete saw Poppa Victor fall and he dropped his shears and rushed to his side. He tried to wake him up but he got no response from the old Spaniard. Peter knew that his Poppa Victor was dead. Pete said a prayer for him and then ran as fast as he could to the winery where Grandpa Raul was working.

"Grandpa Raul," Peter panted, "Poppa Victor has fallen in the field. He's dead Grandpa."

Raul ran back to Victorio's body and verified that indeed the old man was dead. Raul took off his jacket and covered the dear face, and with a heavy heart he walked back to the winery and called the Authorities in Napa. He sat on an old chair in front of the winery door and waited for them. Raul sent young Peter for Maria and when she came her asked her to collect the rest of the family. Maria rang the bronze bell that was atop the winery. The family and the vineyard workers came immediately.

When the body was taken away, Raul and Teresa held his mother as she wept for the man that she had spent sixty one years with. Johnny arrived within four hours, with Carmelita and Juan. Sadness prevailed with the passing of the head of such a large family. Johnny sent telegrams to Spain, Texas and Oregon. The Myers family flew in from Portland while Pete and Margie came from Texas. Victorio's family in Spain could not make the trip but had a special Requiem Mass said in the village.

The little church that had been a central part of his life was filled to overflowing with people from through out his valley, from the wine industry in general and with the families of De La Rosa, O'Rourke and Myers. There was also a tall blonde Air Force Major that came to the funeral. She had grown to love the old man and had spent many days at the winery with Johnny and Maria. Angela Mahoney cried for Poppa Victor as much as any one. When Victor was laid to rest, in a spot that overlooked his valley, a sober reception was held at the house that he and his son had built. Johnny, Jimmy and Carlos were kept busy bringing more and more wine from the warehouse to provide the guests with as much of the Vineyard De La Rosa wine as they wanted.

Johnny Maria, their children , Carmelita and Juan stayed at the winery for a week. Maria and Johnny were especially close to young Peter, trying to soften the impact of his Poppa Victor's death. He seemed to rebound OK, but Maria would watch him for signs of further grief.

Johnny had to return to the base for a flight to Alaska. His co-pilot for the flight was Angela Mahoney. They had a chance to talk about a lot of things that mattered to them during the long flight. Just about an hour out of Elmdorf Air Force Base, Angela told Johnny that she was leaving the Air Force and getting married. Johnny was really surprised when she told him that she was going to marry his brother -in-law, Carlos. Angela explained that Carlos had called her several times after she had been to the winery with him and Maria.

"I thought that it was kinda funny at first." Angela told Johnny, "But we started seeing each other shortly after you came home. He's two years younger than me, but he has a degree in management and will be taking over the winery in a few years when Raul retires. He's quite a character, that brother of Maria's, he's telling her while we are on this trip."

Johnny grinned at Angela and told her that he couldn't think of anybody else but her that he would like for a sister-in-law. Johnny had to know why she was leaving the Air Force just to get married. She smiled a mysterious smile and said.

"Well Johnny, I'm three months pregnant so I'd be leaving the service any way."

Johnny and Angela landed at Hamilton two days later. They shut down the aircraft and did the necessary paperwork. They hopped into Johnny's Mercedes and went to see Maria. As they pulled into the garage, Maria met them with a very large grin on her face. She kissed Johnny then grabbed Angela and held her close.

"I'm so happy that it's you. I owe you so much and I can't think of a better way to repay you than to give you my brother. I do love you Angela Mahoney. But if my family keeps marrying Irish men and women there won't be much Spanish left."

Angela cried, Maria cried, Carmelita cried and then they all gave Johnny a hard time for laughing at them. He said,

"It's not a Spanish thing, this crying for happy. It's a woman thing." That did it, Johnny found something to do somewhere else, very quickly.

Angela and Carlos were married in the same little church where Johnny and Maria had been married, where Raul and Teresa had been married and from where Poppa Victor had been laid to rest. Their wedding drew quite a crowd of relatives, friends and a lot of young Air Force Officers. The word was out that Napa County was the place to find beautiful young women and handsome young men for the female Officers. Within six months there were seven weddings in the little church, the brides in white and the grooms in Air Force Blue. Johnny told Maria that he guessed that some of the boys took notes.

Carlos Victorio De La Rosa Jr.was born six months later and the families had a wonderful time. Raul kissed Angela and welcomed little Victor, but it seemed sad that the job hadn't been done by Victorio himself. Raul said. "The De La Rosa Clan is growing, one Irishman after another."

Maria whispered to Johnny, "That is true and it's all your fault Johnny O'Rourke, because you came over to Berkeley and played baseball."

Nobody could figure out why Johnny was laughing so hard.