Mrs. Lieutenant: A Sharon Gold Novel by Phyllis Zimbler Miller Read Free Book Online Page A

wives: waiting for their husbands to come home
and keeping their apartments, clothes and cars "spit-shined."
    The Fiat appears in the open area between the
three buildings. Sharon races down the stairs. Robert gets out,
looks around as if checking who else has arrived home, and locks
the car door. He kisses her hello.
    "How was it? What did you do?"
    "Cool it," he says out of the side of his
mouth. "Wait until we get upstairs."
    They walk up the outside stairs of the
building, then down the outer balcony to their apartment door.
Sharon unlocks the door and lets Robert enter first, then she
follows him back to the bedroom, where he immediately sheds his
uniform.
    "It went okay. There's about 30 of us in the
class. We filled out forms and listened to lectures. Not much
action yet."
    She doesn't want Robert to see any "action."
She wants him to spend a quiet two years in the army behind a desk
somewhere – if possible in Washington or some other big city –
where she can pretend to herself he's not part of the war
machine.
    "What were the lectures about?"
    "Mostly administrative details, TDY pay,
uniform allotment."
    "What's TDY?"
    "Temporary duty. That's what this assignment
is for me. Same as going to Ft. Holabird for MI – military
intelligence – training will be temporary. The assignment after
that will be a permanent one."
    "And we'll get housing provided then,
right?"
    He turns away from her, places his insignia
on the dresser. "If it's an accompanied tour."
    "What's that mean?"
    His back is still towards her. "Unaccompanied
tours are to combat areas – Vietnam."Sharon sits down on the edge
of the bed. "Did they say anything about the chances of your going
to Vietnam?"
    Robert shakes his head.
    She leaves the bedroom to serve dinner and
Robert follows her, turning on the television in the living room.
"Please don't watch the news," she says.
    "I just want to see what's happening in
Israel. I'll turn it off right after that."
    Sharon walks back into the bedroom. She turns
on the radio to listen to music and drown out the television. She
doesn't want to risk seeing or hearing the news of Vietnam come on
before the news of Israel.
    At least the War of Attrition in Israel is
one war of which Sharon can approve. It's a fight for survival
waged by the country's own inhabitants. And no American troops have
been sent there to fight.
    A few minutes later Robert comes back to the
bedroom. "I'm done watching the news now. And, listen, I invited a
guy and his wife over tonight – Jim and Kim Benton. They live in
the next complex."
    Sharon stands up. "That's great. I want to
meet some people. What time are they coming?"
    "About 7:30. I said it would be nothing
fancy, just coffee, or I'm not sure he would have agreed to come.
Jim seemed surprised we would invite strangers over."
    "Where do they come from?"
    "Somewhere in the South."
    **
    Sharon has prepared for the Bentons' upcoming
visit, straightening the sofa cushions and checking on the supply
of cold pop. Still the knock on the door startles her. She hasn't
realized she is so nervous about this visit – what will they think
of her and Robert? Do they dislike Jews?
    Robert answers the knock as Sharon stands
behind him. Both Kim and Jim are tall, slender blonds with light
eyes. They look almost like brother and sister.
    "Come on in," Robert says, motioning them to
sit down.
    "Would you like some coffee?" Sharon
says.
    "Not right now," Jim says as he and Kim sit
down on the sofa. "It's a little too hot."
    "How about some pop? I've got some Dr. Pepper
and some Coke."
    "Thanks, that'll be really great," Jim says.
"We'll both take a Coke."
    "I'll have one too," Robert says, jumping up
to help her.
    "Where do you come from?" Sharon asks as she
and Robert bring four Cokes from the kitchenette.
    "Small town in North Carolina," Jim says.
    Kim smiles, her face relaxing for the first
time since she's entered the apartment. "We met at church."
    "I came home on vacation from college