Freque Factory - Post High School

Freque Factory

Post High School

     In September 1971 Monique and I started Community College.  I was still working my job at the convalescent hospital.  One night, during the first week, I came home late after hanging out with Monique and friends.  I turned the light on to find my father sleeping on the couch.  That had never happened before.  I quickly went to sleep, but I was very confused.  The next day my dad moved out.  Their marriage was finally over.

   My dad got himself an apartment.  We had always had an honest relationship.  That didn't change.  He frankly admitted that he had a mistress for about a year.  He talked about the marriage.  My mom. on the other hand, had what would have been called back then, a nervous breakdown.  I was still living with her at the time.  I'd come home from work and she'd talk at me, non stop.  In retrospect, she was trying to process how her life had just come undone.  But using me as her sounding board was wrong.  I would grab a quick meal and escape to my room where I would quickly lock my door-otherwise she would have come right in, still taking.  Some nights she was so upset she would keep talking through the door.

  Monique quickly realized that college was not for her.  I think she lasted 2 weeks.  Her parents quickly gave her an ultimatum-either school or get a job.  What Monique really wanted to be was like her mother.  But for that she needed a husband.

   Fate, of course, intervened.  Remember Bad Penny?  He was originally from Minnesota.  His crazy family, including his junkie sister still lived there.  One of his childhood friends had just gotten out of the service at this point, and he and another friend decided to move to Hawaii to take construction jobs with family there.  So the two guys made a road trip in their cool car.  They decided to stop in Los Angeles to visit Bad Penny, who they were still in contact with.  Bad Penny was still in jail, but he had sent them Betty's contact info and that led them to Monique's place.

   Despite the connection, Monique's mom took the two guys in. Ex servicemen, clean cut, they seemed like a nice change from most of the guys Monique had been around.  Monique quickly started dating the blonde.  He was the one with the cool car (old Mustang) and the family connections in Hawaii.  The brunette worked his way through most of the women of our group.  Plus more.  I think he was making up for his time in the army.  Brian was still in jail.  Monique was engaged by Thanksgiving.

    Life was getting stranger for me.  My dad had finally gotten my mom out of the family business.  I couldn't handle living with mom any more, so I told my dad about it.  He offered to have me move into his 1 bedroom apartment.  It meant I slept on the couch.  Despite that, I enjoyed living there.  It was peaceful.  My dad would spend nights at his floozy's place, so I was living my myself sometimes.  That was a first.  The only problem was that sometimes the Floozy would want to spend the night at my dad's.  For some reason, I was not allowed to be at the apartment when she was spending the night.  Unfortunately I would have to spend the night at my mom's.  Sometimes at the last minute.  When mom would ask why why I was there I'd have to come up with some reason-telling her I was there because of Floozy would not have been good.

   That first semester of college was my strangest.  Because of the stress of my parent's divorce I was unable to pass most of my classes.  In fact, I dropped all of them except my German language class.  I never did that again.

   Christmas that year was not my strangest (one a few years later gets that title), but it was rough.  Christmas Eve (and that night) I spent with my mom. The next morning my dad picked me up and we celebrated Christmas morning.  To my surprise, I found out that we were going to be joining Floozy and her two kids for Christmas diner.  Not my idea of fun.  I had already met Floozy.  I found her to be selfish and somewhat mean spirited.  She pretended to like me.  Her kids were interesting.  The daughter was just younger than me.  She was a Salvation Army convert.  In fact, she took us to church service there that night.  I wasn't impressed by her, despite her Christianity.  While I liked the son, he was trouble.  Largely amoral and already involved in minor crime.  Also functionally illiterate.  A big 16 year old.

   After the holiday season I went back to school.  Monique began planning her wedding.  Blonde's family was not happy about this turn of events.  They had never met Monique.  They suspected her of being a gold digger.  The family in Hawaii cancelled the job offer. With no employment, brunette went back to Minnesota.  I never saw him again.

    The wedding was sort of thrown together.  But it did happen.  Brian got out of jail just before and he did talk to Monique.  He was still in love with her and accused her of marrying just to get out of the house.  Monique was afraid he'd show up at the wedding.  He didn't.  I thought he was right.

   Blonde and Monique got a small apartment locally.  He got a decent job.  Monique worked some.  They were the first of our group to get married.  Their place became a place we all hung out.