I spent as much time with Maria as I could for the rest of that WestPac cruise. Upon returning to the States, I found a sailor who wished to remain stateside and we engineered a duty swap allowing me to return to Subic less than 2 months after I had left. With ship movements what they were at the time, I was able to spend almost 4 of the following 7 months with my young lover. I repeated the swap process 2 more times during the remainder of my enlistment and at its’ end, I reenlisted with a guaranteed assignment for the last 30 months to the Subic Bay Naval Station.
Maria turned 16 and we married the
following day. With two years of my
enlistment remaining, and assignment to Subic, I was easily able to take care of
all the red tape so that I could bring my wife home to the States at the end of
my tour. We were very lucky in that
respect. Many couples had to endure
a year or more of separation before the bride was allowed entry to the United
States to live.
Maria
and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary this summer, the day after
her 41st birthday. The
Naval station is closed now, and tourists are flocking in droves to the new
luxury hotels that have sprung up around Baloy Beach.
Our three daughters now spend their summers helping Grandmommasan at her
new bar and dance club. The old
girl is 75 now but is still as lively and active as ever.
Our daughters Rose, Angelina and Grace are the hardest working bargirls
in the province. Old Mommasan is making pesos hand over fist and the girls are
having a ball; literally and figuratively.
Live is sweet and to this day, I still love my Maria just as deeply and
passionately as I did that first night 30 years ago.