Categories > Cartoons > Daria > Daria's Party Addition
Daria's Party Addition – 21 – Summer 1999
By Dr T
Jack was at Daria dorm by 8:30 that Sunday morning, less than 15 minutes after Jake had left. The two spent most of the next 180-plus minutes on her cot, mostly (but not entirely) doing the intimate cuddling they loved to indulge in, with a sustained session of greater intimacy as well. It was nearly 11:45 when they emerged from Daria's dorm room to find the RA about to knock on her door.
"Hey! I'm Marcia, your RA. Daria, right?"
Daria looked the peppy blonde over, and also noticed there were a few other residents leaving their rooms, about to go over out to lunch. "Yes, I'm Daria. Could everyone come over for a second?"
When the five other curious women were gathered, Daria introduced herself, mentioned her major, and then said, "And I'd like you to all meet my husband, Jack Frasier."
That bombshell startled the group, but they all checked, and yes, Daria was wearing both an engagement and wedding ring, and Jack was wearing a matching wedding ring. "Jack's at MIT; yes, we're married. No, our families don't know. We'll tell them over Thanksgiving, and we'll move in together after the Christmas break."
The women all congratulated the pair, each thinking the two must had secretly gotten married very recently, and none realizing that Daria was still almost six full months from turning 18.
In the end, there would be a total of ten students staying on the floor that summer, plus the RA, although in theory the floor could hold up to 28 students and the RA if there were no single rooms. In addition to Daria, all the others there that summer were in strong relationships to some degree. There was one lesbian couple down the hall, all the other students were in single rooms for the summer, although most would have roommates come the fall. Daria was of course married to Jack. Of the seven other students, three had boyfriends who were also going to Raft that summer and one was engaged to another Raft student, also there for the summer. The remaining one had a boyfriend going to summer school at another Boston institution while the other two had partners who lived in the greater Boston area as well as went to college there. One was even going to BFAC, and over the summer Daria would pick up information from him to pass on to Jane – who due to Daria's pushing her was well on her way to having an excellent portfolio ready to submit to BFAC in the fall.
Daria's dorm had eight residential floors alternating by gender. It was therefore relatively easy for Jack to stay over at Daria's during the weekends, especially because she had a room on the second floor near the stairwell. Jack could either go up a floor to use the restroom/showers on the men's floor or down a floor to the main floor, which had public restrooms as well as services (mailroom, vending machine area, washers/driers, two TV rooms, study rooms, etc.) as well as the main desk and the resident director's apartment. The other male partners of the women on the floor did the same to some degree as well, just as a few of the female partners of men on the floor above Daria's sometimes visited those facilities.
Overall, because of this setup, although the variety of students would change in the fall, over the summer no one cared that Jack slept over weekends, and sometimes more often, just as Daria spent a few nights at MIT. After all, everyone else on the floors was doing the same thing.
Daria's schedule for the summer sessions was pretty basic. Her labs each met twice a week from 10:00-11:45 on alternating days. On Mondays through Thursdays, she would be working in the paleontology lab from 1:00-5:00. On Fridays, Daria would be in that lab from 8:30-12:30, thus putting in the 20 hours a week she was required to do. Jack's summer class and work had the same basic schedule. Therefore, on Fridays the pair would eat lunch on their respective campus and then Jack would be at Raft by 2:00 (Boston traffic sometimes caused him to take that long to arrive). This gave the pair a full weekend together, even if sometimes one or the other had to put in some extra work. Fortunately, they were usually able to take care of most such work during the week.
They were unable to get together consistently during the week, but they always made certain to at least talk over the phone each night they did not get together. They would usually have dinner during the week anywhere from one to three times, sometimes going to a movie as well if they were both at least a bit ahead on their work. They stayed overnight on one campus or the other when they felt they could make it to their own campus the next morning; about once a week.
Daria's bio and chem labs were pretty much what she expected. They would take a bit of outside study, but nothing onerous, in class or out. What Daria had been both worrying about and interested in up to her arrival was her work in the prep lab.
The first Monday, the summer lab director showed Daria into a large room with strong overhead lights and a dozen solid worktables and a long table with computer workstations. "This one is yours," he pointed one worktable out after mentioning that the other workers would be starting the next day. It already had a large rock on it – about 48 inches long, 33 wide, and 30 deep. "Did you get your computer accounts set up?"
Daria had in fact done so before she had arrived for summer school. He had her sign into one of the computers and into what turned out to be her prep lab account. "That's a CAT scan of that rock," he told her when she had managed to call the file up. "As you can see, there's a complete Eocene turtle under all that matrix. That's what you'll be prepping – obviously getting all the surface matrix off and cleaning as much of the other matrix from the skull, tail, and so on as possible."
He did not give Daria a very nice smile. "Your sponsors claim that you already know what you're doing, so take your time and do the best you can. If you need help, feel free to ask for it, either from me or anyone else working in the lab here." He had had a few possible candidates in mind for this position, so wouldn't mind if Daria failed. On the other hand, he was a good enough scientist that he always preferred for these workers to do a good job. Altogether, a win/win for him, no matter how Daria did.
In the end, it took Daria far longer to prep the turtle than she had thought possible, despite her (limited) experience the previous summer. Still, it was nearly display-ready at the end of the summer, rather faster than her supervisor had estimated, since she had not made any errors. Her meticulous work meant that she would be allowed to work on more intricate and much more important fossils during the rest of her time in the lab once she had finished cleaning off the remainder of the matrix from the more 'fiddly bits' by early September.
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The first break in Daria's routine was soon after summer school had started. She had to go back to Lawndale for her graduation. That meant that she had to work overtime in the lab that week and the previous one to make certain she had the needed hours in, as she would have to fly home early Friday morning. Jack had to do something similar, as he drove her to the airport and flew with her. His mother picked them up at the airport in Baltimore. Helen had planned on doing so, but was stuck taking a deposition on rather short notice.
Neither Daria nor Jack liked this break in their newly established routine, as they knew there would be no cuddling that weekend, let alone any intimacy. They had made up for this a little by Jack's staying in Daria's dorm room Thursday night.
Helen was not happy that Jack was along for the weekend – she had been led to believe he would be at a dig in Labrador that summer. Instead, she learned that he would be spending just over two weeks there, half that time in late June and the other half in early August.
Daria really did not really know any of the graduating seniors, other than a few by name and a few more by sight. She didn't think she had exchanged more than a few sentences with any of them over her time at Lawndale High. She therefore had to spend some time before the ceremony got started explaining to a few why she was there at all.
Daria was of course not eligible for any awards or special recognition under the circumstances. She sat; she was bored; she received the folder her diploma could be placed in when it arrived (the actual diplomas would be mailed later when Ms Li was satisfied the particular student had completed all requirements and didn't owe any money) when her name was called; she sat through the awards.
In short, as far as she was concerned, the school should have just mailed her the diploma. Still, her mother was satisfied, and both grandmothers and her Aunt Amy, and even the Frasiers, had sent nice cash rewards for graduating, and she would see Jane briefly on both Friday (as Jane had attended the ceremony) and Saturday. While she would have preferred having her usual weekend with Jack, she did admit that these were decent compensations.
Daria had dressed up a bit under her graduation robe. She and Jack would have gone to an early dinner at the country club before the ceremony, but Helen had insisted on taking the family (plus Jack and Jane, who would be leaving for Ashfield in just over a week) out to an early dinner before the ceremony and out for ice cream afterwards. The pair did get together late Saturday afternoon, and made it to the country club for dinner after seeing a movie.
Daria was surprised at the number of club members who were aware of her graduation, and who came up to congratulate her.
The pair flew back to Boston Sunday morning.
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Daria of course missed Jack when he flew up to Labrador to pick up various field notes and other documentation as well as some of the smaller fossils collected – he would be supervising them through the trip back, deal with Customs, etc. He flew out on a Friday morning and would be returning a week from the following Monday.
This gave Daria an opportunity for something she had wanted to do since arriving at Raft. The Friday afternoon Jack left, Daria made her way over to the building that held the English, Communications, and various Language departments. She had seen that the head of the Creative Writing program was teaching a generic introductory writing class at the same time as her labs, and was curious if he would be available to talk to when she had free time. She was able to schedule an appointment with him for the following Monday at 10:00.
When Daria knocked on his door the next Monday, he invited her in and inquired as to what she needed. Daria had already registered for 13 credits for the upcoming fall semester. She was hoping to add a short story workshop, which was available only to Creative Writing majors and 'permission of the instructor' – this instructor.
Daria had brought with her copies of her published publications plus printouts of the short stories and poems which had been published on-line over the previous two years. As Daria had guessed, she was hardly the first student who tried to take a creative writing class who wasn't a major or in an associated major. Some tried because they thought they would be an easy or 'fun' course, and some thought 'hey, I could be a writer – how hard can it be'? The instructor was used to telling the vast majority of those students a firm 'no.'
However, it was soon clear that Daria was not there on any sort of whim. She was obviously serious to some degree, and it was equally clear that she must have at least some measure of talent and discipline. After seeing what Daria had already done, he was able to assure her that he would give her materials quick consideration, and that she could pick up her materials, and his answer, before class on Wednesday. He thought it likely he would approve if her writings had earned what she had claimed for them.
After his class that morning, the instructor, curious, read her first published short story from two years before. Usually he left campus at 1:30; that afternoon, he was there until almost 4:00 as he read through Daria's material. He sent emails to his colleagues before he left, with links to the websites where Daria's writing was featured.
While neither the instructor nor his colleagues were shocked into believing they had discovered a brilliant new writer or anything along those lines, they all agreed that she had talent and potential – they also rather wished that she was in their program. When Daria picked up her material on Wednesday morning, she was gratified that she had permission to add the Short Story Workshop to her Fall schedule.
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The Fourth of July fell on a Sunday in 1999, and neither Raft nor MIT would have classes on the following Monday. In addition, both Daria's and Jack's internships had them with that Monday off as well. The pair had realized this early on, even before Daria had arrived in May, but it would take them part of June to decide on what to plan to do together on the long holiday weekend.
While hardly as limited in funds as most of the students around them, they were still determined to save towards their first apartment come January. Therefore, any expensive vacation plans were out of the question. While the Fourth was an even bigger deal in Boston than in most other cities, neither wanted to try and brave the crowds who would gather to listen to the Boston Pops or similar activities. Still, both wanted to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in some special way.
Their first thought had been, since they had not had a honeymoon, that they could do something along those lines. After some consideration, going to Niagara Falls didn't seem particularly all that interesting and a bit too cliché, as was going to a honeymoon hotel in the Poconos. A holiday weekend in New York City would likely be fun, but also on the expensive side. In the end, they found a small resort in the Berkshires that featured cabins. They were lucky – all the cabins had been booked well in advance, but they had called to inquire just after a cancellation came in.
Helen was not pleased that Daria was not coming home for the holiday and would be spending it with Jack on vacation. While there really should have been little doubt in Helen's mind about the level of physical intimacy Daria and Jack's relationship had reached, she had been able to ignore that aspect for the most part. She also knew that there was little she could do about it at this time – in Maryland, the age of consent might be 18, but it was 16 in Massachusetts.
Worse, Helen also learned that Daria wouldn't be coming home in August either. There was a week and a half between the end of the summer sessions at Raft and the start of the registration process for the autumn term. Because Daria was on the special internship, she was allowed to stay in the dorm for that period. There was going to be a formal fundraiser for Raft's Natural History Museum that Friday, featuring tours of the paleo labs, and Daria had been invited to be one of the lab presenters.
Considering her own over-the-top devotion to work, Helen could not really fault Daria for this choice – she had to acknowledge she would have done the same. Helen also knew the value of networking, and had to admit and this was an excellent chance for Daria to network as well as score brownie points with her bosses. All she could do was sulk. Fortunately for her junior associates, Helen did not take her bad moods out on her subordinates like her former supervising partner, Eric, was known to do.
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Jack picked Daria up a little after 2:00 that July 2nd. They made a stop at a grocery store for ice for two ice chests as well as groceries to go into the chests for the trip. The cabins were rustic, but did offer 'limited electricity' (meaning there was a refrigerator, hot water, and one nightlight in each of the rooms – bedroom, toilet with shower, combination den and kitchen) – the rest of the lighting was from supplied oil lamps or 'bring your own candles'. (Which they did.) Jack also brought a portable radio and they each brought a flashlight.
The pair arrived around 4:30, and they were moved into their cabin just after 5:00. As advertised, it was 'rustic' – a true log cabin when seen from the outside. The bedroom just had a king-sized bed, a chest of drawers, and an old-fashioned wardrobe. The bathroom just had the toilet, pedestal sink, and a walk-in shower easily large enough for two. There was an additional area behind the bathroom that held the water heater and such, but that was only accessible from the outside.
Those rooms were just 10 feet across. The opposite side was 16 wide. There was a fireplace with a large sofa in front of it and two chairs on the side of the main room's front window. The kitchenette had the fridge, sink, a two-burner stove, and, as basic concessions to modernity, a small microwave and a coffee maker. There was a small table for the couple to eat at, along with two chairs.
"Looks comfy to me," Jack said after they took a quick look around and finished unloading their groceries.
"You called the trailer both 'comfy' and 'cozy' at different times last summer," Daria teasingly reminded him.
"I probably did," he agreed, not about to argue with Daria's memory. He hugged her from behind as she had finished putting items in the fridge. Smiling, Daria turned herself around so that she could hug him back. "Are you saying it was neither?" he asked after leaning down to exchange a kiss.
"I suppose it might have seemed to have been both at the time," Daria started off when they ended the kiss. "However, in retrospect, I don't think the trailer was really all that comfy. The bunk beds certainly weren't, considering the number of times I hit my head on your bunk when we made love." She looked up and exchanged another smile. "Those bunks, and the trailer itself, were 'cozy' only as a polite way to say 'cramped.' I think I'll much prefer staying here."
"Well, I will agree with that," Jack replied. "I will also totally agree that the bed looks to be a lot better than those little bunk beds. Hopefully it's not lumpy or anything else annoying."
Daria thought for a moment, and then said, "Early dinner first my love, then we can try out the mattress."
"Are you cooking, or me?" Neither was all that great of a cook.
Daria considered their supplies, and suggested, "How about one of us make omelets, hash browns, and some raw carrots and celery so we can pretend we ate healthily? The other can get everything else set up and do the dishes afterwards."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll flip you for it; heads I cook and dry the dishes; tails I unpack and wash."
"Deal!" Daria ended up being the cook.
The two enjoyed their dinner, but enjoyed testing out the mattress (which they found very satisfactory) even more.
After the clean-up and then showering, the two dressed and went out to look at the night sky – each cabin had a porch with two chairs, a table, and a heavy-duty hanging swing for two. There weren't any lights at the camp except from the curtained cabins. They were also far enough from any town that there was little urban light pollution, although the sky was not quite as dark as it had been in the desert the year before. They were not the only couple enjoying the clear, lovely evening. Like some of the other couples at camp, they cuddled on the swing and after admiring the night sky concentrated on cuddling.
They both decided it was an excellent vacation/postponed honeymoon.
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The rest of July went along the lines established over the previous weeks. Daria's Biology and Chemistry labs took up her mornings, but really did not challenge her in any way other than in terms of time management. Her afternoon lab work was interesting enough, although her turtle would not provide her any room for interpretation – she wasn't interested in turtle evolution and this was a moderately well-known species in any event. Still, it was giving her the technical experiences she would need to tackle more intricate fossil work in the future. Daria certainly knew she would miss Jack the first week in August, when he would have to return to Labrador to get the expedition started at wrapping up their summer dig there.
As that trip came closer, one morning when she woke up a bit early Daria started to reflect on the previous two years of her life. In early July 1997, the Morgendorffer household was nearly at its most tense – Helen had started interviewing at various partnerships around the country weeks before, and she and Jake had committed to moving somewhere. However, as various deadlines started to approach, exactly where they might move to was still up in the air. They were committed to having moved out of the Highland house by mid-September, and both Helen's and Jake's current jobs would end at the end of August.
Helen was at her most manic as she waiting for the results of what would turn out to be her last round of interviews – near Chicago, Long Island, and of course Maryland. While Quinn was not nearly as obstructive as she would be when it came time to actually pack in mid-to-late August, she was already unhelpful and complaining. Jake, while gleeful he would soon be able to quit a job he loathed, was not really involved in most of the action at home, other than buying takeout and some groceries for breakfast for himself and his daughters when Helen was off interviewing.
Daria had felt totally alone. The girls she had been friendly with in Middle School had moved over a year before, and the others she had at least considered friendly acquaintances had slowly withdrawn from her since the previous autumn, leaving her to (very occasionally) torment Beavis and Butt-head, just to have something to do.
Daria had been alone, lonely, and disillusioned in general, and sure she would be alone for the foreseeable future…maybe for the rest of her life. She didn't particularly like cats, but saw a future where she would become known as the elderly spinster cat lady, friendless not to mention unloved.
And yet from between just under three months to less than four months later, everything had totally changed. The first change was her immediate, close friendship with Jane. Jane had been the catalyst. Her immediate acceptance of Daria had been what had started to crack the defenses she had built up, especially over the previous year. Without Jane and that crack, she never would have been at Brittany's party and met Jack. With no Jane, she wouldn't have met Trent, and so for the first time had really thought she might be attracted to someone, even if that someone had quickly become Jack and not Trent. Without Jane's acceptance, advice, and encouragement (and showing her one of the band's porn videos), it would have taken Daria even longer to open up to Jack, emotionally and then physically.
Daria and Jane were exchanging emails several times a week that summer, and the pair still provided that same level of emotional support for each other. Jane needed that support that summer, when she had been seduced by an older artist at Ashfield, a woman, which had surprised Daria a bit, although apparently not as much as it had Jane. Worse, Allison had quickly tired of her conquest, leaving Jane stunned and confused. Daria's emails, and a few phone calls, had helped Jane through that, and she was slowly regaining her equilibrium.
Jane's friendship so soon after moving to Lawndale, although unexpected, had been a pleasing surprise, but not a total shock. Meeting Jack, falling for Jack, establishing a physical and then sexual relationship with Jack, had in turn been more than surprising to Daria, at the time and in retrospect – the sequence and especially the pace were still a bit shocking even as she thought about it nearly two years later.
Granted, neither at the time nor at any time since did Daria regret any of those individual steps, nor did she in any way regret what in retrospect was the very rapid pacing. And, as happy as she was at the time and was at this moment with the resolution of that sequence – marriage – she was still shocked they had dared to go through with the ceremony, even now, just over a year later.
So, it certainly wasn't that she regretted the marriage in any way, but she fully acknowledged, and far from the first time, that in many senses they were still playing at being married. It was almost a pleasant fantasy rather than reality. Afterall, while they had stayed together the previous summer and were together most weekends – something which would continue into the next semester – they would not be living together in their own household until the next December or January, some five months into the future. They both knew that this would be when real adjustments to the other would have to be made.
Yes, they were 'out' to people from the previous years' camp, their dorm mates, and Jane, but they would not be admitting to their marriage to their families until Thanksgiving, some four months into the future. It would be at those points that they would finally start facing the realities as opposed to the 'fun parts' of marriage.
Could they withstand the pressures of that reality? Daria knew it would be almost certainly at least slightly more up to her than to Jack. When it came to them, Jack was the more easy-going of the two. It was Daria who would still sometimes second-guess herself to the point she had a difficult time functioning. Jack came from a fairly stable family background – her mother and the heritage of the 'battling Barksdales,' her father and his background of family abuse, and her own battles with her mother and her relationship with Quinn (although that was slowly improving with distance and their email exchanges) reminded Daria that she would need to stay self-aware and careful.
On the other hand, the two had managed so far with barely a disagreement.
Daria glanced at her alarm clock and realized that if she wanted to eat breakfast that morning, she had best get moving.
By Dr T
Jack was at Daria dorm by 8:30 that Sunday morning, less than 15 minutes after Jake had left. The two spent most of the next 180-plus minutes on her cot, mostly (but not entirely) doing the intimate cuddling they loved to indulge in, with a sustained session of greater intimacy as well. It was nearly 11:45 when they emerged from Daria's dorm room to find the RA about to knock on her door.
"Hey! I'm Marcia, your RA. Daria, right?"
Daria looked the peppy blonde over, and also noticed there were a few other residents leaving their rooms, about to go over out to lunch. "Yes, I'm Daria. Could everyone come over for a second?"
When the five other curious women were gathered, Daria introduced herself, mentioned her major, and then said, "And I'd like you to all meet my husband, Jack Frasier."
That bombshell startled the group, but they all checked, and yes, Daria was wearing both an engagement and wedding ring, and Jack was wearing a matching wedding ring. "Jack's at MIT; yes, we're married. No, our families don't know. We'll tell them over Thanksgiving, and we'll move in together after the Christmas break."
The women all congratulated the pair, each thinking the two must had secretly gotten married very recently, and none realizing that Daria was still almost six full months from turning 18.
In the end, there would be a total of ten students staying on the floor that summer, plus the RA, although in theory the floor could hold up to 28 students and the RA if there were no single rooms. In addition to Daria, all the others there that summer were in strong relationships to some degree. There was one lesbian couple down the hall, all the other students were in single rooms for the summer, although most would have roommates come the fall. Daria was of course married to Jack. Of the seven other students, three had boyfriends who were also going to Raft that summer and one was engaged to another Raft student, also there for the summer. The remaining one had a boyfriend going to summer school at another Boston institution while the other two had partners who lived in the greater Boston area as well as went to college there. One was even going to BFAC, and over the summer Daria would pick up information from him to pass on to Jane – who due to Daria's pushing her was well on her way to having an excellent portfolio ready to submit to BFAC in the fall.
Daria's dorm had eight residential floors alternating by gender. It was therefore relatively easy for Jack to stay over at Daria's during the weekends, especially because she had a room on the second floor near the stairwell. Jack could either go up a floor to use the restroom/showers on the men's floor or down a floor to the main floor, which had public restrooms as well as services (mailroom, vending machine area, washers/driers, two TV rooms, study rooms, etc.) as well as the main desk and the resident director's apartment. The other male partners of the women on the floor did the same to some degree as well, just as a few of the female partners of men on the floor above Daria's sometimes visited those facilities.
Overall, because of this setup, although the variety of students would change in the fall, over the summer no one cared that Jack slept over weekends, and sometimes more often, just as Daria spent a few nights at MIT. After all, everyone else on the floors was doing the same thing.
Daria's schedule for the summer sessions was pretty basic. Her labs each met twice a week from 10:00-11:45 on alternating days. On Mondays through Thursdays, she would be working in the paleontology lab from 1:00-5:00. On Fridays, Daria would be in that lab from 8:30-12:30, thus putting in the 20 hours a week she was required to do. Jack's summer class and work had the same basic schedule. Therefore, on Fridays the pair would eat lunch on their respective campus and then Jack would be at Raft by 2:00 (Boston traffic sometimes caused him to take that long to arrive). This gave the pair a full weekend together, even if sometimes one or the other had to put in some extra work. Fortunately, they were usually able to take care of most such work during the week.
They were unable to get together consistently during the week, but they always made certain to at least talk over the phone each night they did not get together. They would usually have dinner during the week anywhere from one to three times, sometimes going to a movie as well if they were both at least a bit ahead on their work. They stayed overnight on one campus or the other when they felt they could make it to their own campus the next morning; about once a week.
Daria's bio and chem labs were pretty much what she expected. They would take a bit of outside study, but nothing onerous, in class or out. What Daria had been both worrying about and interested in up to her arrival was her work in the prep lab.
The first Monday, the summer lab director showed Daria into a large room with strong overhead lights and a dozen solid worktables and a long table with computer workstations. "This one is yours," he pointed one worktable out after mentioning that the other workers would be starting the next day. It already had a large rock on it – about 48 inches long, 33 wide, and 30 deep. "Did you get your computer accounts set up?"
Daria had in fact done so before she had arrived for summer school. He had her sign into one of the computers and into what turned out to be her prep lab account. "That's a CAT scan of that rock," he told her when she had managed to call the file up. "As you can see, there's a complete Eocene turtle under all that matrix. That's what you'll be prepping – obviously getting all the surface matrix off and cleaning as much of the other matrix from the skull, tail, and so on as possible."
He did not give Daria a very nice smile. "Your sponsors claim that you already know what you're doing, so take your time and do the best you can. If you need help, feel free to ask for it, either from me or anyone else working in the lab here." He had had a few possible candidates in mind for this position, so wouldn't mind if Daria failed. On the other hand, he was a good enough scientist that he always preferred for these workers to do a good job. Altogether, a win/win for him, no matter how Daria did.
In the end, it took Daria far longer to prep the turtle than she had thought possible, despite her (limited) experience the previous summer. Still, it was nearly display-ready at the end of the summer, rather faster than her supervisor had estimated, since she had not made any errors. Her meticulous work meant that she would be allowed to work on more intricate and much more important fossils during the rest of her time in the lab once she had finished cleaning off the remainder of the matrix from the more 'fiddly bits' by early September.
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The first break in Daria's routine was soon after summer school had started. She had to go back to Lawndale for her graduation. That meant that she had to work overtime in the lab that week and the previous one to make certain she had the needed hours in, as she would have to fly home early Friday morning. Jack had to do something similar, as he drove her to the airport and flew with her. His mother picked them up at the airport in Baltimore. Helen had planned on doing so, but was stuck taking a deposition on rather short notice.
Neither Daria nor Jack liked this break in their newly established routine, as they knew there would be no cuddling that weekend, let alone any intimacy. They had made up for this a little by Jack's staying in Daria's dorm room Thursday night.
Helen was not happy that Jack was along for the weekend – she had been led to believe he would be at a dig in Labrador that summer. Instead, she learned that he would be spending just over two weeks there, half that time in late June and the other half in early August.
Daria really did not really know any of the graduating seniors, other than a few by name and a few more by sight. She didn't think she had exchanged more than a few sentences with any of them over her time at Lawndale High. She therefore had to spend some time before the ceremony got started explaining to a few why she was there at all.
Daria was of course not eligible for any awards or special recognition under the circumstances. She sat; she was bored; she received the folder her diploma could be placed in when it arrived (the actual diplomas would be mailed later when Ms Li was satisfied the particular student had completed all requirements and didn't owe any money) when her name was called; she sat through the awards.
In short, as far as she was concerned, the school should have just mailed her the diploma. Still, her mother was satisfied, and both grandmothers and her Aunt Amy, and even the Frasiers, had sent nice cash rewards for graduating, and she would see Jane briefly on both Friday (as Jane had attended the ceremony) and Saturday. While she would have preferred having her usual weekend with Jack, she did admit that these were decent compensations.
Daria had dressed up a bit under her graduation robe. She and Jack would have gone to an early dinner at the country club before the ceremony, but Helen had insisted on taking the family (plus Jack and Jane, who would be leaving for Ashfield in just over a week) out to an early dinner before the ceremony and out for ice cream afterwards. The pair did get together late Saturday afternoon, and made it to the country club for dinner after seeing a movie.
Daria was surprised at the number of club members who were aware of her graduation, and who came up to congratulate her.
The pair flew back to Boston Sunday morning.
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Daria of course missed Jack when he flew up to Labrador to pick up various field notes and other documentation as well as some of the smaller fossils collected – he would be supervising them through the trip back, deal with Customs, etc. He flew out on a Friday morning and would be returning a week from the following Monday.
This gave Daria an opportunity for something she had wanted to do since arriving at Raft. The Friday afternoon Jack left, Daria made her way over to the building that held the English, Communications, and various Language departments. She had seen that the head of the Creative Writing program was teaching a generic introductory writing class at the same time as her labs, and was curious if he would be available to talk to when she had free time. She was able to schedule an appointment with him for the following Monday at 10:00.
When Daria knocked on his door the next Monday, he invited her in and inquired as to what she needed. Daria had already registered for 13 credits for the upcoming fall semester. She was hoping to add a short story workshop, which was available only to Creative Writing majors and 'permission of the instructor' – this instructor.
Daria had brought with her copies of her published publications plus printouts of the short stories and poems which had been published on-line over the previous two years. As Daria had guessed, she was hardly the first student who tried to take a creative writing class who wasn't a major or in an associated major. Some tried because they thought they would be an easy or 'fun' course, and some thought 'hey, I could be a writer – how hard can it be'? The instructor was used to telling the vast majority of those students a firm 'no.'
However, it was soon clear that Daria was not there on any sort of whim. She was obviously serious to some degree, and it was equally clear that she must have at least some measure of talent and discipline. After seeing what Daria had already done, he was able to assure her that he would give her materials quick consideration, and that she could pick up her materials, and his answer, before class on Wednesday. He thought it likely he would approve if her writings had earned what she had claimed for them.
After his class that morning, the instructor, curious, read her first published short story from two years before. Usually he left campus at 1:30; that afternoon, he was there until almost 4:00 as he read through Daria's material. He sent emails to his colleagues before he left, with links to the websites where Daria's writing was featured.
While neither the instructor nor his colleagues were shocked into believing they had discovered a brilliant new writer or anything along those lines, they all agreed that she had talent and potential – they also rather wished that she was in their program. When Daria picked up her material on Wednesday morning, she was gratified that she had permission to add the Short Story Workshop to her Fall schedule.
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The Fourth of July fell on a Sunday in 1999, and neither Raft nor MIT would have classes on the following Monday. In addition, both Daria's and Jack's internships had them with that Monday off as well. The pair had realized this early on, even before Daria had arrived in May, but it would take them part of June to decide on what to plan to do together on the long holiday weekend.
While hardly as limited in funds as most of the students around them, they were still determined to save towards their first apartment come January. Therefore, any expensive vacation plans were out of the question. While the Fourth was an even bigger deal in Boston than in most other cities, neither wanted to try and brave the crowds who would gather to listen to the Boston Pops or similar activities. Still, both wanted to celebrate their first wedding anniversary in some special way.
Their first thought had been, since they had not had a honeymoon, that they could do something along those lines. After some consideration, going to Niagara Falls didn't seem particularly all that interesting and a bit too cliché, as was going to a honeymoon hotel in the Poconos. A holiday weekend in New York City would likely be fun, but also on the expensive side. In the end, they found a small resort in the Berkshires that featured cabins. They were lucky – all the cabins had been booked well in advance, but they had called to inquire just after a cancellation came in.
Helen was not pleased that Daria was not coming home for the holiday and would be spending it with Jack on vacation. While there really should have been little doubt in Helen's mind about the level of physical intimacy Daria and Jack's relationship had reached, she had been able to ignore that aspect for the most part. She also knew that there was little she could do about it at this time – in Maryland, the age of consent might be 18, but it was 16 in Massachusetts.
Worse, Helen also learned that Daria wouldn't be coming home in August either. There was a week and a half between the end of the summer sessions at Raft and the start of the registration process for the autumn term. Because Daria was on the special internship, she was allowed to stay in the dorm for that period. There was going to be a formal fundraiser for Raft's Natural History Museum that Friday, featuring tours of the paleo labs, and Daria had been invited to be one of the lab presenters.
Considering her own over-the-top devotion to work, Helen could not really fault Daria for this choice – she had to acknowledge she would have done the same. Helen also knew the value of networking, and had to admit and this was an excellent chance for Daria to network as well as score brownie points with her bosses. All she could do was sulk. Fortunately for her junior associates, Helen did not take her bad moods out on her subordinates like her former supervising partner, Eric, was known to do.
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Jack picked Daria up a little after 2:00 that July 2nd. They made a stop at a grocery store for ice for two ice chests as well as groceries to go into the chests for the trip. The cabins were rustic, but did offer 'limited electricity' (meaning there was a refrigerator, hot water, and one nightlight in each of the rooms – bedroom, toilet with shower, combination den and kitchen) – the rest of the lighting was from supplied oil lamps or 'bring your own candles'. (Which they did.) Jack also brought a portable radio and they each brought a flashlight.
The pair arrived around 4:30, and they were moved into their cabin just after 5:00. As advertised, it was 'rustic' – a true log cabin when seen from the outside. The bedroom just had a king-sized bed, a chest of drawers, and an old-fashioned wardrobe. The bathroom just had the toilet, pedestal sink, and a walk-in shower easily large enough for two. There was an additional area behind the bathroom that held the water heater and such, but that was only accessible from the outside.
Those rooms were just 10 feet across. The opposite side was 16 wide. There was a fireplace with a large sofa in front of it and two chairs on the side of the main room's front window. The kitchenette had the fridge, sink, a two-burner stove, and, as basic concessions to modernity, a small microwave and a coffee maker. There was a small table for the couple to eat at, along with two chairs.
"Looks comfy to me," Jack said after they took a quick look around and finished unloading their groceries.
"You called the trailer both 'comfy' and 'cozy' at different times last summer," Daria teasingly reminded him.
"I probably did," he agreed, not about to argue with Daria's memory. He hugged her from behind as she had finished putting items in the fridge. Smiling, Daria turned herself around so that she could hug him back. "Are you saying it was neither?" he asked after leaning down to exchange a kiss.
"I suppose it might have seemed to have been both at the time," Daria started off when they ended the kiss. "However, in retrospect, I don't think the trailer was really all that comfy. The bunk beds certainly weren't, considering the number of times I hit my head on your bunk when we made love." She looked up and exchanged another smile. "Those bunks, and the trailer itself, were 'cozy' only as a polite way to say 'cramped.' I think I'll much prefer staying here."
"Well, I will agree with that," Jack replied. "I will also totally agree that the bed looks to be a lot better than those little bunk beds. Hopefully it's not lumpy or anything else annoying."
Daria thought for a moment, and then said, "Early dinner first my love, then we can try out the mattress."
"Are you cooking, or me?" Neither was all that great of a cook.
Daria considered their supplies, and suggested, "How about one of us make omelets, hash browns, and some raw carrots and celery so we can pretend we ate healthily? The other can get everything else set up and do the dishes afterwards."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll flip you for it; heads I cook and dry the dishes; tails I unpack and wash."
"Deal!" Daria ended up being the cook.
The two enjoyed their dinner, but enjoyed testing out the mattress (which they found very satisfactory) even more.
After the clean-up and then showering, the two dressed and went out to look at the night sky – each cabin had a porch with two chairs, a table, and a heavy-duty hanging swing for two. There weren't any lights at the camp except from the curtained cabins. They were also far enough from any town that there was little urban light pollution, although the sky was not quite as dark as it had been in the desert the year before. They were not the only couple enjoying the clear, lovely evening. Like some of the other couples at camp, they cuddled on the swing and after admiring the night sky concentrated on cuddling.
They both decided it was an excellent vacation/postponed honeymoon.
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The rest of July went along the lines established over the previous weeks. Daria's Biology and Chemistry labs took up her mornings, but really did not challenge her in any way other than in terms of time management. Her afternoon lab work was interesting enough, although her turtle would not provide her any room for interpretation – she wasn't interested in turtle evolution and this was a moderately well-known species in any event. Still, it was giving her the technical experiences she would need to tackle more intricate fossil work in the future. Daria certainly knew she would miss Jack the first week in August, when he would have to return to Labrador to get the expedition started at wrapping up their summer dig there.
As that trip came closer, one morning when she woke up a bit early Daria started to reflect on the previous two years of her life. In early July 1997, the Morgendorffer household was nearly at its most tense – Helen had started interviewing at various partnerships around the country weeks before, and she and Jake had committed to moving somewhere. However, as various deadlines started to approach, exactly where they might move to was still up in the air. They were committed to having moved out of the Highland house by mid-September, and both Helen's and Jake's current jobs would end at the end of August.
Helen was at her most manic as she waiting for the results of what would turn out to be her last round of interviews – near Chicago, Long Island, and of course Maryland. While Quinn was not nearly as obstructive as she would be when it came time to actually pack in mid-to-late August, she was already unhelpful and complaining. Jake, while gleeful he would soon be able to quit a job he loathed, was not really involved in most of the action at home, other than buying takeout and some groceries for breakfast for himself and his daughters when Helen was off interviewing.
Daria had felt totally alone. The girls she had been friendly with in Middle School had moved over a year before, and the others she had at least considered friendly acquaintances had slowly withdrawn from her since the previous autumn, leaving her to (very occasionally) torment Beavis and Butt-head, just to have something to do.
Daria had been alone, lonely, and disillusioned in general, and sure she would be alone for the foreseeable future…maybe for the rest of her life. She didn't particularly like cats, but saw a future where she would become known as the elderly spinster cat lady, friendless not to mention unloved.
And yet from between just under three months to less than four months later, everything had totally changed. The first change was her immediate, close friendship with Jane. Jane had been the catalyst. Her immediate acceptance of Daria had been what had started to crack the defenses she had built up, especially over the previous year. Without Jane and that crack, she never would have been at Brittany's party and met Jack. With no Jane, she wouldn't have met Trent, and so for the first time had really thought she might be attracted to someone, even if that someone had quickly become Jack and not Trent. Without Jane's acceptance, advice, and encouragement (and showing her one of the band's porn videos), it would have taken Daria even longer to open up to Jack, emotionally and then physically.
Daria and Jane were exchanging emails several times a week that summer, and the pair still provided that same level of emotional support for each other. Jane needed that support that summer, when she had been seduced by an older artist at Ashfield, a woman, which had surprised Daria a bit, although apparently not as much as it had Jane. Worse, Allison had quickly tired of her conquest, leaving Jane stunned and confused. Daria's emails, and a few phone calls, had helped Jane through that, and she was slowly regaining her equilibrium.
Jane's friendship so soon after moving to Lawndale, although unexpected, had been a pleasing surprise, but not a total shock. Meeting Jack, falling for Jack, establishing a physical and then sexual relationship with Jack, had in turn been more than surprising to Daria, at the time and in retrospect – the sequence and especially the pace were still a bit shocking even as she thought about it nearly two years later.
Granted, neither at the time nor at any time since did Daria regret any of those individual steps, nor did she in any way regret what in retrospect was the very rapid pacing. And, as happy as she was at the time and was at this moment with the resolution of that sequence – marriage – she was still shocked they had dared to go through with the ceremony, even now, just over a year later.
So, it certainly wasn't that she regretted the marriage in any way, but she fully acknowledged, and far from the first time, that in many senses they were still playing at being married. It was almost a pleasant fantasy rather than reality. Afterall, while they had stayed together the previous summer and were together most weekends – something which would continue into the next semester – they would not be living together in their own household until the next December or January, some five months into the future. They both knew that this would be when real adjustments to the other would have to be made.
Yes, they were 'out' to people from the previous years' camp, their dorm mates, and Jane, but they would not be admitting to their marriage to their families until Thanksgiving, some four months into the future. It would be at those points that they would finally start facing the realities as opposed to the 'fun parts' of marriage.
Could they withstand the pressures of that reality? Daria knew it would be almost certainly at least slightly more up to her than to Jack. When it came to them, Jack was the more easy-going of the two. It was Daria who would still sometimes second-guess herself to the point she had a difficult time functioning. Jack came from a fairly stable family background – her mother and the heritage of the 'battling Barksdales,' her father and his background of family abuse, and her own battles with her mother and her relationship with Quinn (although that was slowly improving with distance and their email exchanges) reminded Daria that she would need to stay self-aware and careful.
On the other hand, the two had managed so far with barely a disagreement.
Daria glanced at her alarm clock and realized that if she wanted to eat breakfast that morning, she had best get moving.
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