The Benedicts and the Bradens first got together in 1981 or 1982, when Jay, as an Army lieutenant colonel, commanded the 20th Engineer Battalion at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Rex, then a first lieutenant, had just been assigned to the unit.

Bonnie must have gotten word of this assignment or new people to the battalion, so she headed down to the base's Guest Quarters where new arrivals stayed temporarily until they could secure housing somewhere. She found Michelle, and the two ladies evidently had a great time talking and sharing stories. It turned out that both families had the same number of children of about the same ages, so that was also something that helped create the bond between them.

That evening, when Rex returned to the Guest Quarters from his in-processing activities, he asked Michelle how her day went. Michelle replied that she had a great day meeting and talking with a really nice lady. Rex then learned that the lady was Bonnie Braden, the WIFE OF THE BATTALION COMMANDER.

Now, there is no written rule about this, but let's just say that a lieutenant's wife and a battalion commander's wife normally travel in very different circles. Michelle didn’t know this, but Rex surely did, and he wondered what might be in store for him the next day, when he returned to the battalion.

Of course, the answer was "nothing." Bonnie was Bonnie, and personal relationships based on a husband's rank were just not in her mind.

So the Bradens and the Benedicts kept in touch, and Jay and Bonnie just loved to visit Rex and Michelle at their home in Melbourne, Florida. One of the nice things about their visits was traveling around in the Benedict's convertible. Bonnie really, really loved that and always spoke of getting a convertible "someday."

Well, Jay had listened, and after they got settled from their move from Tallahassee back to Valrico, Jay visited an auto dealer and got a price for a Chrysler Convertible. He used that price as a basis for searching online for a dealership that would give him the best possible price. He found a dealership in Miami, and they came to an agreement; Jay bought the car. The only question remaining was how to get the car from Miami. The dealership said this was no problem; they had a car delivery service. It was actually named Midnight Auto, and that company delivered the car at night to a parking spot at the Stetson's Celebration Campus, where Jay worked. Jay had asked, "How will I get the keys?"

Midnight Auto replied that it was no problem; the keys would be left in the tailpipe.

And that's what happened. Jay drove the car home to Valrico. He stopped by Sandra's house to pick up Savanah and Seth and then headed toward his home.

Just before turning the corner into his street. He allowed Seth and Savanah to sit up on the backseat of the car like you see people doing in a parade. He then called Bonnie and asked her if she could come outside the house to meet him. Then Jay proceeded to drive at about 2 miles an hour around the corner and down to his house.

At first, Bonnie didn't quite understand what was going on. She saw the convertible and loved it, but thought it was a rental car. When she found out it was her car, her joy was unbounded.

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