Nothing had been heard from, or about, Sam's wife in almost two years. The courts declared Sam "abandoned," terminated the marriage, and freed Sam of all debts and responsibilities related to his former marriage. He was a "free man." That looked to be fairly temporary, because Maud was already talking about making their very long-term relationship official. Sam had no objections, and knew she certainly deserved it.
Dwayne and Emma were enjoying a late Sunday morning in bed. Dwayne may have been thinking about Sam and Maud, as he stretched, and raised up on one elbow, so he could look down on his companion. "Emma, I think I would like to marry you. Would you marry me?"
"Well, of course."
"When?"
"Well, not right away. There are some big things to resolve, first."
"Big things, like what?"
"Well, there's still the problem of world peace, and we haven't done away with racism."
Emma had her eyes closed, so he couldn't tell what she was really thinking. "What does our marriage have to do with world peace or racism?"
She opened her eyes, and smiled at him. "Didn't some famous person say, 'If not us, then who?'"
"Probably, but do you think they really intended us to delay our marriage until those little problems were solved?"
"Well, maybe not completely solved, but don't you think we should start out in marriage, being able to say that we did our part?"
Dwayne lay back down, and stared at the ceiling. "So, when do you think we might be able to safely make that declaration?"
"Well, I don't know for sure, do I? But I'm thinking maybe right after I graduate. It should be clear by then, and by then I'll also be old enough for wedding stuff."
He raised back up on his elbow. "Aren't we doing some 'wedding stuff,' already?"
"What do you mean? Oh, this. Well, I suppose, but I was thinking about the really important stuff."
"Like what?"
"There'll be a ton of stuff. I can't name it all. Obviously, we'll live at your place, as this is Sam's house, but we'll have to decide about new furniture, and if we need to do some painting before I move in. We'll have to make sure your bed is adequate for two. We'll have to work out a budget. We'll have to decide who takes out the trash, and who does the dishes. Does one of us take care of the yard, or do we divide the work? Do we plant a vegetable garden? Who is responsible for getting the oil changed in the truck? Well, I guess since you own a garage, that won't be an issue. Anyway, there's more. Eventually, we'll have to decide what color to paint the nursery. Well, the list just goes on and on.
"Oh, ones I forgot. How many phones do we want, and what rooms will they go it? Does the tv go in the living room, or the bedroom? You see what I mean, about how much there is to do?"
He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I think you can take the condition of my bed off the list. That has been well tested. As far as the rest, is there going to be any time for our current 'marriage stuff'?"
She looked a little puzzled (or tried to, anyway). "Oh, this. Sure, we'll be able to squeeze it in some time."
"Like when?"
She seemed to be thinking. "Well, maybe in the evening after dinner - well, if there aren't any good tv shows on - certainly in the summer, when everything's reruns. Maybe if we wake up early some Saturdays. We might still be able to go shopping on time."
Dwayne put his hands over his face. "May I withdraw my marriage proposal?"
"Withdraw? Well, it wasn't very formal, so I suppose I couldn't claim breach of promise, or anything. I guess you can withdraw, if you want to. I think you were sincere enough - and I believed your intentions - but all of our current arrangements end at my graduation, whether or not we get married then."
"How about we move it to after you graduate from college?"
"No, I think the course is clear. Just think how lucky you are. I could have said I wouldn't marry you until I was 19 or 20."
He took his hands away from his eyes. "Emma, because of the years you missed school with amnesia, you will be 19 - almost 20 -when you graduate."
"Oh, you know that and I know that. But won't it look a lot more exciting and sexier to the rest of the world if they think that you, an old geezer, are going to be sleeping on your wedding night with a beautiful, young, barely legal, teenage babe. I mean, how lucky can a guy get?"
She cuddled against him. "Isn't marriage going to be fun?”
To the Writing It Down Homepage
Why don’t you leave a comment?