Our stop at the Hi-Lo was eventful. We were more engrossed in the conversation than the drinking or the sparse afternoon crowd. We continued our reminiscing that began at the school with the students, and Ruth reviewed the details of her sister’s wedding the month before. I knew her sister, Kathy, and her new husband, Tim. The wedding review and continued conversation lead to tears. From Ruth – not me. She ran off to the bathroom to compose herself.
When she returned, so did the tears. When I asked her why she was crying she said, “I don’t want to marry Mike.”
Looking back, my reply to this statement could have taken several different turns. I could have said, “Why not.” or “That’s too bad.” or “I never thought that you should marry a car salesman whose greatest claim to fame was selling a garbage truck for a large commission.”
But I didn’t. As quickly as she had said, “I don’t want to marry Mike.” I fired back, “How about me?” The tears stopped instantly.
The End
(For those of you who are interested in really short stories, this can be the end. That’s the most important line in the story and the words that lead to the remainder of the tale. For those of you who prefer to know “the truth and nothing but the truth”, read on.)
My proposal wasn’t very flashy, but it was sincere. I hadn’t rehearsed it, but I had given it some thought. Not at that moment but over the time we weren’t together. I had passed on the opportunity several months prior by “not being ready”, so this time was more like … “Ready or not, here I come.”
I don’t remember Ruth’s exact words, but her reply sounded something like, “When?” Followed by my, “I don’t care when. Whenever you want.” Then Ruth’s, “Well if we are going to do this, let’s do it right away.” The conversation moved along very quickly. I think our decision to seize the moment ensured we’d follow through. Mike was Ruth’s third engagement. I had been engaged once myself. We weren’t good at being engaged.
We left the Hi-Lo with no concrete plan other than to figure out how we could get married as soon as possible. We took my car and left hers behind. As we drove, we talked. We were going to find out how, when, and where we could elope. It wasn’t an elaborate plan, but it was deliberate. (Funny what details you remember at a time like this. I remember, very clearly, that she was wearing a collared t-shirt dress with lime green, navy blue and white stripes. And it was short.)
We drove first to my apartment in Kalamazoo. During the drive Ruth remembered an old, family friend. Perhaps Judge Westra could marry us or at least point us in the right direction. Ruth called him. While sympathetic to our cause, the Judge wasn’t much help. I had heard, or thought I’d heard, that you would get married in Indiana without a blood test. Turns out that rumor was incorrect.
I also heard that Las Vegas was a possibility. I picked up the phone, called the telephone operator in Las Vegas, Nevada and asked her if couples who came to Las Vegas could be married immediately or if there was a waiting period. Two surprising things happened during that conversation. 1. You could actually speak to a real person, on the phone, long distance without a charge and 2. You could get married, immediately, no waiting, no blood test, just show up and say, “I do.”
Decision made. We were going to Vegas. Chicago was the closest major city to Kalamazoo, so I called the airport to see when we could catch a plane. I booked a flight on the first plane out in the morning. We paid for the round-trip tickets by charging $400.00 to Ruth’s new credit card.
I packed a bag and discovered I had no clean slacks to wear to my wedding. We’d have to stop to buy a pair. My sports coat (1) and suit (another 1) were at the cleaners, so I borrowed a blue blazer (without asking) from my friend Mike. On the way out of the building we ran into my roommate, Chuck. Chuck was surprised to see Ruth. She’d been absent from our lives for several months. When he asked what we were doing, the reply was simple, “We’re on our way to get married.” He didn’t believe us at first, but disbelief turned to excitement, and then laughter (from Chuck – not me). We waved, and he chuckled as we walked down the hall.
We drove from my apartment to Ruth’s. We arrived about ten minutes later and thirty seconds prior to her about to be former fiancé, Mike. They had a date that evening that she had forgotten to mention. The date, and I expect his heart, were about to be broken.
TBC
The anticipation is killing me!