So Far, So Good Part Two

We drove 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 that you could get married in Indiana without a blood test. Turns out that rumor was incorrect.

I also heard 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 flight 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 Smith. 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. 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 a few 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.

Ruth and I were walking towards her apartment when his car pulled in. That’s when I learned of their scheduled 6 o’clock date. That was a surprise for me. Of the two surprises Mike and I received within a minute of each other, I’ll go with mine. While I learned of their date, he was about to be given the old “heave ho.”

The next portion of this recounting of this milestone in my life is based upon what “I think” happened because I wasn’t there for every single moment.

(Fact) Ruth walked towards his car and got in. (Conjecture) Once inside the car Mike said something like…”Ruth, is that Bob? He’s a lot better looking than I remember. Taller too.”

Truth be told, they broke up sitting in his green 1971 Mustang. He wasn’t happy and didn’t take the news well. The only thing I know for sure is he wanted his engagement ring returned, and she had to dig it out of her purse.

She got out of the car, walked towards me, and he drove away. (When the movie comes out, this will be shown on a split screen with no dialog, just dramatic music.)

We walked into her apartment and Ruth started packing. The packing was moving forward nicely when there was a knock on the door. (suspenseful pause)

It was Chuck. He’d reported our impending nuptials to two of our former apartment neighbors, Jean and Debbie. The five of us held an excited conversation while Ruth packed. Phrases like, “This is so exciting!” “I’ve never known anyone who actually eloped before!” and “Are you really going to do this?” Followed by, “Yes, we are.” were thrown about.

We needed to add new underwear to our shopping list because Ruth was clean out. (Pun intended) We asked Chuck and the girls to retrieve Ruth’s car from the Hi-Lo parking lot and headed to Steketee’s Department Store for our shopping needs. We ran into the parents of a high school friend of Ruth’s, Mr. and Mrs. Labby, in the underwear department. We shared our news with them and they, in turn, told us they had eloped. Small world. The first married couple we encountered were fellow elopees. (probably not a word)

After we completed our shopping we headed to Chicago. As we crossed the Illinois line, seven people knew of our recent engagement: Chuck, Jean, Debbie, the Labbys, Judge Westra and Mike.