I barely noticed the red floodlights that bathed the cell tower as I drove by or the majestic Milky Way in the night sky. My destination was the farmhouse down the road.
In the darkness of early fall, the lights of the old farmhouse that sat far off the road were inviting. As I pulled into the driveway, the long drive to the main house gave me one last chance to change my mind.
No. I’d made up my mind. I was going to go through with it.
It would be easy to wimp out and bow to her wishes and slink away like a coward. But no, I loved her, and no matter what her mother or any of her cronies said or did, I was going to marry her daughter.
I had stood up to her before and refused to disappear when they took a dislike to me. I wasn’t good enough for their favorite little girl. Hell, no one would be good enough for her, but she had stood up to her mother and refused to make me leave.
I had told her the only way I was leaving was if she asked me. Instead, she invited me to live with her in the old farmhouse. I refused, but it made the point, and the row that day was epic.
Threats made and promises broken, and in the end, she left with me.
We hid out in town for a week before deciding to return to the farmhouse to live. It was more practical, but back at the farmhouse, her mother treated me like a servant when I was there. I did and said little, but when we were alone, I told her I was working on a way for us to marry.
I stopped at the main house, and after killing the motor, I sat in the dark for a minute. She knew I was coming. I had sent her a message earlier that day, telling her it was time to make a stand.
Knocking on the front door, I waited for what seemed like ages for it to open.
Her mother stood in the doorway.
In the dim porch light, I could see her face turn to hate the second she saw me. I ignored it. “Jane is waiting for me,” I said flatly and firmly and pushed past her into the living room. She moved aside quickly to avoid my shoulder hitting her as I passed.
“How dare you come in here like you own the place. You… little shit!”
For all her high and mightiness and better-than-you attitude, she could swear like a drunken soldier. I’d heard her let loose on more than one occasion, and there would be more swearing tonight. I ignored her, which made her angrier.
Jane came into the living room from the back stairs, carrying a large duffel bag and a backpack. She wore a t-shirt and jeans. She dropped the bags and hurried to meet me in the center of the room. Our hands found their favorite places as we kissed.
Her mother remained standing in the open doorway. We broke the kiss, and holding Jane’s hand, I addressed her mother.
“In a polite society, where you pretend to be but are far from it, it’s tradition for a man to ask the girl’s parents for permission to marry their daughter. We both know you won’t give it to us. I’m not asking. I’m telling you that I am marrying Jane. You’ve never liked me from the moment you set eyes on me. While you were running around hating everyone you didn’t think was good enough for you, I’ve been busy investigating your family. I know where you got all the money.
“I know who you killed to keep it quiet. I know how your husband died, and I have the proof. I could easily make an anonymous call to the FBI or the local police. Both would be interested, but I won’t because I’m marrying into this mess of a family. Jane is leaving tonight with me, and we’re not coming back. The next you see us will be at the wedding. You’ll show up, be polite and cordial, and be as friendly as you can. You’ll be nice to my family. If I so much as hear one story of you being a bitch, or one comment out of line, calls will be made. After the wedding, we’ll be leaving the state. You probably won’t see us again, but rest assured, I’ve made plans, should you try to interfere with us ever again. This little empire of yours will crumble, and you’ll be under it.”
She tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.
I picked up Jane’s bags, and we marched out of the room. On the porch, I turned and looked back into the house. She was still standing next to the open door.
Putting Jane’s stuff into the back of my car, we piled in. I stepped on the gas a little harder than I needed to as I threw it in reverse and spun the back of the car around, throwing gravel on the porch. One last gun of the engine as I put it in drive left another shower of gravel as we left the old farmhouse.
A few minutes later, we passed the tower again. This time I gazed at the wonderment that was the ribbon of stars framing the tower and laughed. The universe knew everything, but what the old bitch didn’t know was that I was bluffing on most of the things I said in the house. I chuckled as we drove toward our new life. I did know enough to make her life miserable if I had to.
In the darkness of early fall, the lights of the old farmhouse that sat far off the road were inviting. As I pulled into the driveway, the long drive to the main house gave me one last chance to change my mind.
No. I’d made up my mind. I was going to go through with it.
It would be easy to wimp out and bow to her wishes and slink away like a coward. But no, I loved her, and no matter what her mother or any of her cronies said or did, I was going to marry her daughter.
I had stood up to her before and refused to disappear when they took a dislike to me. I wasn’t good enough for their favorite little girl. Hell, no one would be good enough for her, but she had stood up to her mother and refused to make me leave.
I had told her the only way I was leaving was if she asked me. Instead, she invited me to live with her in the old farmhouse. I refused, but it made the point, and the row that day was epic.
Threats made and promises broken, and in the end, she left with me.
We hid out in town for a week before deciding to return to the farmhouse to live. It was more practical, but back at the farmhouse, her mother treated me like a servant when I was there. I did and said little, but when we were alone, I told her I was working on a way for us to marry.
I stopped at the main house, and after killing the motor, I sat in the dark for a minute. She knew I was coming. I had sent her a message earlier that day, telling her it was time to make a stand.
Knocking on the front door, I waited for what seemed like ages for it to open.
Her mother stood in the doorway.
In the dim porch light, I could see her face turn to hate the second she saw me. I ignored it. “Jane is waiting for me,” I said flatly and firmly and pushed past her into the living room. She moved aside quickly to avoid my shoulder hitting her as I passed.
“How dare you come in here like you own the place. You… little shit!”
For all her high and mightiness and better-than-you attitude, she could swear like a drunken soldier. I’d heard her let loose on more than one occasion, and there would be more swearing tonight. I ignored her, which made her angrier.
Jane came into the living room from the back stairs, carrying a large duffel bag and a backpack. She wore a t-shirt and jeans. She dropped the bags and hurried to meet me in the center of the room. Our hands found their favorite places as we kissed.
Her mother remained standing in the open doorway. We broke the kiss, and holding Jane’s hand, I addressed her mother.
“In a polite society, where you pretend to be but are far from it, it’s tradition for a man to ask the girl’s parents for permission to marry their daughter. We both know you won’t give it to us. I’m not asking. I’m telling you that I am marrying Jane. You’ve never liked me from the moment you set eyes on me. While you were running around hating everyone you didn’t think was good enough for you, I’ve been busy investigating your family. I know where you got all the money.
“I know who you killed to keep it quiet. I know how your husband died, and I have the proof. I could easily make an anonymous call to the FBI or the local police. Both would be interested, but I won’t because I’m marrying into this mess of a family. Jane is leaving tonight with me, and we’re not coming back. The next you see us will be at the wedding. You’ll show up, be polite and cordial, and be as friendly as you can. You’ll be nice to my family. If I so much as hear one story of you being a bitch, or one comment out of line, calls will be made. After the wedding, we’ll be leaving the state. You probably won’t see us again, but rest assured, I’ve made plans, should you try to interfere with us ever again. This little empire of yours will crumble, and you’ll be under it.”
She tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.
I picked up Jane’s bags, and we marched out of the room. On the porch, I turned and looked back into the house. She was still standing next to the open door.
Putting Jane’s stuff into the back of my car, we piled in. I stepped on the gas a little harder than I needed to as I threw it in reverse and spun the back of the car around, throwing gravel on the porch. One last gun of the engine as I put it in drive left another shower of gravel as we left the old farmhouse.
A few minutes later, we passed the tower again. This time I gazed at the wonderment that was the ribbon of stars framing the tower and laughed. The universe knew everything, but what the old bitch didn’t know was that I was bluffing on most of the things I said in the house. I chuckled as we drove toward our new life. I did know enough to make her life miserable if I had to.
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