Obsession

"I never even thought of children, Beth. It's you I want. If you want children we can adopt as many as you want. At least they'll be smarter than their dad. Please marry me, Beth, and make me the happiest man alive," I begged.

"Are you sure, Herman? Are you really sure you want me and not the writer? You know we're not the same."

"I want Beth, that beautiful person on the inside that I was allowed to make love to last year. I want to be able to do that to her over and over again for the rest of my life. Are you that woman, Beth?"

"Yes, Herman, the beautiful woman on the inside and fat little body on the outside. That's me," she smiled.

"I don't see a fat body, Beth. I see the woman I love. Now, will you marry me or not?" I asked.

She was crying. She looked at me and said, "Yes, Herman, I will marry you. If you can come back here and get me in say two months? Can you do that?"

"As God as my witness I will be here to get you. I will also have our house ready and I will contact the preacher so we can be married as soon as possible. I'm not going to give you a chance to get away."

We talked some more and we went to a little restaurant and had dinner to eat and made more plans. I made sure she had my telephone number this time. She was still mad about Roy's sons taking over her trailer. She had most of her personal stuff with her and was afraid to go back for anything else. She was hoping she would get her share in the divorce settlement if they didn't trash it too much.

We went back to the women's shelter and she let me lie on her bed so I could get some rest. I could make it back to our rendezvous motel and get a good nights sleep. After all we had paid for it for two nights.

I kissed her goodbye and told her to keep in touch. She told me she would e-mail me from the library when her arm healed. I made a little detour on my way home. I picked up a five gallon can of gas and went to her trailer. The boys weren't there at the time as I splashed the gasoline all over the trailer. I lit a whole pack of matches and threw it in a pile of rubbish on the back landing. The flames started as I drove away. No one even knew me so I should be in the clear. I had to do it for revenge for my Beth.

As I was driving down the road a fire truck passed me. I was sure the trailer would be burnt to the ground before they got there.

When I arrived home I talked to Pastor Ron about a wedding date. I kind of explained that her husband beat her and she was getting a divorce. Most churches frowned on divorces but in this case he understood.

Time flew by as I worked hard day and night trying to get money together. The money from the church work sure helped. About a month after getting home, I got a phone call. It was from Beth. She told me that the day I left Canada the trailer burned down. The fire department said it was arson because they found a gas can and knew the gas was splashed on the trailer. They suspected Roy's sons of starting the fire and then leaving so they wouldn't be implicated in the arson. The only problem was they couldn't prove the boys did it. So they weren't going to get charged yet. Beth also told me the trial for Roy was the following week. As far as her arm was concerned she was able to move it but had a light arm cast on it. She was able to work at the library again.

"Herman, the main reason I called is I want to make sure you still want me as your wife. I figured you had time to give it some serious thought," she said.

"I can't wait for that day to come. I have enough money saved to come and get you and we will be getting married the Saturday after you arrive. I already told the Pastor that you wanted to get married in the church. I let him know that your first marriage was by a judge and it's a judge that decreed your divorce. I'll be there next month with bells on, whatever that means. Call me if there are any problems. I just want to make you happy. Beth, I love you," I said.

"I love you too, Herman Howell," she replied.

The time had come for that long trip back to Canada. I called Beth to verify she was ready, willing and able. She sounded so happy when I called. "I have some things to tell you when you get here. Please hurry but don't get any tickets and please be careful. I'll be waiting for you," she cried.

I headed out and drove as far as I could till I was so tired. I lay back in the car and slept for a couple of hours and then headed out again. I got there in a day and a half. I was really nervous when I knocked on the door. A lady I didn't know looked at me and smiled. "You must be Herman. Beth will be right down. She didn't expect you for a couple of hours yet," she said.

I looked up and there stood a smiling Beth. Behind her were six bags full of her stuff. Her arm was now out of the sling and cast. She ran down to me and kissed me. I had tears in my eyes and she was crying. I began to load her stuff into the car while she said goodbye to her friends. They all wished her a happy life. I held the door open for her as she got in. She told me later she wasn't used to being treated like a lady. So, I made sure that I opened doors for her and did all the other little manly things my mom had taught me.

I looked at her and her face glowed. She said it was from being so happy. I asked her about the trial and all. I was hoping we wouldn't have to deal with Roy or his sons ever again.

"That's what I wanted to tell you. They found Roy guilty of assault and battery and he was sent to prison for two years. His son's left for parts unknown. They went even further west in Canada. I guess they were afraid they might get charged with the arson on the trailer. You're going to like this Herman. I got a check from the insurance company for twelve thousand dollars for the loss of the trailer and contents. I didn't have to share it with Roy since he was going to prison anyway; the judge gave it all to me. He said Roy should owe me even more but he didn't have anything else the judge could give me."

"I'm so happy for you. Now you can use some of your money to buy a new computer and get started back on your stories. I sure miss them," I said.

"It's our money, Herman, if we are to be husband and wife; I want us to share everything. It's the way real marriages should be. I guess the only thing I'm a little sad about is those boys destroyed all my discs with my stories on them. A lot of my life went into them," she responded.

"Beth, remember how obsessed I was with you? Well, I copied every one of your stories onto floppy discs. I have them all, and they are labeled by the date you posted them. So you - or should I say we - have them all."

Beth began to cry again. "I love you, Herman. At first I was afraid of you, but now I realize what a good man you really are. Herman, I don't want there to be any secrets between us. Do you agree with that?"

"I wouldn't keep anything from you. I promise I will never lie to you," I said.

"I've been wondering. The trailer fire started within a half hour after you left me. Is there anything you want to tell me about it?" she asked.

"Just one thing. If anyone messes with my woman, they are liable to get burned." I looked at her and smiled and she smiled back at me. We never mentioned the trailer fire again.

One thing I forgot to mention. Neither of us have any family living near us to the best of our knowledge. Beth was brought up by foster parents and I was an only child. So I guess you would say we only had each other.

When we arrived home it was on a Thursday and we headed over to the license bureau to get our marriage license. I drove by the pastor's house and introduced him and his wife to Beth. I asked him if we were able to use the church on Saturday for our ceremony. He told me it was taken care of and that his son Peter and wife Marsha would be our witnesses. Mary offered to take Beth to buy a new dress to get married in. I think Beth felt it wasn't a necessity but I told her she should do it. I even told her I would wear my suit.

At noon on Saturday we drove over to the church and parked in front of the building. We walked up to the door when Marsha and Peter came out and told us they wanted to do it right. Beth was going to walk down the aisle. Peter told us his mom was going to play the wedding march for us. He told me to go inside and he would escort Beth down the aisle.

I walked into the church and couldn't believe what I saw. The whole town had shown up for our wedding. I mean every one of my clients must have been there with their families. They all smiled at me and gave me the thumbs up as I approached the front of the church. I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I had no idea people felt this way about me.

Mary, the pastor's wife started playing the wedding march and Marsha came in with a small bouquet of flowers. When she reached the front of the church, Marsha's six year old daughter was throwing flower petals down the aisle. Then the doors opened wide as everyone stood up as Peter walked Beth down the aisle. She was astonished to see the church full of people. She looked so nice in her blue dress and holding a bouquet of flowers as she walked down the long aisle. She had bought me a matching blue tie which I had on. Beth had tears streaming down her face as she came down the aisle and joined hands with me.

Pastor Ron had us repeat the vows which we did with real meaning. He then said, 'Now I pronounce you husband and wife. Herman, you may now kiss your bride. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Herman Howell."

Everyone stood up and clapped for us. There was an announcement made that food was ready to be served in the basement of the church. The women of the church made everything. They had a feast in honor of me and Beth. Some people even gave us gifts. We weren't planning on a vacation but we were given two tickets to Cedar Point. It was a well known amusement park about sixty miles away. We even had a motel room paid for two days. We decided to go. I remember Pastor Ron telling me I didn't have to clean up this time and laughed.

Beth and I thanked everyone for everything they did for us. We would never forget them. We headed off on our two day honeymoon. We went right to the motel and I disrobed Beth. We made love over and over again just like the first time we met. It was no fluke. We were meant to be together.

When we arrived home Beth got a call from the local librarian who offered her a position at the library. She had heard that Beth was knowledgeable when it came to books. Of course Beth took the job. During the day I did my work and Beth worked at the library. We cleaned at the church together. We were a team.

One day I asked Beth why didn't she write our story and submit it. Maybe the readers would like to read about two people that were beautiful on the inside, even though not so pretty on the outside.

She looked at me and said, "Herman, this is your story. I know that you're not a writer but I believe you're honesty and warmth will show though. I believe you should write our story," she said.

"Will you edit it for me and correct my spelling and make it so people can understand it." I asked.

"Yes, Honey, I will do that for you," she answered.

So readers, here is the first story written by H.H., Herman Howell, and edited by his wonderful and talented wife that you know as Sharon, The Seductress.

Well, that was my first attempt at writing. I mainly wanted people to know that just because we might be a little different, such as balding, short, fat even maybe considered ugly or not having good smarts, we are people too. We laugh, we cry, we get lonely and we want to be wanted just like all the so called pretty people. Beth and I were lucky to find each other before it was too late. Also, we found a community that didn't judge people solely on their outside appearance. The next time you see someone who might not be so beautiful on the outside, just say hi to them. You might make a new friend.

Thank you for reading my story
Comments are always welcome

DG Hear.