Life In A Small Town

"Oh yeah, it's beautiful."

"Give me a dollar," Lewis ordered. As he said this Aunt Mary joined us and had a big smile on her face.

I didn't know what he was up to but I handed him a dollar. He took the money and tossed me a set of keys.

"You just bought yourself a truck, boy," Lewis said and laughed at my reaction. "I heard you say something about the gravel roads dinging up your bike and thought this truck would be better for everyday use. Besides now you can take Mary into town to shop and I won't have to take her." That was a big joke because he seldom took Mary anywhere. If she wanted to go to town or visiting she would jump in the car and go. She always said Lewis could tag along if he wanted to.

"You didn't have to do this, you've been letting me stay here and........." I tried to tell them.

"It's a done deal boy. You paid me for the truck and it's yours. Not going to back out on a deal are you?"

"No sir," I replied meekly. "Thank you both. I walked over and gave both of them a hug.

"No need to get all mushy, boy. Title and bill of sale are on the kitchen table. You'll have to get a new title and register it in your name. Y'all can take off part of Friday and get it done in town. It's late, let's eat."

The next morning I parked my Harley in the garage and drove my new truck for the first time. It was sweet. Molly had gotten in the habit of having coffee made and we would have a cup together before starting work. She came out onto her front porch when I pulled up in the truck because she didn't know who it was. I told her about "buying" the truck from Lewis.

I planned on going into town on Friday afternoon and invited Molly to go with me. I told her I had to register the truck and do some shopping for Aunt Mary. "You might as well go with me; it will save you a trip on Saturday."

Molly looked at me, a little sadly I thought, and said, "I don't know if that's a good idea Will. People aren't real friendly to me and if you're with me it might rub off on you."

I was still young and got all puffed up. "The hell with em, I'll tell everyone where to go if they get out of line with me," I bragged.

"I'll go with you, it would be a big help. But you have to promise me you won't bust somebody's head if they make a snide remark. Can you do that Will?"

"Yes' em, I promise," I told her. Smooth move Will, acting like a punk kid. That sure will impress Molly.

Friday afternoon Molly and I went to town. We did all the shopping, had lunch together and stopped at the ice cream place to get a cone to eat on the way home. I heard some murmurings too low to understand and some sideway looks and a couple of people stared right at us. But no one got in my face or said anything out loud.

I don't know if the town folk decided that it wasn't Molly's fault than her ex-husband was a jerk, or cut her some slack because she was with me because I'm sort of a local, but there were no incidents. Of course they may have behaved because of the wild look in my eyes and the way I held myself. I was primed for anyone to do or say something and it showed. Anyway there was no trouble and we had a good time.

It became a ritual, every Friday afternoon, Molly and I would go to town. If our shopping list was for non perishables we would sometimes eat a late lunch and catch an afternoon movie. Or we went to the ice cream parlor and ate our treats there instead of on the way home. It was something to look forward to after a hard week; at least it was for me.

It must have been the fifth or sixth Friday that Molly and I went to town that people began to give us both the cold shoulder. The people at the stores in town had never been real friendly with Molly but usually treated me fine. Not today. I don't know what made them change but none of the clerks said any more to us than they absolutely had to. It was like dealing with a robot that only answered direct questions and then with one or two word responses.

Molly and I took our packages, stowed them in the truck and started home. When we got back to Molly's we sat on her sofa together and talked for a while. About an hour into our discussion, Molly leaned over to kiss me on the cheek as a thank you I guess. I gave her back a kiss on the cheek and then a light kiss on the mouth. That turned to a longer kiss and so on and so on. Things became hot and heavy very quickly after that.

The way people shunned us in town seem to bring us closer together. Personally I think it was two people who realized how much each one cared for the other. I didn't make it back to Uncle Lewis' until almost daylight. Thank god it was Saturday.

I was still in bed at 10:00, an unheard of time not to be up and working. Uncle Lewis came into my room and woke me up. "You can't sleep all day, son. Time to get up, you gotta take Mary to town."

After getting dressed I splashed some water on my face. As I came into the kitchen, Aunt Mary hugged me and handed me a cup of coffee. I took a big drink and almost choked, she had put a slug of Lewis' home brew in it.

"I thought you could use a little extra pick me up, this morning. I mean since you "worked" all night," Mary said laughing at me.

As I was eating breakfast and Mary was getting ready, Uncle Lewis said, "Okay, now why didn't you get home before daylight boy?" He had an evil grin on his face.

"Uncle Lewis, I love you. But it's none of your business now is it?"

I knew that Mary normally went to town by herself, but if she wanted me to take her I was all for it. We hadn't been on the road for five minutes when she let me know that this was more than a shopping trip.

"William, you're a good boy but I need to talk to you about Molly. I want to know if it's just a roll in the hay or is it something more? Molly is a good woman and deserves to be more than a casual fling."

"Aunt Mary, I think I love her. I know it sounds dumb with her being older than me, but I don't care. I'm happy when I'm with her and can't wait to get back to her if we're apart. I don't know if that's love, but it will do until something better comes along."

"Good for you son. You both deserve a little happiness after the things life has thrown at you. Treat her like a lady and love her to death and things will work out. Now drive faster or we'll never get to town."

After Mary and I got back home, I jumped on the bike and rode to Molly's. I had been driving the truck so much, that the Harley was getting jealous. Molly was on the front porch when I rode up. As I walked to her she started to say something about being sorry about last night. That she let things get out of hand, and we shouldn't have let ourselves lose control and a bunch of other garbage.

I went to her, picked her up and kissed her. She started to giggle the minute I picked her up. I decided that either she wanted me as much as I wanted her, or she didn't. Turns out she did, want me I mean.

We continued our Friday jaunts into town, but added some Saturday nights too. It wasn't always doing something special, but it was always together. We spent a lot of time on the river in Jim's boat and I taught Molly how to fish. We used the boat so much that I bought one of my own. I gave a key to Jim and told him if he ever had need of it just go ahead and use it. Other times we would just sit on her porch and watch the night. We also spent several Sundays riding the Harley all over the country side. Exciting huh?

It suited us because we were together. Several Saturday nights we had dinner with Lewis and Mary. The ladies would put their heads together and exclude Uncle Lewis and me entirely. Good times, at least to my way of thinking. After our first night together, I never thought about her being nine years older than me. We were just two people enjoying each other.

Molly and I had been "dating" for about three months and one Sunday afternoon we were just getting ready to take a bike ride. Before we could ride off, a car pulled into her yard in front of the house. It was a new Mercedes and her ex-husband got out.

Molly got off the bike and went to meet Gerald Swanson as he got out of the car. They were about 40 feet away and I couldn't hear everything they said. I did hear Molly say no to something and Gerald say some about talking in private. Then I heard her say no very loudly. I had been leaning against the bike but stood up when Molly raised her voice.

I sort of ambled over to them as they were talking. Gerald looked over at me and said, "This doesn't concern you boy. Go away and give us some privacy." Gerald was about 37 or 38, so I guess he thought he could call me boy.

He obviously didn't know me very well. Never did take orders too good. "Nope, don't reckon I will. If Miss Molly wants me to leave I will, but you don't have no say over me." I was playing up the county hick just to piss him off.

"Now see here you.............." He started and Molly cut him off.

"He's right Gerald. It's up to me whether he stays or not and he has more right to be here than you do. Now say what you wanted to say and leave," Molly was getting mad.

Turns out Gerald wanted Molly back. Gerald told her he still loved her and realized he had made a terrible mistake and would make it up to her. He told her they could get remarried in St. Louis and go back to their home and get on with their life together.

Molly looked at him in total disbelief. "You ran off and left without so much as a good bye and now you want me to come running back to you. You made a mistake you say, the only one that made a mistake was me, marrying you in the first place. I have a man who loves me for me, not for my social standing. You're trespassing Gerald, you've 30 seconds to get off my property or I'll have William throw you off."

Swanson stepped forward and grabbed Molly's arm, "Come on, we're going into the house and discuss this. I won't stand in the yard like some hayseed. And I won't talk in front of some country bumpkin." He started to try to pull her toward the house.

I intervened by stepping in front of him, grabbed his throat and started to exert pressure. He let go of Molly and tried to pry my fingers off his throat. After a few seconds, Molly put her hand on mine and told me to let him go.

When I released him she leaned against me and put her arm around my waist. Gerald sputtered a little but took one look at my face and decided to leave. Molly was all worked up and I heard her say things like can you believe that and what a nerve.

"Will, you looked like you were going to break his neck? Your eyes went all steely gray and you looked like a big cat getting ready to attack. Would you have continued to choke him if I hadn't stopped you?

"I'm not sure Molly. Normally I don't like to fight; it's too much trouble and usually doesn't solve the problem. But if someone I love is threatened, well God have mercy on them because I won't."

"You love me?" Molly asked. She had picked up on that statement. I nodded my head yes and she said, "I love you too. We hugged and kissed and then the bike ride was sorta forgotten. Another night that I didn't get home until almost daylight.

When I finally got up Sunday morning, Uncle Lewis was waiting for me in the kitchen. "When are you going to marry that gal? You keep waking me up stomping in at all hours of the night." He was grinning from ear to ear. Lewis was a character and never talked serious when a little kidding could get the job done.

"Hush Lewis," Aunt Mary ordered smiling at him. "William, this silly old man is right. You need to make things more permanent. I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business, but people will really start to talk."

"You and Uncle Lewis are my family and you guys are the only ones that I care to listen too. The rest of the people in the valley can go to hell or as someone once suggested, they can piss up a rope."

Lewis was drinking coffee and sprayed it over the table when I said that. He was coughing and trying to laugh at the same time. I gave him a big grin and laughed with him. Mary didn't understand what was so funny and I explained the joke to her.

Then I got serious again, "I want to marry her Aunt Mary, but I don't know if she can get over the age thing. If she turns me down, I can't keep working for her. It would be too hard. I can't let things continue like they are now either. So I guess it's sorta an all or nothing situation."

"William, tell Molly about me being 7 years older than Lewis. That seems to be working out so far. If she knows you love her and she loves you she won't let age stop her. Molly's too smart to let it stop her," Aunt Mary reassured me.

"I'm going back to Molly's and we are taking a ride on the bike this afternoon. I guess I'll find out today how Molly really feels about me and if we stay together. I'll let you know what happens."

Uncle Lewis had never said anything to me about my situation with Molly, except to kid me about her. He just didn't presume to give advice of that kind and he normally would never make suggestions as to what I should do. But he did now.

"Son, don't push her into a corner she can't get out of. If she doesn't want to get married right now, give her some time. She just got a divorce not too long ago; she may need some time to think about being married again. Remember when you're huntin' it's the slow stalk that gets the game."

I nodded and went out to my Harley. On the ride to Molly's, I had two thoughts that kept bouncing around in my head. I felt that I couldn't continue to "date" Molly if we weren't going to take the next step. In fact if she turned down my marriage proposal, I couldn't keep working for her. It would hurt too much; seeing her every day and thinking about what could have been.

On the other hand, Lewis' advice made sense too. Molly had gotten divorced within the last year. She may have doubts about getting married again, at least so soon. She might say no to marriage for right now and want to keep our relationship status quo.

As I rode into Molly's yard, I racked the pipes on the Harley. It had become a habit to do the pipes, sort of like a noisy hello. Molly came bouncing out to meet me with a big smile. I got off the bike and greeted her with a gentle kiss and a tender hug. It could be the last time, I thought.

All the thinking and debating in my head on the ride over and it wasn't until I saw Molly coming to me that I made a decision. I decided that if Molly didn't want to marry me, we were through. I know that most men in my situation would have just kept dating her, being with her, and making love to her. Normally I would too, except I fell in love with her. That was my problem. To me she was more than just a hot divorcee to run around with.

Molly leaned back after the hug and looked at me with a question in her eyes. She could tell that something was bothering me. Molly started to ask me about it but I told her wait a little while.

"Let's ride for awhile." I suggested.

We rode for an hour and finally I took her to some place new, new to her anyway. It was my special place, somewhere that I used to go where I could get my thoughts together. Someplace to go when I needed to be alone. Someplace where I could think until I came to an understanding or made a decision. Someplace that never failed to bring me peace.

"Black Bluff" is a black granite cliff rising almost a hundred feet above Current River. It was thrown up when the earth was being shaped millions of years ago. At the base was a circular depression about fifty feet deep. It was filled with water from at least two underground springs and the overflow joined the river. The bluff was about 17 miles upstream from the town which put it about six miles from Lewis' place. It was a remote area and not many people went there.

This is the special place that I took Molly to. We hiked about a hundred yards from the logging road across to the edge of the cliff. You could see forever from up here. We sat and looked at the view for a time and held hands.

"What's wrong William? I know something is bothering you. That kiss and hug you gave me was so tender; it was almost like it's the last time," Molly said. I guess she was more perceptive than I thought.

I smiled lovingly at her, but didn't answer right away. Things were still buzzing around in my head and I wanted to be sure before I said anything.

"Is that it? You're going to break up with me. You've had enough of your "older woman" and are ready to move on," she said a little sadly.

"No Molly, that's not it. The moving on part I mean, at least I hope not."

"Huh, what does that mean? You're scaring me William."

"Molly I love you. I have since the night of the barn dance when you said we could go and piss off all the old busy bodies. The more I'm with you, the more I love you. I guess I should be thankful for what I've got, but it isn't enough for me." I stopped for a minute, looking out over the country side to gather my thoughts.

"A lot of men would just keep on with what we have, but I can't. I love you Molly, and I want to be your husband. Will you marry me?" There I finally got it out.

"Marry you? " Molly hesitated for ten or fifteen seconds and continued, "I don't know Will; I'm so much older than you and......."

"You can't jump on me one minute when you thought I was leaving for a younger woman and then use age as an excuse to say no the next minute. Either you love me or you don't.

"I do love you, but I need some time to think about this. Please understand Will, I'm not saying no, I just need some time."

It hurt. I hoped she would say yes and we could get on with our lives. Instead the suspense would continue and I didn't know for how long. I stared at the view as I had so many times in the past, trying understand. As in the past looking over the valley of the Current River helped me make my decision.

I nodded and stood up. Helping Molly up, I gave her another tender hug and led her back to the bike. She tried to talk to me, to ask me questions a couple of times. But I just shook my head no and kept walking. Once on the bike it was too noisy to talk.

Molly got off the bike in front of her place and said, "Will talk to me. Can you understand how I feel? Please say something, don't just ride off."

"You want time to think; well I guess that's only fair. I've been thinking about this since our first night together. At first I thought it was maybe just lust and not really love. But every time I'm with you I dread having to leave. When I'm not with you, I'm can't wait to be with you again. I don't mean in bed, I mean just being in the same room, the same house, hell on the same farm. I had to stop for a minute; I was getting too worked up.

"Molly, you want some time to think? Okay, you have until the corn and other crops are harvested. That'll take about a week to ten days. I don't want to pressure you, but I can't stand being around you if I can't have you forever. Understand?

"What do you mean you can't stand being around me? Can't we just continue with what we have?"

"I'll come and get the crops in, it's my job. After that if you can't or won't marry me, I quit. I can't continue to work with you, see you, or be around you. It would hurt too much. See you tomorrow Molly." I fired up the Harley and got out of there before she could say anything more.

It wasn't really late when I got back home, just coming on to dark. But I was surprised to see both Lewis and Mary sitting on the porch waiting for me. I sat in one of the rockers and Lewis handed me the jug again. "I figured from the look on your face you could use a pull on this," Lewis said to me. Good old Uncle Lewis, he had a unique talent of cutting through the bullshit.

I took a big hit on the jug and it went down a little easier this time. Then Mary took the jug and drank from it, then handed it to Lewis. He was more surprised than me at Mary's action.