Chapter 14

The next morning Henry popped out of bed. He was ready to start the day. He got dressed

and then went to the kitchen for breakfast. He was surprised to see his mom standing over the stove.

Carol said, ” I thought I would give you a little something extra for your big day and cook you breakfast”.

“Wow mom, this is a real surprise. You sure aren’t going to hear any arguing coming from me”. Henry said. His mom smiled at him and turned back to her fried eggs. She made it a little extra by adding a thick slice of fried bologna. She put the finished plate in front of him and Henry grabbed a glass of milk. “Sure smells good mom. Thanks a lot”.

He dug in and she left the room. After eating he went in and did his hair and yelling bye to his mom he left the house. He drove to the opposite side of town until he saw a nice looking motel.

After parking he went in and asked for a room. ” I need a special room for tonight. I am getting married today. I have cash”. The clerk smiled and had Henry fill out some paper work. He took the groom’s money and then handed him the room key.

Henry decided he better check the room out. He opened the door and flipped the lights on. Nice big bed and looks clean. He turned around and walked out feeling satisfied this would work.

He drove back into town and stopped at a small jewelry store. Once at the counter he asked, ” Do you have any plain bands? I need a gold band”. The clerk showed him a few styles and Henry decided on one that had engraved flowers on it. ” I will take this but first, how much is it”? The clerk told him and Henry smiled. “Yes, I will take this one. Do you have one of those boxes to put it in”?

The salesman smiled and after collecting the money he placed the ring in a black box and put it in a sack. Handing it to Henry the clerk smiled and said, ” Good luck son”.

He decided to go hang out at the garage for a little bit. He still needed to get a hair cut but that wasn’t going to take long. The wedding was at four. He had some time to kill. He walked in and his buddies said, “Where ya been? We haven’t seen you lately”? ” Hey Henry, we thought you went and died or something”.

“Nah, I have just been busy. Between the two jobs and spending time with Jane my time just slips by too fast”, Henry said. The guys stopped what they were doing since it was almost lunch time

and they each grabbed a bottle of pop. Sitting down at the bench they played catch-up.

“You all know I am getting married today don’t you”? Henry asked them.

“What? You’re getting married”? “Well you old dog you. You are going to go and get yourself hitched up”. ” Are you crazy fool? Getting married”?

They all laughed and asked about the details. Henry explained and then their break was over. For awhile Henry followed them to the cars they were working on. He watched until a customer came in and then said, ” Well I guess I will be getting out of here. I have things to do and people to see”. All the guys yelled bye to him and wished him good luck.

He felt his pants pocket making sure the box was still there. He looked up at the courthouse clock and decided to go ahead and get his hair cut. The barber shop was one of two in town. Both of them were small. His mom had always brought him to this place so he just continued to come. He remembered always being so fascinated with the barber shop pole. The red stripes going round and round.

He walked in and there was only one customer a head of him. He waved hello with his hand and the barber said, ” Hey Henry, nice to see you. You are next bud. Just have a seat”.

Henry sat down and picked up one of the few car magazines and sifted through it. He was about through all the photos and heard his name being called. ” So what you been up to since the last time I saw you Henry”?

“I have two jobs now Al. I still work at the grocery store. I also got a part-time job over at the bowling alley setting pins”.

“Well you know what they say. A busy mind stays out of trouble”, Al said with laughter.  Henry relaxed as his hair was being cut. The barber finished and was brushing talcum powder on his neck when Henry said, ” I am getting married today. Today is my last day for being a single guy”.

As Al was taking his money for the cut he wished Henry a good life. Well, everything was done now. He drove home and decided to take a bath and just hang around the house. He thought about taking a nap.

He was pleased to see his dad was mowing the yard when he pulled up. His dad waved at him and Henry waving back went on into the house. His mom was napping on the couch. The house smelled clean. He went to the refrigerator and got him a cold pop and saw that the kitchen table was set up for the wedding food.

He walked quietly passed his mom and went and started running his bath water. He shaved while his water was filling and then went and got some clean clothes out. Locking the bathroom door he sunk into the tub and thought, this is it  Henry. This is the big day. Today the girl I love will become my wife. I am the happiest guy alive.

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