Henry went to the time clock and realized if he had been a minute later, he would have been reamed from the boss. The bowling ally was noisy tonight. Someone was having a birthday and the party was in full swing when he got to work.
It seemed like all the…
Henry went to the time clock and realized if he had been a minute later, he would have been reamed from the boss. The bowling ally was noisy tonight. Someone was having a birthday and the party was in full swing when he got to work.
It seemed like all the guests had started their drinking before they got there. As he was leaving the snack bar with a bottle of coke he heard one of the guys yell his name. He turned around and saw a guy he had gone to school with.
He hadn’t ever cared for Judd. He was a guy who never fit in anywhere. Came from the bad side of town and was always trying to show how tough he was. Rumor was that his parents couldn’t afford to pay for his books or clothes his junior year so he dropped out. A drop-out, a loser.
Henry saw that he was with the party and that he had a bottle of beer in his hand. Same old Judd, obnoxious and loud. Kurt nodded his head and waved in his direction and then went back to work behind the pins.
Jane woke up to loud words. She jumped up off the bed and winced a little at the pain she still had. She ran out to the kitchen but didn’t see Carol anymore. Racing from room to room showed her that no one was in the house.
She went to the backdoor and as she was about to go out she saw him. Kurt, that bastard was back. This time he had run straight into Carol and she was chasing him around the yard threatening to beat the shit out of him with her cast iron skillet. “You son of a bitch. Get out of my yard, stay a way from my house. You are not wanted here, you hear?”
Jane didn’t know whether to go out and try to help or start laughing. To see this little old woman chasing this bully around her yard was a total blast. Carol was doing a good job of chasing him off so she decided to stay behind the door.
Kurt dodged her skillet and made it back to his car. Carol turned to come back in the house and saw Jane standing there. She pushed past Jane saying nothing. She put the skillet back on the stove and made a fresh pot of coffee.
Sitting down at the table she caught her breath. Straightening out her hair the two sat at the table waiting for the coffee. “What happened Carol? How did this happen?”
“Well my friend, it is obvious he came here to talk to you. You are my son’s wife so I will respect you for his sake, but I warned you I didn’t want any trouble here at my house.”
George came walking into the kitchen. He had just gotten off of work. One look at his wife and then glancing at Jane he asked,”What the hell is going on here?”
“Oh one of Jane’s friends decided to pay another visit here, and I was just asking him politely to get the hell off our property.”
“Another visit? He was here before? When, today?”
“Yes today, he was here earlier and this kid named Kurt and Henry got into a fight. Busted a hole right in the bedroom wall. Henry took care of him. He promised me we wouldn’t have anymore trouble, but I guess he didn’t beat it far enough into the kid’s head.”
The coffee was ready and Carol got up and poured a cup of coffee for herself and George. George looked at his wife. He could tell she had done a good job of chasing this guy a way and then looked again at Jane.
“Jane, I know you are new here to our home. I know you love our son, but we just can’t have those kind of problems going on here. Carol says this didn’t just happen once but twice, and in one day. I just can’t let my wife be upset by this type of thing. I am sorry but you are going to have to leave our house. I am sure you can find another place to live.”
“But George, I don’t have anywhere to go. Where will I go? Where will Henry and I go?”
“Oh Jane, Henry will always have a place here. This is his home, but you, you have drug the kind of people we don’t want here. I would appreciate it if you start to make arrangements now.”
Jane just sat there with her mouth dropped. Tears began to fall and she started stuttering,”please, George, I don’t even know this guy. He works down at the gas station. The first time I went in with Henry I had trouble with him. Why, he even followed me to the bathroom.”
“I’m sorry Jane, I just can’t have this here. Please go and pack.”
Chapter 19
Henry took Jane home and made sure she was resting before he took off again.
“Where are you going…
Henry took Jane home and made sure she was resting before he took off again.
“Where are you going Henry?”
“I got some errands to run Jane. Don’t you worry about nothing. I got it all under control.”
“You aren’t going to go see that Kurt guy are you?”
“Now what makes you think that doll? Like I said, don’t worry.”
He gave her a peck on the forehead and then turned around and went to find his mom.
“Mom will you keep an eye out on Jane? She fell out of one of the swings today. She says she isn’t hurt, but I would feel a lot better if you checked in on her while I was gone.”
Carol asked,”When you coming back? I don’t have time to be babysitting her all day.”
“I won’t be gone that long Mom. Just do it for me because you love me.”
He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled at him and said,”Alright, but just for a while.”
“Thanks Mom, you’re the best.”
Henry left, he was on a mission. He was going to find out what in the world this guy Kurt was after. He went back to the lake. He glanced around the parking lot but didn’t see the creep’s car. Upon leaving there he went back into town.
Driving past the garage he saw the car. He slammed on his brakes and backed up, and pulled in. He went inside and didn’t see Kurt at first. His buddies waved and motioned him to come to where they were. A few of them were under one car checking out the brakes.
“Where’s Kurt? I don’t see him anywhere?”
Tom pointed towards the bathroom.”He’s been in there about half an hour. Must be really having some issues this morning.” All the guys laughed and asked Henry, “What ya looking for him for? Did he do something again?”
“What you mean again? Has he been in trouble before?”
“Ya a little but nothing ever came from it. Some high school gal called the cops on him. Saying he tried to force himself on her. He denied it, said he didn’t even know her.”
Kurt came walking up and Fred asked, “Did you spray back there? Smells like a skunk died in here.”
“Very funny and ya I sprayed.”
Henry turned and looked Kurt right in the eyes and before Kurt could say a word, Henry punched him right in the face. Kurt’s head took a right turn and he touched his face. When he looked down at his hands he saw blood.
“Hey, what gives? Why in the hell you hitting me? What did I ever do to you?”
“This is a warning Kurt my friend. Stay the hell a way from my wife. She isn’t yours to glare at or talk to. She belongs to me. If I see you around her again, blood isn’t the worst thing you will see. You will see your head twisted around your ass.”
“I never touched her Henry, I swear. What ever she is telling you, she is lying. These guys here can vouch for me. I never touched her.”
“Well, don’t even be looking her way, got it? Just stay a way from her. This is your one and only warning.”
Kurt walked a way with his tail between his legs. He got in his car and sped off.
“What was that all about buddy? Did Kurt do something to your gal too?”
Henry explained, “Jane said that when she was in here last time with me, Kurt made her feel funny. She said he wouldn’t take his eyes off of her.”
“Yeah, I remember that creep following her all the way to the bathroom. Said he didn’t want her to get lost.
Gee, how big is this place anyways?”
Henry and Tom had a good laugh over it but Henry asked Tom, “Can you just keep an eye on that guy? Something about him I just don’t trust.”
“Sure Henry, sure, I got your butt covered.”
Henry continued to watch the guys for a while longer and then he said he was leaving. He went over to the bowling alley to check his schedule. He drove around town for a while just thinking about that guy Kurt. Feeling confident that he had made his point very clear he finally decided to go on home.
Pulling in the drive-way he heard screaming. He ran into the house and found his mom laying on the floor. He raced into his bedroom and there was Kurt, wrestling with Jane.
The newlyweds went to their favorite diner and ordered. Friends came to their windows to chat. Jane was telling the girls,” We are on our honeymoon. Look at my wedding ring”.
“Married? Wow, you sure kept this a secret”.
“Let me see your ring. What are you two doing out of the bedroom”? a couple of friends asked.
“We got hungry. We have to eat you know. Just because we are married doesn’t mean we don’t eat”. All the girls started giggling.
The food came and the friends left them to eat. Every once in a while Henry would run his fingers up and down Jane’s leg. This sent shivers down her spine and she wished they were back in their motel.
He must have been reading her mind. He finished gulping his shake and started the car. She gave him her empty wrappers smiling at him. The car hop came and took their tray and then they took off for the motel.
Once inside the room his eagerness for dessert over took him. He went to her and stripped off her clothes. Laying her down on the messy bed he breathed in to her ears.” I love feeling your skin next to mine doll”. The rest of the evening was spent in passion and they fell asleep in each others arms.
The next morning they slept in too late. They hurried and got up and showered. Gathering their things together they just beat the clock and made check-out in time. ” Wow that was close Jane. I didn’t have anymore money left to pay for another night”.
“I wish you did Henry. I had such a neat time with you. I never wanted it to stop. Thanks for a great honeymoon. I am starting to get nervous though. I really don’t know your parents and here I go right into their house to live”.
“Oh don’t sweat it doll. They are just like any other parents. Everything will be fine”. He patted her belly as he headed for the house.
The two walked in the front door. Suddenly Jane became quiet and let Henry led her by the hand. She stood waiting for him by the door as he carried their bag in from the car. She followed him to the kitchen. Carol was seated smoking and drinking her coffee. She was still dressed in her robe.
She glanced up at them and said,” Surprised you two are back so soon. Honeymoon over”?
“Mom I only had enough to pay for one night. Check-out was at eleven. We are both starving. We got up late and didn’t have time to eat breakfast”.
“There’s cereal on top of the refrigerator. Oh over there on top of the television is mail for you two”.
“Do you want cereal or I can fix you some eggs Jane”?
“Um, just cereal will do. I don’t want you to have to dirty up the dishes” Jane said.
” Smart girl there you have Henry. She already knows the rules. You dirty, you clean”.
Henry put the filled bowls down and went and got the mail. As they ate Henry opened two wedding cards. Money fell into his lap.”Hey look at this. We got more money. This sure will come in handy”.
Henry started to hand the money to Jane so she could put it in her purse.”Better hang on to that money son. The man handles all the money in a house. The woman does the cooking and cleaning and wiping runny noses”. Henry glanced at his mom and started to open his mouth to respond. Jane gave him a sharp look and then turned to Carol. “You are absolutely right. The man is in charge of paying all the bills”.
” I say it again. You have a smart girl on your hands here. Better take her advice. You will have plenty of bills to pay living here. You have to pay your share for bringing in an extra mouth”
Jane motioned to Henry to put their money in his wallet, and Henry did this without further speaking. The two finished eating in silence. They watched the circles of smoke rise in the air from Carol’s cigarette.
After wards they went to their bedroom and shut the door. ” What’s up with her? I haven’t ever heard her talk like that about money before. But I guess I haven’t ever heard her mention money before. Dad just gives her money and she goes and buys the groceries”.
Jane sat on the bed looking at him. She was thinking, boy this is sure different from my house. Mom handles all the money . I see her give Dad an allowance every Monday.
The two laid back on the bed and watched television. During the time of commercials they kissed and fondled each other. Working themselves into a heat of passion Henry got up and walked to the door and locked it.
They were both naked and he was getting ready to score when a knock came at the door. “I need to talk to you Jane. I need to find out what you don’t like to eat. I need to figure out what we are having for supper. Henry? Do you have any money to help out with the food this week? We have another mouth to feed you know”.
Hearing his mom talk ruined the mood. He climbed off of Jane and covered himself in the blanket. “We will be right out Mom. Just give us a minute”.
Henry finished in the bathroom. He was listening to some music when he heard the door knocker. He answered it and there stood Jane and her parents. Carol walked in and welcomed them. She showed Jane to the bedroom she would get changed.
Henry and his dad chatted with Jane’s parents and then the preacher arrived. Carol offered them all something to drink while they were waiting for the bride. ” It sure is a good day for the wedding isn’t it”? Reverend Dan asked. “Yes it sure is. It was a perfect day to mow the yard too”. George replied.
Jane was asking for her mother. When Debbie walked in she broke out in a smile. Her daughter looked beautiful. She had a cream-colored taffeta dress on. It was knee-length. Simple and beautiful with a big bow in the back at the waist.
“Help me put my veil on please mom” Jane said. With careful movement the veil was placed. Both ladies looked in the mirror and smiled. ” I hope you will be happy Jane. You have a big road a head of you. Just take one day at a time”. Jane gave her mom a quick hug and stood in front of the mirror as her mother left to let everyone know Jane was ready.
Reverend Dan stood in the middle and each set of parents stood on either side. Henry in his black suit stood tall and handsome waiting for Jane to appear. Music was playing in the background as Jane appeared. She walked over to Henry and stood beside him.
Vows were said and the kiss was given. They were now married. George said,” Well congratulations you two and hope you are as happy as Carol and I have been. Welcome to the family Debbie and Dave”. Everyone shook hands and hugged and then Carol invited them to help themselves to the food she had set out.
Henry and Jane did not know that they were going to have a wedding cake. They had not had the money to purchase one. When they saw it they hugged each other. ” This is one of our gifts to you kids” Carol said. I hope it taste as good as it looks. They all chuckled and filled their plates.
Sitting in the living room Dave asked Henry,” So what are your plans now? Going anywhere special tonight”?
Henry said, ” Yes, I have plans. It is a secret though. I haven’t told Jane where we are going”.
Jane looked at him and asked ” Where are we going? You can tell me now. We are married folks”. Henry laughed and replied, ” You will just have to wait and see.”
Carol said to Henry and Jane, ” If you two want to go ahead and leave it’s all right with us. We will just sit here and visit with our new in-laws”. Henry and Jane looked at each other and agreed and said, ” Sure Mom, I guess we can go ahead and leave. We will see you tomorrow sometime”.
The two went into Henry’s room and gathered a bag together and saying goodbye to everyone and thanks for coming they left. Carol went back into the kitchen to start cleaning up a little bit. She was running some dish water when Debbie came out and asked, ” Would you like some help? It will give us a chance to get to know each other a little bit better”.
“Sure I don’t mind the help. I am sort of tired. It may have been a small wedding but it was still work. I guess I am just getting old”. The two laughed and did the dishes. Carol asked, ” How long you and Dave been married”?
“Too long some days I think. Some days that man just gets on my nerves so bad. Then other days I don’t know what I would do without him”.
“Yes, I know what you mean. I think all marriages are like that” Carol said.
Henry gave Jane the biggest kiss he ever had. ” Well how does it feel to be married”?
“I don’t know Henry. I have only been married about two hours”. The two laughed and Henry started the car and they took off. He drove to the motel that he had reserved and parked the car. The two walked in and announced they were here for their room.
After filling out the required paper work, the attendant handed Henry the key to the room. The two walked down the long hall until they saw the room number and he unlocked the door. Jane started to walk through and Henry said, ” Wait wait wait. You are not walking in the door”.
He swooped her up in his arms and carried her through the door and sat her on the bed. “There, I did it right. We are officially married now” Henry laughed. He went back out in the hall and grabbed their bag. He put the DO NOT DISTURB card on the door and shut it.
He stood in front of Jane saying nothing. Their eyes spoke to each other. Soon he was helping her off with her clothes. He took his off and the two laid on the bed. No more sneaking around. This time was all theirs. In each others arms. Loving each other like this was the very first time.
Afterwards, they took a shower together and laid down on the bed and held hands and talked about their future. After some time went by they got dressed and checked out the room better.
“Look Henry, at this closet. They have a built-in hair dryer and they even have bags for your dirty laundry. Over here is a television remote. That is so cool. We can stay in bed and switch the channels”.
Henry liked that part. He took the remote and flipped on the television and started going through the channels. ” You hungry Jane? After that wild sex I am getting pretty hungry”.
Jane said, “I am getting hungry. My stomach is growling”. Henry walked over to where she was standing and placed his hand on her belly. ” We don’t want to starve the kid so let’s go get something to eat”. he replied.
While Jane was home rolling her hair for the wedding the next day Henry was hard at work. The pins were acting up and weren’t falling into their slots like they were supposed to. He was constantly running from one end to the other replacing them.
He only stepped out twice to take a quick smoke and then back to work. The bowling alley was noisy tonight. He could hear lots of laughter coming from out front. It sounded like a bunch of drunks were bowling. He thought that explains the messed up pins and the gutter balls in the return lane.
Jane painted her fingernails and toenails. She had her prettiest dress lying on the bed. She stared at it imagining how she was going to look while her nails dried. She and Henry were getting married in Henry’s parents home. Carol insisted on this. She had commented about getting married in front of strangers.
Carol was home and had spent half the day cleaning and the other half putting ham on pretty party plates and cutting up cheese. She had bought some fancy crackers and had bought some orange sherbet and some 7-up for something to drink. She laid the buns on the table so they would be easy to open. She sat out the plates and plastic cups and napkins. She had splurged and picked up some nuts and mints. Everything was ready.
She was exhausted. She didn’t remember when she had worked this hard in a long time. When she was finished she gazed at her kitchen and living room and thought this is it. This is as good as it gets.
After she turned out the kitchen lights she went in and soaked her tired body. George had not lifted a finger to help her and yet there he laid on the couch fast asleep with the newspaper half covering his face.
The night finally ended for Henry and he clocked out. Well wishers said words to him as he left the building. As he got to his car he noticed Jane was not standing near by. Where was she? I told her to meet me here after work.
He got in his car and drove over to her house. After a couple of knocks Debbie answered the door and said, “Well tomorrow is the big day almost son-in-law. Are you ready for it? It’s not too late to back out if you want to”.
“I don’t want to back out. I love her. Where is she by the way”?
“She’s been locked in her room most of the day. She has been primping all day and getting her last-minute things together. You can go on back and see her. You are almost married now”. She laughed as she closed the door behind him and went to sit in the living room and watch some television.
“Hey babe, you in there”? Henry asked. Jane answered the door trying to cover up her rollers. “Is this the worst I am going to see you doll? If so, I think I can handle it”. Jane slapped him on the arm and said, “You aren’t supposed to be seeing me this soon to the wedding. What are you doing here”?
“Hey you were supposed to meet me after work. When you didn’t show I figured I would come over and see what’s going on”.
“I had so much to do Henry. It just took a lot more time than I figured. I am sorry I wasn’t there. Can you ever forgive me”? She planted a big kiss on his soft lips and then chuckled. “Soon enough we won’t have to say good-bye at the door anymore. We can be in each others arms all we want”.
Henry had already thought plenty about this and he took her and tossed her back on her bed. She let out a gasp and said, “Hey what about my hair? You knocked one of my curlers out”.
Henry ignored her as he lay on top of her and played with her rollers. He tickled her and she wiggled so much two more rollers came out. He leaned over and picked them up from the floor and handed them back to her.
He kissed her lips and then reached his hand under her skirt. “Hey, I already had my bath Henry. I don’t want to take another one. Let’s save it for tomorrow night. By the way, what if my mom tried to come in”?
“Yeah, you are right doll. I guess I can hold off for now. But I am telling you tomorrow night is another story. You are not going to be able to have any excuses then. I have a surprise for you too Jane. A very special surprise”.
“Really? What is it? Tell me”. Henry rolled off of her and said, “Nope I am not going to tell you. I said it is a surprise. I know you are going to just love it though”. Henry walked towards the door to leave and she followed him.
“I love you Henry. I can’t wait to be your wife”.
“I love you too doll. We are going to have a great life together”, Henry told her. With this he gave her a quick kiss and then disappeared. Jane stood staring at the door still being able to feel his lips on hers. She thought, we are the luckiest people in the world. She patted her belly and whispered, we are going to give you a good life little baby. We both love you very much and tomorrow we are going to make this all legal.
She put the rollers back in her hair and played with her make-up deciding exactly which colors she was going to use. She had light pink nails so she decided on the pink lipstick. Her mom had let her borrow the gold necklace that she herself had worn on her own wedding day.
She went over mentally at all she had done and double-checked to make sure she was missing nothing. She went out to the kitchen and got herself a soda out of the fridge. Her mom saw her and laughed at her hair. Debbie commented, ” You did a good job. You didn’t ask for any help. You are going to be fine”. With this Jane nodded and then went back to her room
There wasn’t any conversation while Jane and Henry waited for the food to arrive. Once it
came they both dug in. Their appetites were big, coming from the stress of having to tell the truth.
Once they were down to only drinking their malt Henry turned towards Jane and said, ” It won’t be so bad doll. Hell, I have lived with my parents forever. I just tune them out. We need a place to live. I promise you, I am going to look for a better job first thing in the morning. Trust me babe, it’s going to be alright”.
Jane replied,” Henry, I don’t know if I can pull this off. I love you but,living with your parents, your mom? I don’t want to be without you so I will give it a try, just for you”. The two finished off their drink and he started the car letting the waitress know they were ready to leave.
He drove them up to lover’s lane. It was a windy road that ran around the lake. It was made of dirt and not much traffic. He turned the car off and got out of the car. He walked around and opened her door. The two of them grabbed a blanket from the trunk and walked until they found a nice soft spot of grass and spread the blanket out.
He sat and pulled her to him. He kissed her lips and as he was kissing her neck, he unbuttoned her shirt and unhooked her bra. She took her cue and laid down on the blanket. He followed her grabbing a hold of her swollen breasts and began to kiss them, cupping them in his hands. He bit the tips causing a hardness to form in her nipples and in his pants.
He ran his hands over her belly, leaving it rest for a moment where the baby was growing. He then lowered his hand and ran it down the length of her legs and then back up to the garden of love. She arched her body to him, inviting him to go deeper. He fondled her and stirring desires from deep within her, he continued until she could take no more. She screamed with passion and grabbed a hold of his manhood and led it deep into her flowering garden.
He wasted no time as he rose above her and let himself slowly slip in taking her for his own. The two rose to another level of sanity as they were no longer able to keep their senses under control. Moments later, they laid on their backs gazing up at the millions of stars. He said, “Was it as good for you as it was for me”? Jane rolled over on her side next to him, and touched his lips saying,” hush, let’s not ruin the moment.”
After they had laid there for a while in each others arms, Henry got up and said, ” We better get going. I have to get to bed early so I can look for a new job tomorrow.” The two gathered the blanket and tossed it back in the trunk. When he pulled up in front of her house, he leaned over and gave her a peck on her cheek and then she got out of the car waving at him.
On his way to his own house he thought about her living with his mom. Anxiety rose inside of him at the thoughts of anyone but him being able to live with his mom. She was not the most friendly mom, but for now he would make sure it worked. Where am I going to get more work or a better job? I work at the bowling ally now sitting pins. I like it but it isn’t enough to pay for a baby. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Taking a big puff on it and letting rings roll off of his lips, he sat in the drive way thinking before he walked in to who knew what.
After he smoked he got out and went in. His parents were still sitting in front of the television. They looked up at him as he closed the door behind him and headed for his room. As he was taking two steps at a time his dad called out to him.” Got any ideas how you are going to handle this? Got any money saved up Henry”?
Henry stopped and turned towards his dad and said matter of fact,” I am going to take care of it first thing in the morning. Don’t worry dad, I am not going to mess up or ask anything from you.” With this he turned and went to his room. His dad went back to watching television.
The next morning Henry woke earlier than usual and the first thing on his mind was money. He took a shower and went to the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal. His mom was sitting at the table drinking her coffee. As he sat down to eat, Carol said,” Son we don’t talk too much about serious things, but make sure you take care of this problem. Don’t let yourself end up like your mother”.
Henry asked,” Like you? What, did you get yourself knocked up before you were married too?” His mother started to shed a tear and hung her head. She said, ” I thought I was in love. I let the guy convince me that our love was forever. I ended up pregnant. My parents had a fit and kicked me out. I had nowhere to go and I had nothing with me except the clothes on my back. I ended up walking to my girlfriend’s house. I guess from the crap going on in my life, it caused me to lose the baby. Now that I look back, it was actually a blessing. No parents, no boyfriend, no baby”.
Henry went over and gave his mom a hug. This was something the two had not shared since he was a child. He told her, ” don’t worry mom. I got it under control. With you and dad helping us out by letting us stay here, it will help. I am going out now to find a better job.”
Carol patted his hand and dried her tears. “Please don’t ever mention this to your dad Henry. I never told him.” He looked at her and for the first time understood his mom a lot better. He thought, no wonder she is always in a bad mood. She has carried this deep dark secret for a long time. He said, ” don’t worry mom, it’s our little secret,” and with this he left the house to job hunt.
Who I am 