Chapter 13

“Lookit,” Grace said. “I’m 16 ... I talked it over with mom and she said you’d be perfect. I’m on the pill. You’re sure not going to brag to your friends. I’m not a notch on the bedpost and my panties aren’t going to hang from your rear-view mirror. Generally ... we can’t stand each other and you have a small dick.”

We were on the elevator to the tower room ... sorta. We were on the elevator to the fifth floor ... then it’s the staircase to the tower. The tower room is isolated from intruders. Central Michigan is a mixed population. People from all over Europe settled there.

Pewamo, and Westphalia, towns south and west of my hometown, are largely German and the rural Germans have a tradition, Brautentführung or kidnapping of the bride. Close friends will at some point “kidnap” the bride after the ceremony, dragging her from bar to bar while the groom tries to find them. The kidnappers might just also leave the bill behind for the groom to foot. Access to the tower room in the hotel was planned to hide the bride from the marauders. Get her leaving the church or don’t get her at all.