Chapter 4

Now it gets complicated. Shirley talked to her mom the next day. They even drove into town so they could talk about it. They talked for four plus hours. My first knowledge of all this was a telephone call Sunday evening from Shirley saying. "Why don't you come over for desert, Mom has some apple pie?" Not knowing what I was in far, I was there in a flash. When I went into the house, I knew something was wrong. No kids. No Dad. Then I remembered passing their car on the way. Shirley's Mom said, "Sit down (at the kitchen table) and have some pie". Shirley was not there yet so I sat awaiting her. Her Mom brought us both coffee and sat with me, mostly just looking at me. She didn't look mad, worried a little, but seemed to be OK.

I asked "Where are Fred and the kids?"

She replied "I told them to go into town for ice cream."

"Shirley go with them?"

"No, she's here but I want to talk to you without her first."

"Oh?"

She started "So, you two have been up to stuff lately?"

"Ahmm."

"No need to say anything, Shirley and I had a long talk. You guys have been doing this a long time?"

"Not very."

"Well long enough. And now she thinks she's pregnant and wants us to make arrangements for her wedding as quick as possible."

"Huh?"

"Shirley thinks what happened last night made her pregnant and she should get married quickly so people won't talk. They will still talk with both of you still having a year left in school. You may have to quit school to work and provide for her."

"Yes'm"

"So you want to marry Shirley?"

"Yes, I told you that before." I said.

"Yes, she told me you said that before you two did anything."

I let out a big sigh and a sip of coffee.

"I told Shirley that she might wait a week before we go on about a wedding."

"Mame?"

"Ah, she is very close to start her monthly cycle."

"Cycle?"

"You know, her period. In all likely hood she is not pregnant."

"Whew, good."

"You're not off the hook. She still wants to get married, right now."

"She does?" Her mom smirked a little and said "Shirley says she likes what you guys did last night and wants to be able to do it as much as possible."

I sat with with a very red face.

"So, what do you think, gonna marry her?"

"If that is what we need to do, then we will."

"Well let's talk to Shirley some more then we'll see if we need to go see your folks. What do they think of you and Shirley?"

I answered. "I've told them that Shirley and I had talked about getting married one day. They know we are special to each other since we were little kids."

Her mom with a satisfied look, got up, went to the stairs and called Shirley. She came back in gave she and I more coffee and put a cup out for Shirley.

Most country folks have a big kitchen table. Most can seat 10 easy. Shirley's mom was setting at one end and I was setting at one side next to her. My assumption was Shirley would sit on the other side of the table from me so I stood behind that chair to hold the chair for her. (Old custom, used to be the thing to do.) instead Shirley came in and sat in the chair next to where I had been sitting. So now I was between her and her mom.

Her mom started. Whenever Shirley's mom spoke, she always looked directly at you, either Shirley or me, "So you two really want to get married right away?"

Me: mute

Shirley replied instantly. "Yes, we want to get married as soon as possible, before anyone knows I'm pregnant."

"Shirley, you are probably not pregnant."

"I still want to get married right away."

Her mom asked "Why?"

With a red faced Shirley said, "I told you all about it Mom, I just want to get married now."

Her Mom then said, "So, this stuff you've been doing is so special that you want to married right away?"

"I told you before." Shirley blushing even more. "I liked what we did. I don't want to quit doing what we did. I'm going to keep doing it and doing it and I'll have to be married for that."

Me: (Equally bright red.)

Shirley's Mom then said, "There is a way that this can work out with out getting married."

Shirley asked, "How?"

Her Mom continued "First we wait a week to see if you really are pregnant."

"And then? Shirley said. "I will just do it again and pretty soon I will be pregnant."

"This part is harder but it does work." Shirley Mom continued. "You two can do what you do for a good two weeks every month. But for two weeks you have to be careful. That gives you two fun weeks and two weeks you need to watch out."

Shirley wanted to know, "How do you know it will work."

"You only have four brothers and sisters and I'm not pregnant right now. You know I'm still young enough to have more kids."

"But I still want to get married."

"Don't you want to finish school?"

"Yes, but I can finish school married."

"So, you go to school while Chuck here quits school gets a job and supports you."

"I didn't mean it that way." Shirley said.

"Then you want to get married, you both live at home until you finish school? That's going to be some kind of funny marriage."

Shirley let out a big sigh and said "Oh Mom, I don't know how to do all this but I want to get married, I feel we should get married as soon as possible. I don't know how to do this but we will figure something out. Mom, please understand that we have a very special love and need to be married so we can be together."

Her Mom then said, "Chuck, let's go talk to your folks. Call them, see if they can talk a while."

I called my folks on the phone. With as little information as possible so busy bodies wouldn't gossip, I asked Dad if Mom and him would be able to stay up a while as Shirley and her Mom wanted to come over to talk about some stuff. He said to come on, the other kids were on their way to bed. When I got off the phone, Shirley's Mom said that Shirley and I should go on and she would go with Fred who was just then driving up.

Oh man, this was way over my head. I knew I loved Shirley. I even knew I wanted to get married. But I didn't know how we were going to do all this, stay in school, be married, live together, etc. I did know that Shirley was even tougher and more bull headed than her mom. I also knew that I had to get to my house to prep my Mom and Dad before Shirley's Mom got there. Then I thought of another problem, did her Dad know?

On the way to my house I asked, "Does your Dad know too?" Shirley who was being dangerously quiet said, "Mom told him but said he had already asked her if she didn't think you and I were up to stuff."

We got to my house, the yard light blazing, like lighting a stadium. We went in to find my Mom scurrying around getting coffee cups on the table with a huge dish of cookies. My Dad ambled in and took his seat at the end of the table away from the stove. It's always the Mom's seat at the end of the table nearest the stove. My Dad was a tall 6'2" lanky quiet type of guy till you got him going. He usually had a sly smile on his face like he was amused at everything he came in contact with. My Mom was average height 5'3" not plump but not skinny. Mom was always busy like she had too much nervous energy, always scurrying around doing something. The only time she stopped was in the evening when she and my Dad would sit in the swing on the porch. She always looked so relaxed and peaceful sitting with him, his long arm wrapped around her. Shirley and sat down and Dad asked, "What's this all about?"

I looked back and forth between Mom and Dad then started, "Mom and Dad, Shirley and I think, ah, want to get married. We know we are young. We know we have school to finish, but we want to get married."

Dad just looked at us, "Hmmm."

My Mom however, sat down took Shirley's hand and looked at me, "Chuckie, have you been pushing Shirley into doing something you shouldn't?"

Before I could say anything, Shirley put her other hand on top of mom's hand (three hands together) and said, "Chuck didn't start anything, I did. It was my idea in the beginning so don't blame him. Chuck was always a gentlemen with me. We did what we did, I'm not ashamed. We're gonna keep doing what we are doing so we should get married as soon as possible."

My mom had a shocked looked on her face, almost in tears. I thought my dad was going to burst out laughing. Mom was now clutching Shirley's two hands with both of hers, any second "Energy mom" was going to explode.

Dad quietly said, "Chuck?"

"Well, um, like I said dad, Shirley and I want to get married."

At that moment there was a tap on the screen door. Dad got up saying come on in Fred, come in Mim (Shirley's mom short for Marsha, don't know how they got Mim out of it). This set off "Energy Mom," she was bustling around as if she could pick up everyone, stuff 'em in a chair and bring something instantly. Well, she did do everything almost instantly and was again seated clutching Shirley's hand and Shirley's mom's hand (probably to keep from springing onto the ceiling). Fred was kind of like my dad only shorter and thicker. He too had a sort of a smile on his face like he just got away with something. This had to be where Shirley got her mischievous grin.