An Unanswered Prayer

As I walked him out to his truck I asked "Sir, Joel, May I ask permission to marry Laura?

He smiled and shook my hand; "I was wondering when you would ask her."

"It will be soon sir."

Laura was a little quiet for the rest of the evening, as if she was contemplating something. When we parted that evening I got a simple kiss on the cheek again, not the kiss on the lips we had been exchanging.

A week later we went to the Watchnight service at church on New Years Eve. It started at 10:45 and lasted until 12:15, and then there was a short reception in the social hall.

As we approached the front door I knelt as if to pick up something from the ground. She turned to see what I was doing. I took her hand and held out the ring and asked her to marry me. She cried and barely said "Yes!" I slipped the ring on; we kissed and went in to sit between Joel and my family. She kept playing with the ring until my mother, who was sitting on the other side of me, noticed and gasped. Laura smiled and nodded "Yes." Joel just took Laura's hand right hand and smiled.

As we left the service all the women were cackling over the ring, the men all shook my hand. Betty Jane slipped up behind me and whispered "You could have had me." Then she waddled out the door with her 2nd husband, she was ready to drop her 3rd child any day. She did not look nearly as good as she did a few years ago. Maybe my vision was a little biased before.

We were married on the first Friday evening in June. The reception was in a huge tent on the church lawn. The inside of the tent was strung with as many sets of Christmas lights as the church could round up. Sometime in the middle of the reception Betty Jane showed up, she was so drunk she could barely stand. We were at the other end of the tent when there was a loud, indistinguishable shout from her and then she was grabbed by people and escorted out. "You will regret the day you spurned me!" was the last we heard her shout as she was guided out of the area.

Laura looked at me and whispered "I doubt it."

We had rented a hotel room just outside town for our first night together. When we got there we saw a few familiar cars across the road at the shopping center. We walked in the front door to the room and went right out the back door; we didn't even pause, other than to throw the key on the bed. We got in the rental car we had parked there and drove off the back lot toward the farm and the new 3 bedroom double wide we had waiting for us. We parked the car inside the garage so nobody knew we were there.

There is a tradition amongst some of our friends that requires them to show up wherever you are spending your first night together and make all sorts of noise. They kept it up for over 2 hours before the sheriff showed up and chased them away.

We were so tired we both fell asleep in each others arms. I woke Laura at about 3 and we finally resolved our virginity problem. Then we went back to sleep, only to wake at 5 and make sure it was truly resolved.

I called Dad when we were at the airport returning the car and asked him to get my car from the motel. We then went to Florida and a small beach we heard of. We spent the next week getting to know each other very well; I believe we tried almost everything we could think of.

Once we were home we proceeded to christen every room in the house, 2 or 3 times.

Our first child was born 2 weeks before our first anniversary. We named her Sophie after Joel's wife.

Our second, third and fourth were almost evenly spaced a little over 2 years apart. The fifth, and our last, was about 5 years after number 4. We keep trying but 5 was the limit.

Over the years we saw Betty Jane from time to time. Sometimes she would remind me that I could have had her. Between the drinking and smoking and her work in the beauty parlor she was not aging well at all.

She lived in an older trailer abut 4 miles out the other side of town, there were at least 3 additions onto it. She now had 7 children, by 7 different daddies. She had been married to 5 different men over the years; most left her when they found her behind the bar with someone else. She was actively auditioning for number 6.

In contrast, Laura was one of those women who just become more beautiful as they age.

Mom and Dad retired from active farming a few years back. Joel continued to work at the feed mill, until one morning he did not show up. Laura went over to check on him and found him in bed, holding a picture of his wife Sophie to his chest and the biggest smile on his face anyone could remember. He was just short of 99.

Our daughter Sophie had been helping out at the mill and decided she could replace her great grandfather. Joel always had a copy of their wedding picture on his desk, it is still there. Our daughter is almost an exact copy of her great grandmother. Sometimes a new person will comment on the young man in the picture with her. She simply says "His name is Joel."

Our children are taking over the day to day running of the farm. We have added enough to triple the size Dad started with. Laura and I stayed in and still live in our doublewide. Our oldest boy Terry now lives in the house with his family. The others are either in their own places scattered around the farm or live in town. Sophie now lives at Joel's place with her family.

Each Sunday the wives all get together to fix a family meal. We all eat together at least once a week and on most holidays. On Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving we invite all of the in-laws, out-laws and other friends and family to dinner.

I always like to walk the farm between church and Sunday dinner, not that I would do any work. It's just that when I am done each time, promptly at 1:05, I love to walk up the front steps of the old home. Then I pause to look through the front door and see the family assembled at the table waiting for me.

There is nothing like seeing all of my blessings to realize that I need to thank God each day for an unanswered prayer.