From This Day Forward: Part 1
It was the summer of 1941. One of the hollows just below Twelve O’ Clock Knob rang with the sawing of boards and the hammering of new nails from the local hardware store. Over all the ruckus, you could hear James Tate damning the entire construction site while he sucked the blood from beneath his smashed thumbnail (he loved Jesus but he definitely cussed a little). James was a short man with medium build, a full head of slightly wavy brown hair, and a pug nose. James was helping build a new house for his father-in-law to be, Mr. Harry Phlegar. James could not help but give a hearty chuckle when his saw the strong-headed eighteen-year-old fiancé come stomping across the yard.
Becky stopped at the bottom of the ladder and instinctively placed her hands on her hips. “Alright now, you said back in September we was gonna get married. Now you’re leavin’ in five days for the service; are we gonna get married ‘fore then or not?” James removed the nail from his mouth, hammered it into the two-by-four, and hopped down from the ladder.
“Well,” he said, I don’t know if we got enough money to just up and get married right now.” Becky pressed her thin lips together, crossed her arms and began tapping the toe of her white sandals in the sawdust.
“James, between us we got forty dollars saved up. That oughta be enough for two folks to get married on.” James studied Becky’s face with his green eyes and knew that there was no sense in trying to contradict her. “Well then, Miss Priss,” he said smirking, “I reckon you done already made up your mind to go traipsing to Bristol on Saturday so we can have a quickie. I’ll get my brother Harold’s car tomorrow so we can head on down there.”
You see, the two lovebirds didn’t have time two wait three days for the state to issue them a marriage license and also get a blood test, thus the reason for traveling out of state. As Becky turned from James and ventured back into the house, Mr. Phlegar watched her go with a hand shading his eyes. He stopped just long enough to say, “Son, I suppose you’ve learned as well as I have that when there is a fire in that young wolf cub’s eyes, its best to let her howl.”
And so it was decided. On Friday morning, Becky got up and began to pack an overnight bag with a few necessities and her brand new dress. The frock had a tight bodice of beige shantung with a pleated skirt that fell just below her knees. Becky held the dress up to her shoulders and pranced in front of her mothers full-length mirror. Becky’s coffee eyes had become glazed with daydream when her mother, Margaret, and sister, Lois barged into the room. “Phyllis Rebecca, you are not going on this trip alone,” her mother insisted. “Lois and I are going along to see that you get married. Mother Margaret said this with a firmness in her voice, clearly stating that there would be no buts about it.
James pulled into the driveway early Saturday morning. He sat at the wheel of a 1939 Ford. Becky sat in the passenger seat while mother and Lois took over the back. The three Phlegar women and James arrived in Bristol around 10:30 that morning. Mother folded and unfolded her handkerchief with nervousness and Lois chattered on like a bird waking at the brink of dawn. The couple tumbled out of the car and ran up the steep stairs of the courthouse, mother and Lois puffing along behind. Once inside, they stopped before a large desk of solid pine, where a man sat with beady black eyes and a shining bald crown. “I’m sorry,” the clerk said, while he removed his pocket square and began to pat his brow nervously. “Just yesterday, on the first of August, a law was passed stating that after the first of the month there must be a three day waiting period for marriages. I’m so sorry but I simply cannot issue you a license.”
Becky’s eyes welled with warm tears and James balled his hands into fists trying to calm his temper. The clerk leaned forward over the desk and whispered conspiratorially, “Well I can’t do it, but if you’re all fired up to get married today, I’ve been sending people over to Harlan, Kentucky.” James mumbled a thank you to the clerk through his set jaw and the group stepped out into the bright sun, already blazing on the sidewalk.
***To Be Continued***