Love is complicated and very much confusing at the tender
age of eighteen and being in a relationship that others referred to as “puppy
love” but you know to be a genuine and sincere emotion of love. A love
associated with the intimacy of passion, togetherness, trust and hope that you
have given your heart to the right person for the rest of your life.
While others are trying to convince you that it’s a passing
phase, your heart beats stronger and makes you feel invincible as your pulse
races faster rushing the blood to your head and making you dizzy thinking about
the overwhelming emotions you have surrendered yourself to day in and day out.
Our hearts beat as one as the rhythm of the rain pounds on
the roof during an autumn season downpour in Ohio. Staring out the window and
trying to touch the raindrops on the other side of the window pane, we dream
about being together hoping that this fire inside will last forever. Laying
back against the headboard of the bed we stared at each other and gazed deeply
into each other’s eyes as we felt the pulse racing away and our breathing
finding shallow levels that simulate suffocation but in a good way rather than
the bad.
The day was young, the time was right and we prayed for
wisdom as our hands clasped together to make a solemn vow to be together. The
thunder in the background drowned out some of our fears but the rain made us
think too much and gave away what we were thinking. Young and in love, foolish
and anxious to be together, we swore to each other that we were meant for each
other.
The plans were set, the wedding day was near and the trip
was planned. Too young to marry in Ohio we found a little town in the South
where you could get married at 18 without parental consent and we planned to
take the trip together in secret and find the justice of the peace so we can
finish what we started.
The mood in the house was somber – the majority there felt
it was the wrong thing to do and eloping and getting married should not be even
considered without telling the parents and friends of both families involved,.
The risks were too high and we knew that if we told anyone, they would try to
intervene and stop this wedding so we kept it to ourselves and decided to drive
down to a little town called Sparta where the atmosphere was laid back and easy
on the heart and mind.
Living in Sparta is taking a step back in time. There are
people there that are friendly, relaxing and blessed with the awesome views of
the Blue Ridge mountain range and living the kind of life one could never
experience in Ohio or any other big city as this was Allegheny living at its
best.
Estimated to be town of 700 people or less, it was the most
peaceful setting one could pray for as it was situation far enough from the bustle
of big city living and small enough to know each other by first name basis.
I don’t remember how we learned about this little hide away
in the mountains. It really doesn’t matter as long as nobody knows we are
headed that way tomorrow. What we did know was this sleepy little town was
situated inside the Blue Ridge Mountains of northwest North Carolina and that
it had managed to preserve old time religion, practices and charm that made
southern culture so pleasant and easy to like.
The care was gassed up and ready to go. The trip was about a
good 3 to 4 hour drive depending how fast we drove. The highways were mixed
between country roads and highways that would eventually lead us to this sleepy
hollow. Not a word was said but it was suspected that someone had a good notion
what we were up to as they shared their rumor with others who shared it with
family and friends even though they had no idea what the truth really was.
The arrival at the justice of the peace was most uneventful
except for the hugs they gave us as they welcomed us into their chambers. After
a short talk we were guided towards the podium / alter where the JP stood with
Bible in hand and recited the vows and the laws that bound us together as
husband and wife. It was not without tears of joy and it was a most blessed
event for we felt a heavy burden lifted off our shoulders.
The birds outside the window were chirping and the sun was
shining even on this cloudy day. The mood was solemn but happiness was visible
in the twinkle of our eyes and the smiles on our faces. Dressed cordially in
blue jeans and casual wear, we were married and ready to go back to Ohio to
face the reality that awaited us as a newlywed couple.
The drive back home was a long one. We didn’t feel rushed
like before and the trip became a leisurely drive along the Blue Ridge parkway
that was as beautiful as God created it to be. Stopping for gas and snacking
with the little amount of money we had, we made it back to Ohio and told my
parents first what we had done.
There were no kisses and hugs or shouts of congratulations.
There was fear in their eyes as they told us what had happened while we were
gone and why we should be careful about being here. It seemed they had a
visitor a day or so ago that was looking for the bride and groom with a shotgun
in his arms and an angry tone that scared off the good, the bad and the ugly.
Quietly the story was told – a man came to see me and he had
a shotgun in his hand. It appeared he was drunk but not so drunk he could stand
and make a threat that if he found me he would kill me dead. The shotgun was a
reminder of his threat and the fact that he carried it with such passion was a
sure sign he meant what he said and he would do what he meant to do.
My parents described the man to a tee as being short, well
rounded and unshaven. His hair was thin and his belly was wearing tonnage that
revealed the fact he was a man with a healthy appetite. He was alone when he
stepped out of the car driven by a young man they didn’t know but it was almost
sure he was related. The man was angry and to the point that when he saw me he
would shoot me on sight and that he was determined to keep him away from his
daughter.
Somehow, someone had leaked the fact we wanted to elope and
get married and he meant to stop it. A day too late and unaware of our plans to
wed the day before his arrival, this was only going to make him even angrier
when he finds out we are wed. The shotgun was a traditional hillbilly sign of
seriousness and commitment to save his family name and honor.
He was bound by hellish ways to keep us apart. Now we had to
find a way to break the news were already married and how this would change
everything from here on in as we had vowed to never part again.
Weeks went by and not a word was spoken about the man with
the shotgun. Feared ruled the moment and silence was golden so that the fear
would subside. Although eventually the words had to be spoken, there was no way
it could be done without first figuring out how we could meet this man and his shotgun
without it being pointed at me so that I
could feel safe to them him the truth.
The parents on both sides were silenced as vows were made
not to mingle or interfere with what had happened. The truth would never be
told unless someone broke the cycle of fear and told the realities that we were
married and committed to remain together even if it meant hearts were to be
broken.
They say that time heals all wounds and mends people’s
hearts that are betrayed and shattered. Time moved slowly and time did nothing
to heal the hatred that was at the surface of the skin but rarely spoken.
Realizing that things were still not right, we had decided to go over to the
house where the man with the shotgun lived and face the realities and
consequences of those whose hearts we had broken.
The mood was somber and the air was filled with suspicion
and doubts of our motive to come over and face the man with the shotgun and his
wife whose loving arms were extended the moment we arrived and not a harsh word
was spoken.
Silently we sat there as the man entered the room and sat
down in his favorite chair looking at me with vengeance in his eyes but a
mellowed tone that was reasonable and clear how he felt and how he was hurt
with pride that his life and daughter were stolen from him without a word or
sigh we had decided to run off and get married.
Minutes turned to hours and hours turned to night time as we
sat there learning how to cope with the new realities that we were husband and
wife and that the parents had finally spoken giving us their lasting blessings
and accepted the fact that we were one and legally spoken of as man and wife
and now son and daughter.
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