The dress had ripped on a metal shard – a small tear – but on the new dress. I pushed the car with all I had, my lovely fiancée at
The dress had ripped on a metal shard – a small tear – but on the new dress.
I pushed the car with all I had, my lovely fiancée at the wheel trying to do her part. The engine refused to fire. Exasperated, I rallied a homeowner who let me make a call. “Uh, Hi sis. Mm, I have a problem.”
My mechanically gifted brother-in-law got us moving again after another forty minutes. Sparkling Kitty Lake receded back of us as the car climbed from the valley. I soon dropped my special date at my sister’s home, her lodging for the week. Trudging back to my car, recalling the ripped garment, I heaped contempt on my unreliable wheels, and on myself. I vowed we’d find a different vehicle once the wedding came and, once we could swing the cost.
***
“Well, I really don’t like this.”
The day of Ann’s departure for Billings was much like the day of her arrival the week before. Same airport road. Same Southern Plains climate. A lot of same. The not same was my mood. Seven grand days were ending. I would soon stand at the wrong side of an airplane door.
She looked up at me. “We’ll be back together soon, Jerry.”
“OK, it won’t be so long – if you say so.” We kissed and she moved to the aircraft door. Soon the plane was airborne.
I stared at the sky till a cloud swallowed the tiny dot.
© 2019 Jerry Lout
Speaker-Writer Jerry Lout grew up in Okmulgee County. A graduate of Preston High, he completed media training at O.S.U. Okmulgee prior to his San Antonio college years. He and his wife served twenty years as missionaries in Africa. Twice visited by polio, Jerry authored “Living With A Limp”. His “Giants in the Rough” memoir highlights the Louts' overseas years. His works are available on Amazon.com and www.jerrylout.com carries his blog posts. Inquiries and comments to jerrylout@gmail.com.
