I woke up late on Saturday morning. I finished some touch up on the dress and I start to get ready. I was feeling pretty sad. One year ago, I was still living with my parents, dreaming about the day I was gonna married Mr. Right. I was thinking about my parents. Sarah had left everything to follow my father. Just like me, she didn't know much people in her new living area. Would I be isolated, just like her? Back in Montreal, there was a big clash between the english and french speakers. Eventually, my mom learned french but she never lost her accent. Because of that, she was always being rejected by french people. Even if there was a big Irish community, it wasn't the same. She was splittend between her american roots and my father roots. Also, she didn't get along with my father's friend (or their wives) because some of them couldn't make the difference between her and the English.

Of course, I knew some girls of my age like Evie, Suzie or Kathy, but I didn't feel like I was fitting in. Plus, I am not sure they would understand my choice (or Darry's choice). In school, I had met some girl like Cherry and Marcia, but I wasn't a Soc either. I don't know if I would be able to stay in touch with Kim, since she isn't living in Tulsa. I had met other girls in school, but between work and the housekeeping, I don't think that I would have a lot of time to know them better. I started to think about my aunt and uncle. I know that they had Darry pretty young, but did they ever regret their choices? I knew that they loved their kids very much, but my uncle was so laid back that I was wondering how Shirley dealt with the pressure of being the responsible one. Plus, as far as I knew, she never worked. I wondered why. Is it because my uncle didn't want to have a working wife? I knew that they could some use for that money. My mom never talked about the time before she met my father. Shirley had share some memories with me, but nothing very personal. Maybe something bad happened.

I was lost in my thoughts when Susan came to help me and I could see that she was sad too. Shirley had been friend with Shirley since almost forever. She had knew my mom and father too. She finished my makeup and gave me a big hug. I looked at myself in the mirror and smile. Susan had successfully got rid of my signs of exhaustion. It was time to go downstairs, where Darry was waiting for me.

I could see that he liked what he saw. My wedding dress was more like a white Egyptian tunic. I had like the movie Cleopatra and I got my inspiration from Elizabeth's Taylor dresses. The big differences were that I didn't show as much cleavage as her AND my budget and time was pretty limited. For my hair, I had choose a soft beehive look. It was classic and it suited me. I had also done my usual makeup. I didn't want to overdo my look.

I think my point of view was shared because Darry, Pony, Soda and Darry's coach seemed mesmerized. I joined them and Darry gave me my bouquet. We got out of the house, where Susan took a picture of Darry and I, followed by one with the boys. Soda wanted to take a picture of us with our witnesses, but we were goofing around so Darry asked Pony to take it. After this, it was time to leave for the City Hall. Darry, Susan and I were sitting in the coach's car, while Soda and Pony were following us in the pickup. They weren't much place for guest at the City Hall, so we had limited the ceremony to the close family and witnesses. I was pretty sure that the gang would wait for us at home when we would get back.

At the City Hall, everything went super fast. It was not a really romantic wedding. After 20 minutes, the deed was done! Susan asked a pedestrian to help us to take some pictures. We were about to leave when Susan told me to go to see Larry. She said to me that he wanted to say his congratulations to Darry and I. I was surprised to hear that, since I was supposed to see him later, when I was due to work (no double shift on my wedding day, at last!).

When we arrived at Rick's, there was a banderole in the front of the restaurant, saying "Congratulations to Darry and Marianne". I smile, touched by this gesture. We went inside to see Larry and we were welcome by a surprise party. All the gang was there, except for Dallas. I could also see Evie, Sandy and Kathy. I was surprised to see them, but maybe I had misjudged them. I look around and saw that Larry was with the staff. No one was missing. Plus, I could see lot of our regulars customers were there too. Everyone stood up and came to congratulated us. I was so touched, I was almost crying.

Before I start to bawl, Larry asked us to sit at the "table d'honneur". We learned that the staff and him had done a little charity campaign to throw us this party. This time, I couldn't help myself before I start to cry and hug him tight, thanking him for everything. I could see that Darry was touched too.

We spend the evening there, happy for once. The little party was a hit and the customers weren't fussing about the noises. At some point, Evie and Sandy kidnapped me in the bathroom to give me some prenuptial advices, while the boys were teasing Darry about his lucky night. Around 7hpm, Dally passed by with a girl name Sylvia. He didn't stay long, but it didn't matter. We knew that this kind of party wasn't his "forte". As the evening passed by, the jokes become more and more dirties. I could my face warming with every joke: I was mortified to know they knew what we were about to do. Plus, it wasn't really romantic to get back at home and spend our wedding night with Soda and Pony in the house. After we finished to eat our cakes, Darry said that it was time for us to leave. Everybody cheered us on our way out. I am pretty sure that my face was as red as a tomato.

We are about to get in the pickup when Larry ran after us. We stopped for him and he gave us an envelope, saying that it was his personal gift. He encouraged us to open the envelope now. Darry looked at me and opened the envelope. Inside, there was 50$, a little card and a key. On the card, there was an address, in Claremore. We looked at Larry, with questioning eyes. He explained to us that it was his family cabin and that he lending it to us for the weekend, that we could have a short honeymoon there and that I just had to give him back his key next Friday.

I hug him tight another time and thank him for everything. Darry thanks him too, shaking his hand almost frenetically. Darry opened the door for me and I climbed in the pickup, being careful to not scratch the dress. Darry climbed too and got behind the wheel and we smile to each other, happy but nervous.

Now, it was time for me to spend my first night as Mrs Darrel Jr Curtis…

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The cabin was hidden in the wood, near a lake. It was a very quiet and secluded place. Darry parked the pickup and told me to wait inside the car. He came to my door and opened it, before he took me in his arms. I couldn't stop myself to laugh when he tried to unlock the door with me in his arms. I ended up on one of his shoulder, my butt in the air, while he unlocked the door. He took me back in his arms and pushed the door with one foot.

He kicked the door to close and drop me on my feet, before he kissed me. I close my arms around his neck and I let me go against him. We stopped kissing, out of breathe, and he pressed me tight against him, staring at me, serious.

- So? How is it to be Mrs Darrel Jr Curtis?

- Strange. I still can't believe it actually.

- Yeah, it feel strange to be married already.

- I am pretty nervous about it, but I think we are gonna be fine. Right?

- Yeah! I think so! My parents did pretty well, why would it be different for us?

- They loved each other very much, just like us.

Darry smiled at me and kissed me on my nose. He let me go and went near the furnace.

- The big difference is that my mom was pregnant with me when they got married.

- I didn't know that!

- Well, I don't think that I was supposed to know that, but I heard them talk once.

- Wow! Well, it certainly explained why they got married young!

- Yep!

Darry turned from and start to pick up some wood logs and to put them in the furnace. It was pretty cold in the cabin, but I didn't notice until I saw him at work. I shivered and looked around. It was a nice cabin, but it didn't seem to have electricity. The living room and the kitchen area was in the same room, and I could see two doors. I went in the kitchen and look through to the cabinet and I found candles and matchstick. I lighted two candles: one on the table and one to go search the place.

The first door from the entrance was a bedroom, with a double bed, two desks and two bed tables. I could see a closet door. The second door, close to the kitchen area, was a bathroom with an old big bath in it. The one that got feet! It looked classy and nice, I couldn't wait to have a bath in it. There were also another door in the room and I opened it, to see that it was a laundry room. I could see there was an almost antique washing machine in there. It was the one that you need to press clothes after you wash them in the basin. It didn't run on electricity, which I guess is pretty useful in a cabin with no electricity. Looking at it made me think about my mom. I could picture her, in our Montreal's apartment, doing our laundry on a similar machine. We didn't have the money to buy the new ones and we were doing fine with the old one.

I came back in the living room area to see that the furnace was working. The air was starting to warm up and, soon, we could remove our coat. I took a kettle and filled it water, before I put it on the furnace. I had seen some tea when I was looking for the candles. I had also seen some fresh food in the pantry, which was a nice thought from Larry. I felt lucky to have a nice entourage to help us through hard times.

I went to sit on the couch and Darry joined me, after he made sure that it had enough wood for a long time. We sat in silence, savoring each other presence. We jumped in surprise when the kettle started to whistle and I got up to prepare our tea. We drank it slowly and the silence started to grow on us. I was starting to get nervous, thinking about the night to come.

Even if we had spent a night together, I was pretty nervous. Last time, we weren't in our right mind and we hadn't share real intimacy since. The room was warm now and Darry removed his coat and helped me out of mine. Sensing my mind state, he kissed me soflty, not rushing me into anything.

- Do you want to get more comfortable before we go to bed?

- Yeah, I feel kind of tired and dirty. I saw a bath… Would you mind if I take a bath before?

- Take your time baby, we are in no rush, ok?

I nodded my agreement and kiss him lightly before I went to look for a bucket to warm water. I found one in the laundry room. I put water in it and put it on the furnace. I also refill the kettle to make more hot water. I filled some cold water in the bath and went into the bathroom to see if they were some clothes.

I found some women clothes in one desk and a bathrobe in the closet. I guess it was Larry's wife clothes. It was too big, but it would be fine for one day. I bring it with me in the bathroom and searched for towels, washcloths and soap bar. I found them in the laundry cabinets.

I went back to the furnace when the kettle whistled. Darry helped me to bring the hot water in the bath, before we refilled the kettle and the bucket once more. The water was warm enough but it would become cold soon enough. I put the candle on the sink shelf and remove my dress, before I hang it carefully behind the door.

Naked, I sat slowly in the bath, getting accustomed to the hot water, and I sight with pleasure. It seems like I haven't take a bath in ages. It felt so good! I rest in the bath for a long time before I start to clean myself, keeping my face for the end. The water was almost cold and I needed to clean myself before it was too cold. All this time, I could only think about Darry in the other room.

A knock on the door interrupted me. Darry stepped into the room, with the bucket full of hot water. My reflex was to cover myself, but he could barely see me. He put the bucket beside the bath and couldn't help but look at me. His gaze was fixed on my arms crossed over my breast. After a moment, he moved his gazed to my face and we stood there, looking at each other. I was starting to get cold and I shivered. Noticing it, he asked me if I wanted more hot water. I declined and he went to pick up my towel and enrobed me with it.

I get out of the bath and he put the hot water in it. He looked at me and started to get undressed. Fascinated, I look at his torso and his muscles. With the shadows and light playing on his skin, it was very impressive. When he reached his buckle, I could feel m face becoming red and I turned around, still too shy to look at him completely naked. I went in a corner to change my towel for the bathrobe and I could still feel his gaze on me. I almost flee to the bedroom, chastising myself about my prude attitude.

We kissed and fool around so many times, what was my problem? We even spent a night together. Still, I never stood completely naked in front of him and I was shy about it. Braving my own timidity, I put away the bathrobe and went into bed, waiting for Darry. The only light in the room was coming from the furnace in the living room.

Soon enough, he came back from the bathroom, holding a candle. He was only wearing a towel around his hips and… it was incredibly sexy! I smiled at him, encouraging him to join me into bed. He asked me if I was sure and I nodded.

He carefully put the candle on one desk and dropped his towel on the floor. I tried to look only at this face until he joined me in bed. I snuggled against him and we kissed. He pushed me softly on my back and continued to kiss me, until he was completely on top of me, but not crushing me. He had put his hands beside my head and was careful to not put his weight on me. He was kissing me with more and more passion and I could feel myself warming up to him. At some point, I couldn't help but only think about his touch on me. Feeling my mood change, he started to explore my body and, for once, I truly felt that I was alive. I forgot about my timidity and welcome his touch.

For hours, we make love, discovering with pleasure our new intimacy. We fell asleep exhausted, but happy.

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I woke up, with Darry's arm around my breast. I felt sore but it was a nice pain. I was feeling calm and in peace, like it was the most natural thing to share my bed with Darry.

I get out of bed slowly, being careful not to wake up Darry. I picked the bathrobe and went into the living room. The air was chilling and the furnace was cold. The logs had burned a long time and even the ashes were cold now. I put some logs into the furnace and started a fire. I look through the pantry and see that we had some canned food and… eggs! Wow! I guessed that Larry had left those eggs for us yesterday. Just in case, I put them in water to see if they were still good and they didn't float.

I noticed a transistor on a shelf and put some music, while I cooked us scramble eggs with beans and toasts. Soon enough, the odor of food woke up Darry and he joined me in the kitchen. He grabbed me by the waist and make me turn, dancing on the music.

- Hi Mrs Curtis, how are you feeling this morning?

- Pretty good! How's my husband?

- He's doing fine m'aam.

I started to laugh and he kissed my neck, while he tried to get his hand under my robe.

I took his head in my hand and kissed him on his mouth, but stop his wandering hands. I didn't want to eat overcook food!

He put the dishes on the table and I served his plate, before I served myself. We ate and talked about nothing serious, savoring our day without stress. After we clean the dishes, we fooled around, make love, tease each other and just enjoy our day together.

Soon enough, it was time for us to left. I had packed the dirty laundry to clean it at home and bring it back to Larry next Friday. We make sure that the ashes were cold and we locked the door, before we left the cabin. I wish that we could get back one day, maybe to celebrate our wedding anniversary,

At home, Soda and Pony were waiting for us. As a gift, they had cleaned the house and I was glad to not have to worry about that. I don't know if It was my long week and the fact that I haven't really sleep the night before, but I was exhausted and I almost cringe when I thought about my next shift at Woolworth. However, I couldn't allow me to think like that. We needed this money too much.

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The beginning of the week went smoothly. I had finished my training at Woolworth and the manager seemed happy with my work. I was befriending some coworkers like Betty, from the kitchen department, and John, from the sport department. Even if they didn't tell me anything, I had the feeling that those two were involved together. However, the company policy was very strict (I had been warned on my first day by the manager) and I could understand why they didn't talk about it in front of me. We talked over our lunch break and they were really surprised to learn that my wedding band was actually… a wedding band! I couldn't blame them. After all, I was still 17 years old.

Every night, I was going home, feeling more and more exhausted, but keeping it to myself. At least, the first one to get home (usually Darry or Soda) was cooking dinner. On Wednesday, Woolworth had asked me if I could exchange my Thursday against my Saturday. Being the new girl, I couldn't decently say no. I had called Christin at work and she had agreed to stay longer to cover the beginning of my shift.

I was happy to think that I could rest a little bit on Thursday. I still woke up to cook breakfast for the boys, since I was doing it almost every day, but I get back to sleep as soon as they left. I woke up again around noon, almost feeling like myself.

I cleaned the house and did the laundry, before I started to cook the dinner. Feeling lucky, I choose to try to make Shirley's fried chicken recipe. I was in front of the oven when the guys came back from school. When they learned what I was cooking, I could see that they were thinking about their mom and they tried to keep their composure in front of me. Pony and Darry sat at the table to make their homework, while Soda went outside to talk with Steve.

When I fried all the chicken, I asked them to clear the table and called Soda by the kitchen window. I had served Darry and Pony when, suddenly, I started to sweat abundantly and I find myself struggled against a heat wave. My hands started shaking and, dizzy, I dropped Soda's plate on the floor.

Darry jumped of his chair and ran for me. I tried to take his hands but I felt myself dropped into unconsciousness.