The First major bump
I'd be lying if I said we just fell in love and lived happily ever after. The first major bump in our journey came about six weeks after we first started dating, and of course, that was "the age difference". I was twenty three when we first started dating and Shane was thirty seven, an age gap of fourteen years. This was never really a problem for us, but for the people around us it created quite a stir. Our close family was not a problem, it was our friends. It was the same old story from his friends "she's only after your money" and from my so-called friends all I heard was "he's just after a young bit of stuff, when you hit thirty he'll dump you like a hot coal."
At first we ignored it, we didn't care what other people thought, we were in love and that was all that mattered.
But then the snide little comments that they kept making got to us and we ended up arguing. One night when a particularly vicious comment was made by a friend of Shane's I got very upset and stormed out of the pub and back to my apartment. Not long after, Shane came after me.
"What was that about?" Shane asked in anger, "when I went up to the bar you were there and when I got back you were gone."
"You didn't hear what James said." I sobbed; his comment had hurt me deeply.
"Well what did he say?" Shane asked, sitting down.
"He said that if I cared about you at all, I'd dump you because you're only involved with me because you want to be young and carefree again and I help you stay like that and all I'm after is your money. I am so sick of this Shane, I can't ignore it anymore. Maybe it would be easier if we weren't together, perhaps we should break up." I wiped some tears away. "Obviously everybody is against us, we can't win."
Shane's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he put his arms around me. "Don't say that Kerry, please. I know people think that you're a money grabber and I'm a stupid old fool, but we know the truth. We love each other and perhaps that is true, you do make me feel young and carefree but that's what love does to you. Don't let them win, this is about us, it's not about them. Infact." Shane's eyes were set. "Come on." he said, pulling me up.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to the pub where your friends and mine are."
I begged him to tell me what he was going to do but he wouldn't. When we finally got back to the pub, Shane marched on to the stage, took me with him and stopped the band that were playing. He stood in front of the microphone with his arm around me.
"Right," he said to the packed pub, our friends were in the audience. "I think it's time Kerry and I got a few things straight with you assholes. I am not a stupid old fool who's only after her body, she is not a bitch who's just after my money." He looked at me. "We happen to be deeply in love but it seems that some people can't just accept that. So to all of our so-called friends who keep making little comments behind our backs or in our faces you either shut the fuck up and keep your opinions to yourself or you don't bother speaking to either of us again. We don't want friends who seem to be against us all the time, I don't know why you can't accept the fact that we are happy and a very much together couple. Like I said, from now the snide comments stop and if you can't accept that then we don't want you as friends. We're both adults, we know what we want, we know that we love each other and to those that don't believe us, well fuck you!"
Shane then turned to me and gave me the most passionate kiss I had ever received from him.
When I woke up at around 9:30 the next morning, I went over to Shane's, he had given me a key to his apartment. I crept in wanting to surprise him but I could hear voices coming from the kitchen, and I recognised them immediately as Shane and Linda. They seemed to be in deep conversation about something, I let my curiosity get the better of me and I moved slowly and quietly towards the kitchen where I stood just outside the door.
"I can understand where their coming from Shane." I heard Linda say.
"Oh so you're on their side too are you? Thanks a lot mom!"
"I didn't say that. I don't think Kerry is after your money, it's so obvious to any fool that she loves you and you her. But what I'm trying to say is Kerry is still very young, she's twenty three years old ok, and she's still a baby."
Shane cut her off, "Mom listen."
"No, you listen to me. I'm sure that she loves you and she'll never hurt you but you must understand that at twenty three she is still learning about life, she is by no means all grown up even if she is mature for her age. When I was twenty three I had been married for six years and I had you, a young baby - at twenty three! Now I'm going to tell you something that I never told anyone Shane, I married your Dad because I loved him and I knew that it would be forever - I had no doubts about that. The thing is that. oh I don't know how to say this, I tied myself down too young I don't know why we couldn't have waited to get married. Suddenly at seventeen I found myself with a husband and a small apartment to look after, I grew up fast Shane, I had too. All I'm asking is for you not to do the same to her, I'm not asking you to end it, just take it slowly that's all. Give her the chance to be young, to learn, don't tie her down, not yet."
"I hear what you're saying mom but you and Kerry are completely different, we didn't get married when she was seventeen and we don't have a baby on the way. It's totally different nowadays mom - no disrespect."
Linda shook her head, "The thing is it isn't. I look at Kerry and for some reason I see myself in her, she's an only child and from what I can see she's a scared, lonely person who feels as though she's never fitted in anywhere - I can relate to that."
"Correct me if I'm wrong - when you married Dad, you suddenly felt as if you belonged right?"
"Right but."
"No mom, no buts, we love each other and I know that we'll eventually get married and spend the rest of our lives together, its just a question of when."
Linda knew when she had been defeated. "Ok Shane, just do what's right by her and she'll do the same for you."
I'd be lying if I said we just fell in love and lived happily ever after. The first major bump in our journey came about six weeks after we first started dating, and of course, that was "the age difference". I was twenty three when we first started dating and Shane was thirty seven, an age gap of fourteen years. This was never really a problem for us, but for the people around us it created quite a stir. Our close family was not a problem, it was our friends. It was the same old story from his friends "she's only after your money" and from my so-called friends all I heard was "he's just after a young bit of stuff, when you hit thirty he'll dump you like a hot coal."
At first we ignored it, we didn't care what other people thought, we were in love and that was all that mattered.
But then the snide little comments that they kept making got to us and we ended up arguing. One night when a particularly vicious comment was made by a friend of Shane's I got very upset and stormed out of the pub and back to my apartment. Not long after, Shane came after me.
"What was that about?" Shane asked in anger, "when I went up to the bar you were there and when I got back you were gone."
"You didn't hear what James said." I sobbed; his comment had hurt me deeply.
"Well what did he say?" Shane asked, sitting down.
"He said that if I cared about you at all, I'd dump you because you're only involved with me because you want to be young and carefree again and I help you stay like that and all I'm after is your money. I am so sick of this Shane, I can't ignore it anymore. Maybe it would be easier if we weren't together, perhaps we should break up." I wiped some tears away. "Obviously everybody is against us, we can't win."
Shane's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he put his arms around me. "Don't say that Kerry, please. I know people think that you're a money grabber and I'm a stupid old fool, but we know the truth. We love each other and perhaps that is true, you do make me feel young and carefree but that's what love does to you. Don't let them win, this is about us, it's not about them. Infact." Shane's eyes were set. "Come on." he said, pulling me up.
"Where are we going?"
"Back to the pub where your friends and mine are."
I begged him to tell me what he was going to do but he wouldn't. When we finally got back to the pub, Shane marched on to the stage, took me with him and stopped the band that were playing. He stood in front of the microphone with his arm around me.
"Right," he said to the packed pub, our friends were in the audience. "I think it's time Kerry and I got a few things straight with you assholes. I am not a stupid old fool who's only after her body, she is not a bitch who's just after my money." He looked at me. "We happen to be deeply in love but it seems that some people can't just accept that. So to all of our so-called friends who keep making little comments behind our backs or in our faces you either shut the fuck up and keep your opinions to yourself or you don't bother speaking to either of us again. We don't want friends who seem to be against us all the time, I don't know why you can't accept the fact that we are happy and a very much together couple. Like I said, from now the snide comments stop and if you can't accept that then we don't want you as friends. We're both adults, we know what we want, we know that we love each other and to those that don't believe us, well fuck you!"
Shane then turned to me and gave me the most passionate kiss I had ever received from him.
When I woke up at around 9:30 the next morning, I went over to Shane's, he had given me a key to his apartment. I crept in wanting to surprise him but I could hear voices coming from the kitchen, and I recognised them immediately as Shane and Linda. They seemed to be in deep conversation about something, I let my curiosity get the better of me and I moved slowly and quietly towards the kitchen where I stood just outside the door.
"I can understand where their coming from Shane." I heard Linda say.
"Oh so you're on their side too are you? Thanks a lot mom!"
"I didn't say that. I don't think Kerry is after your money, it's so obvious to any fool that she loves you and you her. But what I'm trying to say is Kerry is still very young, she's twenty three years old ok, and she's still a baby."
Shane cut her off, "Mom listen."
"No, you listen to me. I'm sure that she loves you and she'll never hurt you but you must understand that at twenty three she is still learning about life, she is by no means all grown up even if she is mature for her age. When I was twenty three I had been married for six years and I had you, a young baby - at twenty three! Now I'm going to tell you something that I never told anyone Shane, I married your Dad because I loved him and I knew that it would be forever - I had no doubts about that. The thing is that. oh I don't know how to say this, I tied myself down too young I don't know why we couldn't have waited to get married. Suddenly at seventeen I found myself with a husband and a small apartment to look after, I grew up fast Shane, I had too. All I'm asking is for you not to do the same to her, I'm not asking you to end it, just take it slowly that's all. Give her the chance to be young, to learn, don't tie her down, not yet."
"I hear what you're saying mom but you and Kerry are completely different, we didn't get married when she was seventeen and we don't have a baby on the way. It's totally different nowadays mom - no disrespect."
Linda shook her head, "The thing is it isn't. I look at Kerry and for some reason I see myself in her, she's an only child and from what I can see she's a scared, lonely person who feels as though she's never fitted in anywhere - I can relate to that."
"Correct me if I'm wrong - when you married Dad, you suddenly felt as if you belonged right?"
"Right but."
"No mom, no buts, we love each other and I know that we'll eventually get married and spend the rest of our lives together, its just a question of when."
Linda knew when she had been defeated. "Ok Shane, just do what's right by her and she'll do the same for you."