Jud

They decided to have their picnic in the orchard, where the trees could provide some shade from the warm July sun. She led him to the spot where she used to sit with Curly, then paused, resting her hand on the spot where CM+LW was crudely etched on the bark of one of trees.

"Can you maybe scrape this off for me sometime?" She asked, not sounding as casual as she probably hoped she did.

"Yeah, I can do that."

"Right, so we should probably eat somewhere…" she looked around for a suitable second option, neither of them comfortable with the idea of eating next to that particular tree. "Oh, there's fine. There's more trees anyway, so that'll be good." She spread out large quilt she had dragged out, having to keep it bunched up in a few places because of all the trees.

They sat down together and she opened the basket.

His heart was pounding so loud he was sure she could hear it. Knew he had to ask her right then, or else he'd burst.

"Hey, uh, hey Laurey?"

"Hmm?" she didn't look at him as she unpacked the food, all the foods she knew he liked, that she'd packed just for him.

"See, there's somethin' I wanna say to you. Or, well, I guess somethin' I wanna ask you." She stopped unpacking and sat down next to him, holding out her hand.

"Yes, Jud?"

He took her hand in his, trying to be gentle. "You know I, uh, I care for you an awful lot. Care for you more'n anything. An' I think you care for me too, and I so was wonderin' if maybe you'd wanna–"

"Jud!" She groaned, rolling her eyes.

Weeks ago, he would have winced or stormed off at her reproaching him in that tone of voice, but he was sure that she was teasing, that she wasn't really mad at him at all.

"I ain't some farm hand you're askin' to go down to Flannigan's for a bottle of whiskey. You gotta say it like, 'Miss Laurey Williams, would you do me the honor…'" She kissed his hand. "And you don't have to be so nervous. You know I'm gonna say yes."

He squeezed her hand, and she sat up straighter, smiling and blushing. "Miss Laurey Williams, uh, would you do me the honor of marryin' me?"

"Yes, Jud" she responded before hugging him and promptly bursting into tears. "'M sorry, I ain't sad or anythin', it's just…I'm just so happy that I…Oh, but you're cryin' too" she laughed. "You understand."

Tears and laughter mingling together, they held onto each other, her face buried in his chest.

"I also bought you somethin'"

"You did?" she immediately lifted her head and dried her tears.

"Yeah, it, um…I hope you like it" he reached into his pocket and handed her the small package, which she tore into.

"It's beautiful!" She beamed up at him.

"Yeah, I remembered how you said you wanted a dress with lace, and so when the peddler was around, I asked him if he had any lace for dresses and such. And he said this was the best quality, and there's enough for you to sew it on the bottom of a dress and around the collar and the sleeves, if you'd want. And a little extra besides, 'case you make a mistake."

She laughed and tucked the strips of lace back in the package. "That's good. When it comes to sewin', you know I'm gonna make a mistake. The minute we're done with lunch, I'm gonna start sewin' it onto my dress. Then it'll look special for the weddin'." She nuzzled into his neck one last time before taking the rest of the food out of the basket.

He smiled at her, unable to believe that his dreams had become real, that there was going to be a wedding to Laurey, a marriage to Laurey that no one threaten, that could never go away.

"Ain't much of a lunch. I-I mostly just packed sweet things. I wasn't really thinkin'."

"That's just fine" he laughed. "Cherry pie and gooseberry tarts makes a good lunch once in a while."

She pointed to the trees "'sides there's apples if you want 'em." She leaned up next to him. "What kinda weddin' do you want?"

"There's different kinds?"

"Not really. Only difference is how big a weddin' it is. I reckon it should be sorta small. I wanna have it soon, next couple days if we can, and since everyone came to the social, they probably won't wanna travel all the way out here again for a weddin'. And I'd rather get married quickly than have a lot of people there. 'Sides, it'd mean less work for me and Aunt Eller."

"That makes sense. I'd like that, too" he added.

"Is there, um…anyone you'd like to invite? Any family or anythin' that lives close by?"

"No"

"Oh, well, that's just fine." She smiled again, and he was grateful she didn't press him. "Like I said, it'll be simple as possible. And I'm glad we'll be gettin' married in summer so we can eat outside and not get cold, even if it's in the evenin'." He nodded, like he'd been to a wedding before and knew all about them. "And where d'you wanna go for a honeymoon? S'pose we could go to Kansas City. But I'm choosin' everything else, so you ought to choose that. 'Sides, I bet you've been to more places than me, so you'll know where we should go."

He looked down at her bright, eager face, unsure of how to respond. He wanted her to be happy, wanted that more than anything, especially if he was going to be her husband in a couple of days. But he couldn't let her leave Claremore like that. There were things in Kansas City that ladies shouldn't see, especially not delicate girls like Laurey. In any exciting place, she might meet new people she liked better than him, might make new friends who raised the suspicions Aunt Eller and Curly had already brought up. And these would be sophisticated friends she's have reason to listen to, not just her aunt and her old sweetheart.

Even if that didn't happen, even if people were nice to him, she'd realize how easily she could fit in with sophisticated folks if she tried, with her beauty, her smart mouth, and her charm. And she'd realize Jud wouldn't ever know how to fit in, that he'd always say the wrong thing no matter how he tried.

"Don't have to go nowhere. Could just stay here and save money that way."

"Oh. Well, of course, that'd be the smart thing to do. But I'd like to see new places, and if I had you with me, it'd be fun. Wouldn't cost that much, even if we saw a show or somethin'."

He could tell she was disappointed, but he couldn't put her in danger like that. "Yeah, but not every place is safe like here. There's so many people in Kansas City, I might not be able to protect you."

"But Aunt Eller went, and she was just fine."

"I know, but it's risky. Folks'r alike all over, and if somethin' bad could happen to you all the way out here, just seems to me the odds'r even worse for somethin' bad to happen in a place where there's even more people. Don't mean to stop you from goin' anywhere you want, but it's somethin' to think about."

"Yeah" she whispered. "I guess you're right."

"I have been to a lot of places, so I know. No place is really safe for ladies, even if they're married."

She nodded, then tried to smile away her disappointment. "Be just fine stayin' here. We can focus more on each other anyhow, and ain't that the point of a honeymoon?"

"Yeah, exactly" he hugged her again.

Finally, they stood up, brushing the crumbs off their clothes. "Come on, let's go tell Aunt Eller." She took his hand and led him back.

Jud bit his lip, knowing that was the only potential obstacle, that Aunt Eller could talk Laurey out of marrying him if she really set her mind to it.

They reached the farmhouse, and Aunt Eller looked at them from under raised eyebrows as Laurey threw open the door.

"Well, I s'pose you two have somethin' important to tell me."

"Yes!" Laurey flung her arms around her. "He asked me! And I said yes! We're gettin' married!"

"Ought to congratulate you, then" They broke apart and Aunt Eller turned to Jud. "You take care of her, you hear?"

"Yes, ma'am." Aunt Eller hugged him lightly.

"Reckon you'll wanna get married soon?"

Laurey nodded. "Yeah. Couple days if we can. Wanna have a small weddin', so won't have to plan much. Oh, and we decided not to have a honeymoon; we'll just stay here to save money."

"You sure? I could pay for you to go to Kansas City, or even just Catoosie, if that's a worry. Oughta do somethin'."

To Jud's relief, Laurey shook her head. "Nah, why don't you save up some more, and we'll go somewhere excitin' for our anniversary! Farm's doin' so well, we can go to New York in a year or two!"