<TITLE>20. Par 69-72</TITLE>L-69 And oh, my, I never heard nothing the preacher said. I just set there wondering. And oh, I look at her, and she looked more beautiful than she ever did, and I knowed she was every whit a lady. And I thought the woman that... She doesn't smoke; she doesn't go to dances; she doesn't have... She doesn't use any kind of bad talk. She's just--she's just an angel. And I thought, "My, that was her, but I--I guess it's all over now."
So after church was over, I started going home, you know, walking along; she was walking along. And I was looking up, when we'd pass under the trees, and the moonlight come down upon her black hair and her brown eyes. I thought, "Oh, my, isn't she pretty?" Walking along. I thought...
Well, we begin to get kind of close to the house, and I got brave. I thought, "The letter hung up the box; none of them got it. See?" I was just feeling pretty good, you know. I said, "Nobody got that letter, so I'm all right. Say..." going on like that.

L-70 And she was talking, you know. And I reached over and took a hold of her arm, you know, was walking along. Oh, my. And I thought, "I--I will have a little more grace. That letter, I hope it did hang up, and there wasn't nothing happened to it." And I was done made up my mind then that if she knowed anything about it, she'd done said something about it."
So we was getting pretty close to the home; directly she looked down to me; she said, "Billy?"
And I said, "Yes."
She said, "I--I got your letter."
Oh, I felt something move up and go down, you know, I thought... I said, "You did?"
She said, "Uh-huh." Just kept on walking, never said a word.
I thought, "Woman, say something before I faint. Do something now. I--I--I can't set like this all the time." We was getting too close to the house. She never said a word. I thought, "Well, I--I... Say something."

L-71 She just... You know how woman can keep you. Excuse me. No, no, I mean--I mean, you know what I mean. So, never said a word, just walked along, you know, looking along up towards the moon and the stars. Oh, my, such suspense, and I said, "Did you read it?"
She said, "Uh-huh," kept walking on. That was all I could get out of her.
Well, I thought, "My, my, now what?" I said, "Did you appreciate it?"
She said, "Uh-huh." Uh-huh, that was all I could get out of her, just "Uh-huh."
Well, we got married. So there you are. We--we got married.
And I never will forget; she asked me just before we was... when we was... before I got her a ring. And I remember, I paid eight dollars for the set.

L-72 And so, I was very happy about it though. My, I remember we drove out there under the tree, and I put that engagement ring on her finger; how happy I was. And had the other one down in my pocket and put me a great big catch pen there so it wouldn't get out. I was keeping her right there, boy. That one, she was going to be mine.
So I went on, you know. And she said, "Billy." Before I put the ring on her finger, she said, "don't you think it would be kind of gentleman-like if you'd ask dad and mother?"
I thought, "Oh, my. Here it goes again." And she said... I said, "Yes." I said, "Look, Hope, I want to tell you something." I said, "Now, when we get married, it's always to be a fifty-fifty, isn't it?"
She said, "That's right." She said, "I will keep my part."
I said, "I will mine." I said, "Let's start it now. See?"
She said, "What do you mean?"
I said, "You ask your mother, and I will ask your daddy." I could get by with her dad, but I didn't know about her mother.
She said, "All right. That's all right."
And I said, "Well, look," I said, "perhaps you let me ask your dad first." 'Cause I knowed if her dad said so, I had that much of a promise (See?), and I could hold to that.
So I remember she said, "Well, you better ask him tonight."
And I thought, "Oh, kind of quick, but I guess I better."


<A HREF="P21">Next Page</A>