THE OMENS
Omen #1 The Ring
Guy and I dated for seven years back in the 1950’s. I was 14 and he was 16. I was allowed to go out with him Wednesday night and Saturday night. Sometimes he would pick me up after school in Thurman, his MG, with the top down. We would go to the local drive-in for a burger and walk in the park.
But when Guy picked me up at the house for a date he would plead for me to be ready so he wouldn't have to sit in the living room with my Dad. Guy was uncomfortable around Daddy because he never spoke to him, all those seven years. Daddy would be in his vinyl recliner wearing his red silk pajamas, watching TV with his bare feet propped up wiggling his toes. They would both just sit there without a word.
But when Guy picked me up at the house for a date he would plead for me to be ready so he wouldn't have to sit in the living room with my Dad. Guy was uncomfortable around Daddy because he never spoke to him, all those seven years. Daddy would be in his vinyl recliner wearing his red silk pajamas, watching TV with his bare feet propped up wiggling his toes. They would both just sit there without a word.
Note…Daddy must of had a lest 5 pair of red silk PJs. Guy never saw Daddy in street clothes until we all met at the church the day of the wedding in 1961.
Once we announced we wanted to marry everything changed, mother and dad took over. Mother made it clear that anything short of a large church wedding would disgrace the family. She walked out of the room saying she would call the pastor of the First Church first thing in the morning and started a to-do list.
Daddy pulled Guy aside for a man to man talk, "I'll help you get a ring for Cynthia." I guess Guy hadn’t thought about a ring. You have to realize, we didn’t have a clue how the world works. We were as green as they come. In those days green meant naive, not environmentally conscious.
Once we announced we wanted to marry everything changed, mother and dad took over. Mother made it clear that anything short of a large church wedding would disgrace the family. She walked out of the room saying she would call the pastor of the First Church first thing in the morning and started a to-do list.
Daddy pulled Guy aside for a man to man talk, "I'll help you get a ring for Cynthia." I guess Guy hadn’t thought about a ring. You have to realize, we didn’t have a clue how the world works. We were as green as they come. In those days green meant naive, not environmentally conscious.
Daddy said he knew a man who owed him a favor and would give Guy a good deal on an engagement ring. Daddy quizzed Guy further, “How much money do you have to spend on a ring, etc?” I’m sure all Guy could think of was compare the cost of a ring with the cost of filling up “Thurman’s” gas tank or maybe a weeks pay? He probably answered something like, “Three and a half fill ups?” Anyway, I was not in on the details at the time.
A week later Guy arrived for our date and rang the door bell. Little did I know all hell was about to break loose. When I answer the door I noticed mother crying in the kitchen, her face buried in a white lace handkerchief. Daddy’s voice summoned us to the living room, “Ya’ll come in here and sit down,” drowning out Mother’s travail.
I was surprised to see Daddy sitting on the sofa rather than his recliner. He was dressed in his usual shiny red silk PJs, patting the cushions he motioned for us to sit one on each side of him. I saw each others face go pale as we sat down. Daddy turned his back to Guy, faced me and demanded, “Cynthia, hold out your left hand.” A sob from the kitchen punctuating the moment.
Now I knew why Mother was crying., I paused until the burn of my first official panic attack passed then dutifully followed Daddy’s instructions. He pulled a small velvet box out of his red silk pajama pocket, flipped opened the lid with his thumb nail, pulled out a tiny diamond ring and pushed it over my knuckle. This was an,"OHhhh NOooo!" moment.
Daddy was beaming with pride. Mother was wailing from the kitchen. Guy’s ears where smoking and I was reeling with another panic attack.
Guy looked at me with a, "lets get the H----- out of hear" look. We ran for the nearest exit, thanked Daddy, and waved goodbye to Mother pretending not to hear her travail. I jumped in Thurman and slammed my door preparing for a quick take-off. But Guy just sat there, eyes glazed starring through the wind shield. Looking strait ahead he stretched his arm towards me palm up carefully measuring his words so as not to explode, “give….me…. the…. ring”. Believe me when I say a dark cloud entered the car, settled over head to stay a while. I knew this was not going to be pretty and the battle lines had been drawn. It would be long and painful before I saw that ring again, if ever.
Every time I returned home from a date Daddy would call me to stand before his recliner so he couldcheck me out. With a scowl and a growl he would say, “Where is the ring?” I tried to explain to him Guy must be keeping the ring so he could propose to me his way. Daddy would crumble under his breathe, “Well, that’s a fine How-do-ya-do.” Needless to say, our engagement would be delayed until further notice.
Stay tuned for Omen #2.
Every time I returned home from a date Daddy would call me to stand before his recliner so he couldcheck me out. With a scowl and a growl he would say, “Where is the ring?” I tried to explain to him Guy must be keeping the ring so he could propose to me his way. Daddy would crumble under his breathe, “Well, that’s a fine How-do-ya-do.” Needless to say, our engagement would be delayed until further notice.
Stay tuned for Omen #2.
Wow.... what an interesting way to get engaged! :p
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