“ Deryl is
coming after us. He’s working on a road job in Dulce, New Mexico,"
Mom said with a huge smile, as she hung up the phone.
“Mom, I
don’t want to leave Albuquerque.
I don’t want to leave Al!”
She wasn’t
listening to me. She was into her own plans.
***********
We’ll get
married!” Al announced
Knots and
butterflies alternated in my stomach as we sat before Mom in the apartment
living room.
“Wanda,
I’m asking permission to marry Gloria. I know she’s only sixteen, but I promise
she will finish school and get her high school diploma.”
Mom’s face
was a mask. But I could tell from her eyes, she was not happy with the
proposal.
“I’ll
think about it!” she said crisply
.
Mom’s
answer to me the next day was, “NO!”
“But Mom,”
I negotiated, “don’t you understand how I feel? You will be with Deryl because
that is what you want? You always get what you want. I want to be with Al.”
(This was the first
time I really stood up to my mother.)
I couldn’t
believe my ears…
“You can
get married but you have to finish high school.”
“OK!” I was overjoyed. “If I find a
place to live can I stay in Albuquerque
until the wedding?”
The answer
was “yes!”
Mom began
packing. She was happy. Deryl was coming to her rescue again.
I phoned
Dottie, a former neighbor who lived in Princess Jean Park. I had cleaned her
house when we lived in the neighborhood.
************
Mom and
Bronco left Albuquerque
with Deryl. I moved into Dottie and Don’s home. I helped Dottie with her house
and four children.
As the
weeks passed I saw less of Al. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I was beginning to feel uneasy.
One night on the phone he
informed me that his father had put him in a bind financially. He never did
fully explain everything.
Al became increasingly distant. After some denial on
my part, I realized it was over, we were not getting married.
My heart was
heavy. I couldn’t sleep and I wasn’t interested in eating. Dottie was worried
about me.
“Gloria, you
can stay with us. You can attend Sandia High this fall.”
When I
checked on enrollment at Sandia, I was in for a surprise. I was lacking credits
because of our many moves.
Dottie’s mother and sister Mary
Lou visited that weekend.
Mary Lou was one year younger then me. We had become
good friends.
When Dottie’s
mother saw my predicament she made a wonderful offer:
“Gloria,
come to Grants, you can live with us. You will have enough credits to graduate
from Grants High,”
Dottie was
frowning at her mother’s suggestion. She didn't want me to leave.
“Thank you
for inviting me, but I can’t move to Grants with out asking my mother.”
Mom and Deryl didn't have a phone, so I wrote her a letter and waited.
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