“Wow, Luke. If what you wrote was a generic thank you, I’d better be sitting down if you ever wrote me a romantic card.”
“I’m sorry, what are you talking about?”
“Wait here,” and she got up and walked to her bedroom. She returned with the card a minute later, handing it to me before sitting down closer to me.
“That’s not the card I bought, but I wish I had.”
“Read it.”
“Betty? I addressed it to Miss Dalton. Hmm, Exceptional woman, inhale and fragrance, beautiful woman, see each other. Oh my, I didn’t write this; my Mom did. That’s her handwriting.”
Betty looked sad when she said, “You didn’t write this, Luke?”
“No, but I wish I did because every word is true. You are an exceptional woman, Betty, a great cook, a wonderful conversationalist, beautiful and intelligent, and I want to see more of you, literally and figuratively.”
Now tears of joy were pouring out of her eyes, and she kissed me, and I kissed her back.
‘Go for it, dear. Once you make love to her, it’s all over; she’s yours forever. That’s the way it was for me.’
Now, for all you Puritans out there, I did not spend the night with Betty or even get undressed, even though the wife in the head was urging me along. Betty and I agreed that we needed to date, and I needed to meet her parents and grandparents and uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters. But I was definitely happy when I crawled under the covers that night and fell asleep almost immediately.
The next night we went out on our first actual date, to dinner and then dancing. Saturday, Betty and I took Bobby to the movies.
***
Betty and I began calling each other during the week before we went to bed. Friday nights, Bobby spent the night with my parents, and Betty cooked me dinner, and we watched TV for three hours, sitting six feet away from each other. I own a vacant lot for sale on Fifth Avenue if you believe that one. We didn’t explore the final frontier together, but we did do many things that both of us enjoyed.
***
Two weeks before Christmas, Betty told me her parents, Katherine and Walter (but they go by Kathy and Walt), invited the three of us to spend next weekend with them. Since this included Bobby, I asked Betty why did they invite my son.
“I’ve talked to my parents and grandmother about you and Bobby and how I feel about you and….”
“How do you feel about me, Betty Boop?” I called her that sometimes when I wanted a kiss.
The first kiss she gave me I’ll never forget, but the kiss she gave me now curled every hair from my feet to the top of my head, and her words whispered to me made me think I needed to start shopping for a ring.
“I’ve dated and kissed other boys, one I even liked enough to neck with, but I’ve never been close to anyone whose bones I wanted to jump except you, Lukey.”
“I’ll shut up so you can finish, um, uh, what were we talking about?”
“I was telling you about talking with my parents and grandmother, and they want to meet you, and grandmother wants to meet Bobby. I’m not worried about my parents, but grandmother hasn’t liked any little kids since I was a child, and that worries me.”
***
A week later, with our suitcases under my Cadillac Escalade’s hard bed cover, we left New York City to drive to her parents’ house an hour away in Monroe County. The roads were pretty clear until we turned onto a two-lane road covered with snow. Betty directed me through an open gate onto a long driveway that went up to a big house built with white bricks. A man and woman dressed like servants came out and carried our luggage into the house while Betty’s father greeted us.
“Betty! You look wonderful,” and he hugged her before turning toward me. “You must be Luke, welcome to our home, and call me Walt,” as he shook my hand and gave me a big bear hug. At least they’re not afraid of touching people.
“Walt, this is my son, Bobby.”
Before Walt could move, Bobby walked up to him, stuck out his hand, and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Dalton. Miss Dalton said you were very tall and had a nice thick beard. I like the beard; it looks very soft, but you’re so tall I can’t reach it.”
Walt was speechless for a second or two, then he burst into laughter and snatched Bobby up from the ground and said, “Is it close enough now?”
He headed into the house carrying Bobby, and Betty grabbed my arm as we followed them in.
We passed through the front door into a mudroom, where we hung up our coats and took off our rubber boots. The next room had a high ceiling and many tall windows. It was all decorated with Christmas lights and had a big tree in one corner. I went into another large room with another decorated tree filled with a crowd of people, all her family, and everyone was shaking my hand or hugging me while introductions were made. I saw Bobby whisper in Walt’s ear, and Walt set him down on his feet.
The room got progressively quiet as Bobby walked toward a lady sitting in a chair at the back of the room.
*****
Chapter Seven – Bobby Takes Center Stage
*****
I walked over to her chair, held my hand out, and said, “Hi, I’m Bobby Larson, I’m six years old and Miss Dalton is my teacher. How are you, ma’am?”
“Well, knock me over with a feather, a young man with manners. Bobby, I am Betty’s grandmother, and if what I’m hearing is true, I’ll be your great-grandmother. Sit by me and tell me about yourself.”
I climbed up in the chair next to her and said, “I would like that, being your great-grandson and telling you all about myself. My mommy has been telling me about your family, and I think I know everyone’s name, but I don’t have a face to match with it.”
“Maybe I was misinformed, but I thought your mother died last year on your birthday.”
“Yes, ma’am, that’s right, but she talks to me and tells me things,” and I leaned over and whispered, “She brought my dad and Betty, oops, is it okay if I call her Betty between you and me until she’s my mom?”
She gave me a funny look and then smiled, saying, “No more ma’am’s, call me Miss Lily, and it’s okay to call her Betty. So who gave your mother the names?”
“She told me a man named George told her. He was there before she arrived, and they talked about their families.”
Miss Lily started to shake and asked her, “Miss Lily, are you okay?”
She whispered as she wiped her eyes with her hanky, “Yes, I’m fine, Bobby. I felt shocked because my husband George died over two years ago, and of course, he knew everyone’s name.”
“That was probably him she talked to.”
“Go on, Bobby, finish your story.”
“Anyway, she got them together, and she had to help my dad because he forgot how to talk to girls, and she probably talked to Betty some too, but she hasn’t told me anything, and I know she talks to my grandmother some and she talks to me. She told me she wouldn’t leave until my dad found love again.”
“Well, it’s quite a story,” and she bent over and whispered to me, “and I believe you because after my husband died, I heard his voice sometimes, although not much anymore.”
She sat up straight and addressed the room. “All right, everyone, it’s time for some entertainment. Young Bobby is very mature for his age, and he claims to know the names of everyone in this room. I will give my approval for Luke and Betty to be married if he can guess the names of four family members in this room. So listen up.”