The Girl from the Ouachita, Ch. 8
Usual disclaimers: No sex involving persons under age 18; I edit my own works, so the errors are mine alone; I provide too much detail for some, and sometimes there is too much violence for others. Shrug; Sorry.
Despite my promise from Chapter 7, this section ends after Thanksgiving because their story just got too long. The many trials and triumphs of 2020 will be chronicled in Chapter 9. Also, regarding the disturbance at the nightclub -- check the Nashville papers for the period 2007-2008; it's a shame Chris wasn't around then.
Here's how Chapter 7 ended.
"They gathered that night over a catered meal at the Becks' home. After eating, they adjourned to the massive living room, where Ed Ellison reviewed the unlikely events that had resulted in Kate and Jo being saved from harm at Park City, and in Chris being in Fort Worth to save the three girls Thursday night.
Debora Alexander added the story of how Chris and Jo met, and Sandy Beck told the story of her mother and step family trying to kidnap her.
Ed Ellison listened, shaking his head repeatedly in astonishment. When Debora finished, Ellison said, "Chris, I'm not the most religious man, but there is something besides chance or good luck at play here! You are in the lives of these young ladies for a reason!"
Dan Alexander looked at his son with pride, and with a twinkle in his eyes said, "The odds, Son, the highly improbable odds! Las Vegas would laugh at the odds of all this happening!
"I'm afraid it's fate at work here, and fate is bigger and tougher than you. It might be time to accept your fate and move things along."
"And make me a grandmother!" Debora exclaimed."
Chapter 8
Jo's eyes grew wide and her face and neck turned red at Mrs. Alexander's pronouncement. Chris sat up straight and frowned at his mother. "Mom! Jo is an 18 year old freshman in college! She's not ready for marriage, much less a family!"
"Hmmm. Yes, I guess that is young. I mean, I was already 19 when your dad married me!" she responded. "How old were you when you and Trey got married, Sandy?"
"Oh, I was 20, but we got engaged when I was 19. Won't you be 19 in December, Jo?"
There were smirks on every face in the room except those of Jo and Chris; they were trying to decide if they were being pranked or this was some sort of weird intervention. Chris decided to play it as a prank. "Sure, but back when y'all were young you were considered an old maid if you weren't married by 16! In modern times, most people are between 25 and 30, or even older, before they get married, and no one has kids before 30, for god's sake!"
Catching the grins and winks of the women and her two roommates, Jo said, "But Honey, if we wait until I'm 25, you'll already be 32! You'll be too old to help me with the kids!"
"Et tu, Brute?" he asked, looking down at the faux disappointment on her pretty face as she snuggled even closer. "My mother wants you going to sophomore Biology in a maternity dress, trying to find a seat with enough space to fit your watermelon belly under the desk."
"Then you'll have to hurry, Honey! I'm taking sophomore Biology next semester!"
He shook his head and faced his parents. "Alright, Mom, Dad -- what happened to all that sage advice I got about taking my time, establishing myself in my job, finding the right girl, and taking the time to get to know her before I do something rash, like getting married?"
Debora looked thoughtful. "Take your time? Okay, you're 25; that's probably enough time!
"Establishing yourself in your job? I'll defer to Trey on this one, but it kinda seems like he thinks you've been doing pretty well so far, right Trey?"
"Oh yes, Debora, he's well established for sure! And when he finishes his masters next July, the sky is the limit in his profession!" Trey responded in an earnest voice, albeit with a smirk on his face.
"Okay, so another check for 'established in job'. What's next? Oh, yeah -- finding the right girl and getting to know her... you'll have to answer that, Darling, but it certainly seems to us onlookers like you two are pretty well matched. You are certainly protective of her, you do everything together when you are in the same state, and even when you aren't you use all this technology to... well, to stay close! Or at least that's what Donna says.
"Unless, of course, one or both are you are still wanting to play the field for a few more years. Is that what you want?"
Jo smirked at him and kept the pressure up. "Not me! What about you, Chris? Are you up in Colorado dating all those pretty coeds?"
"I can answer that," interjected Trey. "The workers call him 'the old man' and 'St. Chris' because all he does is go to class, work, study, and work out. He won't even go drink a beer with them!"
Chris was shaking his head with downcast eyes and a grin, planning his rebuttal, when Ed Ellison spoke up. "And then there is the whole 'fate' thing in play. So many coincidences -- it's almost like you two are already bound together, isn't it?
"And by the way, Chris, I was 25 when I married my child bride, who was 18 at the time! What can I say? When you know, you know! I knew, and I acted before some better looking and richer man stole her away."
Jo had slipped her arm behind him and was snuggled so close his side was getting hot. She was still looking up at him, with that devilish grin he loved so much. "Honey, aren't you going to say something?"
"No, I think I'll just slink away from this ambush and find a quiet place to lick my wounds. I know when I'm outnumbered."
"Do you want me to go with you, Honey?" she asked with a lilt.
"No, you make thinking very difficult. Just stay here and explain to them why an 18 year-old girl who's known someone for less than a year shouldn't marry someone seven years older!"
"But Honey -- I don't know why! Maybe you should stay here and explain."
