Emily thought about the phone call she had received from her husband for the hundredth time as she made the drive home from work. His voice had been quite serious as he confirmed his young wife had nothing planned that evening and would be available for a serious talk. Despite her probing, she was unable to get any more information from him and was left anxious and concerned for the rest of the afternoon. She couldn't think of anything she had done wrong or even something she may have neglected but, because of the void of information, her mind had begun to speculate with all kinds of wild thoughts. Was her husband having an affair? Did he want a divorce?
Emily Anne Kragthorpe and John Patrick Howard had been married in a very lovely and expensive wedding two years earlier. The Howard family was quite wealthy and one of the bastions of society in the east coast city they called home. The Kragthorpe family was from the Midwest without the same pedigree but, Emily was a ravishing beauty in addition to being very friendly and kind. She had easily won over, not only her husband, but his family as well. They immediately purchased a nice home in one of the finer neighborhoods and established themselves on the social scene. As a couple, they would often chair fund raising events and because of their fine looks it was common to see their picture appear in the society section of the local paper.
With great trepidation, Emily pulled into the circular driveway behind her husband's car and entered their home where she found John sitting on a sofa with a tumbler of whiskey.
"John is everything okay?" She asked with a worried look.
"Yes, everything is fine. Why?" John replied with a questioning look.
"Well your phone call today was so strange. I don't know what to expect." She answered trying hard not to let her voice break.
"Oh Emily. I'm sorry. I had so much on my mind I guess I didn't explain myself well." He answered taking her hand and guiding her next to him on the couch where he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. The teary look in her eyes let him know that she was upset.
"Okay." Was all she could think of to say. She sensed her fears had been misguided but she still didn't know what was going on.
"You look like you are going to cry." John said to her as he stroked her hair.
"Well...I don't know...maybe. You had me so scared. I thought maybe I did something wrong or..." She let out.
"No, no. You didn't do anything wrong. Nothing. I'm sorry." He consoled his trembling wife.
"Then what's going on?" She finally asked after regaining some composure.
"Let me get you some wine and let you relax first." John replied and left the room briefly returning with a full glass.
The smile on her husband's face allayed any remaining concerns and after taking several sips she felt calm. With a small nod, she indicated to her husband she was ready.
"Okay. You may think I'm crazy but I've been thinking about something for a while. And, well it's hard to explain. Actually, it's not hard it will just seem odd I think." John began to explain then stopped and took a sip from his glass before continuing. "Anyway. You know we are very privileged and it's always bothered me a bit and lately it's started to bother me even more. I mean I can be a complete dud, a complete failure, and we would still have all the money in the world. I want to do something on my own, I mean I want us to do something on our own. Prove ourselves and not just be another trust fund couple."
Emily didn't respond immediately. She mulled his words and after analyzing them, spoke. "John, I understand your feelings and actually they are very admirable. What were you thinking about doing?"
"I'm thinking we should get away. Move to another state and just start from scratch. See what we can do on our own without the family money or name." He said to her looking into her eyes to gauge the reaction.
"John, if it's important to you then we should do it. I don't care about the money." She answered instantly, which pleased her husband immensely and he pulled her to him and hugged her.
That conversation started the ball rolling on where they should go and what they should try and do. At first, Emily thought her husband had meant that they should go to another large city in another part of the country so she was surprised and nervous when John began talking about going to smaller locations in the South. Then, there was the whole idea of what to do - how to strike out. John was an attorney but had only worked in the family business and, although smart and ambitious, he didn't have any developed skills. Emily, for her part, had worked since college but in roles for non-profits that didn't pay very much.
Then, there were the families. Emily's parents had been pleased when she had married well as they knew she would be taken care of. They expressed some initial concerns about the couple's intentions but bought in without too much fuss, particularly her father who saw it as a manly idea.
John's family was a completely different situation. Although John had several siblings, he was the oldest and his father and grandfather had already earmarked him to take things over. In addition, they loved Emily and already had in their heads that she would dutifully produce beautiful children to maintain the Howard line. There were countless conversations, some heated, where his family tried to convince them that their place was here, in the city, where they would become leaders of the community. Only John's grandmother on his father's side proved to be an ally as she saw it as a romantic notion where the young couple could learn about life together.
When it was all said and done, the biggest issue that Emily had was John's choice of location. He had focused his attention on the South and after research and pondering had honed in on Mobile, Alabama as the place to go. Emily would have greatly preferred Atlanta, Dallas, or even somewhere like Nashville but John was adamant about breaking out of their comfort zone. So, she fell in line as the supportive wife. The idea was to take just enough money to get started and then live off what they earned. It would be a far cry from their current life and Emily knew that there would be no more designer clothes or fine dining for a while.
The couple made an exploratory visit to Mobile and found a small house to rent in an older but still quite nice neighborhood that had lovely, large oak trees. The best part of the house was an elevated wrap-around porch where they could sit and enjoy the evenings together.
Family and friends demanded a going away party where they were hounded by pleas that it wasn't too late to reconsider. Emily's girlfriends spent all evening huddled around her with tears flowing as the drinks went down. John's friends, while much more stoic, felt the same as they realized they were losing their de facto leader.
After selling their imported cars and buying more "practical" replacements - a Tahoe for John and a Camry for Emily, they loaded a U-Haul with just the things they felt essential for their planned reduced lifestyle. John pulled the trailer with the Tahoe while Emily followed in the Camry as they headed south. Both felt nervousness as well as exhilaration as they contemplated the challenges and adventures that were ahead.
It took a week to get moved in and settled but finally it was finished and on a clear October evening, the couple sat together on their porch watching night come to the neighborhood.
