LOYD BURL AND THE HOOTER’S GIRL

CHAPTER 14

Sunday, May 1^st, 1988

I AM MY BELOVED’S AND MY BELOVED IS MINE (Song of Solomon 6:3)

            “Did I hear you correctly? You want to marry me?” I asked Becky.

            “I do,” she replied, and then smiled sweetly. “Pun intended.”

            I stared dumbfounded at her. This was more than my feeble brain could take! I had spent most of yesterday afternoon with Cat. I had spent most of yesterday evening’s drive home thinking about both Becky and Cat, who were both carrying my child.

            But my thoughts had been out of balance. For I had just spent time with Cat. Not only had Becky turned down my original marriage proposal, she began seeing an old boyfriend she had become reacquainted with at her fifteenth high school reunion. So my preoccupation ratio had been about eighty to twenty, Cat. Maybe even ninety to ten. But now, here was Becky, apparently accepting my proposal of marriage from a few months ago.

            Although Becky turned down my first suggestion of marriage, we began to see each other secretly, mostly to avoid workplace gossip. I also had reluctantly agreed that we would be free to date other people. In other words, it was an open relationship. I don’t know how prevalent such a situation was in 1988, I’ve never been very hip. But it didn’t work for me.

            About six weeks into our clandestine trysts, she began to date her old boyfriend from high school. I tried not to be jealous but failed. I didn’t argue with her. I simply wasn’t a polyamorous person, so I stopped seeing her romantically. She had seemed glad, which only fueled the green eyed monster’s torment of me. Yet her reason was reasonable enough, for she too was not comfortable with polyamory. Not only that, her new old guy was eleven months older than she, rather than me being eleven years younger.

            Becky’s face fell due to my silence. “I take it the offer of marriage has expired.”

            “What? No, I mean I don’t know.” I couldn’t think of her beau’s name, but I knew it rhymed with on. “What happened to Don?”

            “You mean Lon. We ended things.”

            “Why, I thought you thought of your rekindling with him as some sort of second chance?”

            He had been divorced with two kids and had told Becky he was more than happy to play father to a third. This in turn had made her very happy. So what was the trouble in paradise? I inquired.

            “It was Catalina.”

            “Cat! How in the world did Cat influence you to break up with Jon?”

            “His name is Lon. Well, let’s just say she was the straw that broke the camel’s back?”

            “What camel?”

            Becky giggled. “The strange thing is, I’ve been doing Bible studies with a longtime girlfriend off and on since late last year. She gave me this same book that Catalina sent me.”

            Becky pulled a little book out of her large purse and handed it to me. It was called ‘Steps to Christ.’ I instantly knew what it was, for Cat had given me an identical copy during one of our spiritual conversations. I had yet to look at it. But what did that have to do with her breakup with Ron? I asked.

            “His name is Lon, not Ron. So this little book came in the mail in between Christmas and New Years. I thought it was like some kind of gift from this ministry called ‘Amazing Facts.’ They are the organization that we are doing these amazing Bible study guides through. So I just put it on the shelf and didn’t look at it until around a week ago.”

            “Okay, so what was it about this book that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and ended things with you and Von?”

            “Loyd, his name is Lon, with an L. It’s short for Alonzo. So, we were at a point in our reacquaintance where he thought it was time to have sex. To be honest, I did too. But due to the Bible studies and this little book I already had read because of my girlfriend, I didn’t feel like I should be having sex outside of marriage anymore. But I still hadn’t told Lon no.

            “So my carnal desires were battling with my spiritual. To be honest, I was leaning toward giving in to Lon’s, um, pursuit of my sacred spot. But I prayed earnestly about it. And, I don’t know, I just subconsciously found myself picking up this copy of ‘Steps to Christ’ that Catalina had sent to me. And that’s when I discovered that it was actually from her, and not the ministry I told you about. The words from her that I read seemed like an answer to my prayers. Go ahead, read it.”

            I opened the book and recognized Cat’s handwriting.

            “Rebbecca, Peace and love from the girl that reminded Loyd of you. This little book I’m gifting you is the first thing that has set me on the pathway to life. The Way the Truth and the Life, that is, my Savior, Jesus. This may sound bizarre, but I had a profound dream about you. Very vivid. In it you had a baby with Loyd. This baby was to make a huge, positive impact on countless lives. She also was to have siblings that she was close to. My point is, you should marry Loyd if he ever asks. Or you should ask him yourself. He’s a special guy. Very special! I know, you might think I’m weird, and you might be right. Anyway, I felt compelled to share my dream with you, spread a little love, and possibly some unwanted advice. Sincerely, I hope I’m your friend, Catalina Clutterbuck.

            I looked at the cover. I had seen more than one of these in the desk in Cat’s bedroom. This book set her on the path of life? By that I knew she meant Jesus, the title made that clear, plus she had said so. But when? Did she read this before she left Iowa or after she left? Becky said she received it about a week after Cat left for California. And what about this dream she spoke of?

            “Did you really start dating Catalina because she reminded you of me?” Becky asked, interrupting my contemplations.

            I looked at her. Her gaze was earnest. I shrugged, and then nodded. I wasn’t gonna lie, but this was an awkward topic of conversation. “That really shouldn’t surprise you.”

            “It does.”

            “The couple times you met her, you didn’t notice your similarities? You two look like sisters.”

            Now she shrugged. “I noticed. But I also thought she was prettier, and younger than me.”

            “You’re just as pretty as Cat, but obviously you have different personalities. As far as age goes, you know I think and feel that it’s just a number. Look at your leg, it’s spectacular!”

            She had been sitting with one leg crossed over the other, and the split in her skirt made a V that pointed high up on her thigh. She recrossed her legs and adjusted her skirt, so her legs were only visible below the knees. I inwardly scolded myself as a big mouth.

            Ironically, I had studied Cat, sitting on a large rock, on the shore of Lake Superior yesterday. Her own denim skirt had split, exposing most of her shapely leg.

            “My point is, thirty three does not make you an old woman.”

            “A twenty one year old husband would.”

            “The older I get, the less the gap will seem.”

            “Good point,” she said with mild sarcasm. “Just like our age gap now seems better than when I turned twenty, and you were eight and in the second grade.”

            “Third grade.”

            She laughed and her gaze was sultry as she smiled at me. “I’m selfish.”

            “No, you’re not. Why would you say that?”

            “Because I have become willing to rob a cradle.”

            I went to one knee and took her hand. “It’s not robbery if the ba… Person in the cradle asks you to take him.”

            “Yeah?”

            “Yeah. So, my sweet Rebbeca, who is carrying my child, and the Good Lord willing, will one day be carrying a second, third, fourth, and fifth.”

            “How long do you think my biological clock will keep ticking?”

            “Well, long enough to have half of what I said.”

            She giggled. “So our third child will only be half a person?”

            “You know what I mean. So, will you marry me?”

            “I think so.”

            “You think so? I was hoping for a yes.”

            “I need to know what went on between you and Catalina yesterday.”

            “It was good to see her,” I said with a shrug. Then probably too matter of fact I informed her. “She’s pregnant with my child.”

            Becky’s mouth fell open. I gave her time to process this bombshell. I had only found out myself three days ago. With a concerned look she asked, “How much age difference between hers and mine?”

            “Approximately a month,” I told her. She put her face in her hands. “So do you want to reconsider marrying me?”

            “Did you ask her to marry you?” she asked, looking at me.

            “Yes,” I admitted. “But she emphatically said no.”

            “So I’m your second choice?”

            “If you reread Cat’s letter to you, you’ll see that you’ve always been my first choice.”

            She bit her lower lip. “So, did she feel like she was second choice? Is that why she turned you down?”

            I shook my head. “To make a long story of a complex woman short. No, I don’t believe Cat was bothered by her similarities to you. Quite the opposite. The few times we talked about you, she seemed curious and intrigued. I never got the jealousy vibe. By some miracle, she found me appealing. She didn’t seem to care how or why I found her appealing.”

            “I don’t think it’s a miracle at all. I found you appealing from the first day I saw you. It was only our age difference, and the fact that I was still married that put you out of the question.”

            “Until now?”

            “Until now,” she smiled, then cupped my face in her hands and kissed my forehead.

            “That was a rather motherly kiss,” I joked, and instantly regretted it as her face fell. “Not because of our age difference! We just became engaged. I think you can kiss something other than my forehead.”

            Thankfully she grinned and laid a passionate one on my lips. I was delighted that one of the two women carrying my child had agreed to marry me. However, I still felt like I was living out an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone.’