“Jason, we can do this together…”
Saying Jason was happy would be an understatement. His happiness was so contagious that I began to smile from ear to ear. I parked my car in front of my neighbor’s house and got into his car. I dropped everything and just went. I was so ecstatic, giddy even. I had never done anything so impulsive before. Everything always had to be planned out or I would at least have to have an idea before I just up and did something. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. I was actually on my way to Toledo with Jason and he was about to become my husband and I was about to be his wife.
The drive to Toledo was only about an hour, so I didn’t really have time to think. I guess getting into the car with Jason confirmed that I was really about to do this. I started looking at my watch and time was starting to wind down. It was almost 9:30 p.m. and Jason got on the phone to call one of his boys, because he had just got married in Toledo last year.
Jason found out the courthouse didn’t open until 8:30 a.m. and it closed at 4:30 p.m. so we weren’t getting married that day. Wow!!! At that point I realized that I was hungry, so we stopped at Denny’s to grab a bite to eat. After we sat down, I excused myself to the restroom and tried to calm my nerves. Was the fact that we couldn’t get married a sign? I’m not sure, but I guess we both had a lot on our minds, because we didn’t talk much at dinner. I didn’t want to let on that I was beginning to have second thoughts, so I just faked the funk and acted as if I was tired. We paid our bill and then went to find a hotel.
When we got back in the car, I realized I had left my phone in the car. I had seven missed calls and four new voicemails. Five of the missed calls were from my mother. I had to call her back, because I didn’t want her to worry, but I wasn’t ready to tell her what was going on. So here’s how that went, “Hey mom…”
“Hey mom?! Where are you?”
“I’m with Jason, mama.”
“With Jason where?”
“We just left Denny’s”
“Oh, well, you could’ve called. I called Ms. Jones next door to see if you were over there and she said that you weren’t. Why didn’t you pull up in the driveway?”
“I was in a hurry, mom.”
“Too much in a hurry to call your mother? Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Enjoy your date and I’ll talk to you when you get home.”
“Okay, mom.”
“Alright.”
Unbeknownst to her, I wasn’t going home that night, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her I was spending the night with a man and getting married. Yes, I had come in extremely late before, but I had never spent the night out with a man neither had I ever ran off to Toledo to get married. Was I really about to do this…because there were still feelings of doubt in my mind when we arrived at the hotel.
Jason and I had never been intimate, so it was a little awkward to say the least when we got to the room, and there was only one bed. I looked around all scared and didn’t want to imagine what he thought was about to go down, especially after he carried me across the threshold and laid me down on the bed. He commenced to kiss me on the lips and his fingers started to go for my buttons and I had to stop him right there.
“Jason, hold on…”
“What, baby, you my wife ain’t you?”
“Not yet, but soon.”
“Come on, Lisa, what’s one more day?”
“Exactly. What’s one more day? You can wait. We’ve waited this long, so we can wait til tomorrow, okay?”
“Aww, baby, I’m just so happy that you’re here.”
“I know, honey, but let’s just wait until tomorrow night. We’ll be each other’s officially, and I know that it’ll be more special for me that way.”
“Well, I guess if you put it that way.”
Whew, that was easy…I’m glad he backed off, because I wasn’t trying to complicate things with sex. I just wanted to have a clear mind and wanted to do the right thing and just wait until we were officially husband and wife. I also wanted to rest a little before the big day tomorrow.
Jason wanted to get to the courthouse early because we had to get the license, but the good thing was that in Toledo, you could get the license and get married the same day. He was also trying to drive back to Detroit tomorrow, so I could pack my stuff and move in. This was a lot to take in, because I would have to tell my mom that I was moving out and most importantly that I was now a married woman. But first things first, rest, because tomorrow would be a life altering day…
After we checked out the next morning, we got ready to head to the courthouse but realized that Jason’s car had been keyed on the passenger side. In big obscene letters, it spelled the all too familiar word that represents female dog. I looked at Jason and said, “Wow, is this what you call drama-free?”
What was I getting myself into?
