My Family: Chapter 69

My maid of honor, Janet, had called me that morning and asked if I was still getting married. She said that she was across the street from Aunt Eloise, in a bar and if I didn’t hurry up, she would be too drunk to stand up with me.  That was also where Joe's best man, Rob and his new girlfriend were waiting.  As soon as I got to Aunt Eloise house, Janet and her boyfriend came in and said it was about time and what happen to Joe because he wasn't there either.  Rob walked in behind them and I explained why Joe and I were late. I was late because I knew it was going to some time to get the license so I took my time getting ready.  The minister had started to get worried since neither the bride or the groom were there but Eloise kept him calm. 

Rob pulled me aside and told me not to say anything to his new girlfriend about his being previously married to Eileen, he didn’t want her to know because she was a Catholic and he was divorced. He later got shipped out to Germany.  While we were in the house getting married, Janet’s boyfriend was outside decorating Joe car with old shoes and whatever else he could find.

My dad had four daughters and he didn’t attend any of their weddings to see them say their wedding vows. I think he would have been real proud to walk us on his arm down the aisle.  I was right not to believe him about disowning me, but I don’t think that he ever did like Joe.  

I got pregnant after we had been married for two months but it took five months for Joe to tell his mother he had married me. The first thing she had ask him was if we had to get married. He told her no but I just had a miscarriage [I was ten weeks pregnant] a couple days before.  I think that's why he called her and told her he was married, she was upset with him because he had waited so long. It didn’t matter to me if he never told her we were married. I would be just as happy to live in Columbus, Ohio for the rest of our life.

Written for my children

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Thank you for reading my life story.  If you have any questions, I would be happy to answer them.  If you know stories from the hollow which might include my family or friends, I would be happy to include them here.   AJ Dillo

 

 

My Family: Chapter 68

The next day, we went for a coffee at the Bev and when the three of us walked in everybody just stared at us. After we were sat down in a booth, Joe got up to go to the men's room. The place was full with soldiers from the base. Some of them asked me what I was doing going out with Joe, and I think each one took a turn to ask me to leave with him while Joe was in the bathroom. Ed told me not to walk out with any of them, I just laughed. When Joe came out of the bathroom, Ed told him that he almost lost his date, but Joe didn’t make any comment. 

Joe has a sister who had met and married a man from Lorain, Ohio about a hundred miles from Columbus. She had moved to Lorain to live with her husband so they could be close to his family. They just had a baby boy and the her family had been invited to come in February for the baby’s Christening.  Joe talked Mick, Vickie, and me into going with him to the Christening and meet his family. When we got there, I felt very uncomfortable (like everybody was staring at me) and wished I had stayed home.  

Joe's mother was there, she sat down beside me and asked me a lot of questions like where I was from, how long have I known Joe. By this time, I had seen and talk to Joe almost every day for a year. I knew more about her son than she did. I explained her I knew him from coming in the place where I worked. That's when she told me not to think Joe was going to marry me. I told her not to   worry we weren't even serious about each other and had no plans to get married. I wasn’t even sure that I like him yet as a person.

Alma & Joe's wedding day

Joe and I officially dated from January 1^st to May 6^th,  when we got married.  Dad told me that if I married Joe, he would disown me, and wouldn’t come to the wedding. I didn’t believe him about disowning me, but I knew he wouldn’t come and see me get married. Mom, Shirley, Bonnie, and Ronnie were all there but I don’t know where Lucille was? I talked to Aunt Eloise, she is the one who arranged for the minister to come to her house and marry us.  I was one hour late but Joe was a half hour later than I was.  He had to pick up the license, and they weren’t ready so he had to wait for it. We had just applied for the license three days before. We got married five days after I said yes.