Chapter 3
Nancy (April 1957)
...
The morning air was crisp as Nancy held on tightly to her boyfriend. The motorcycle engine roared as the pair zipped down the road. The couple was on their way to a park to enjoy each other's company; getting together was becoming more limited with passing time. Nancy's family did not approve of Lonnie. He worked in a mill. A low-level position that her father thought to be beneath the family.
"You can do better than that rubbish!" her father would say. "He's nothing!"
Nancy's family was more than well off. They were incredibly wealthy. Her father was an investment advisor who worked with clients across the country. Her mother never worked a day in her life and wished the same for her precious angel.
"Oh honey," her mother would say at least once a week, "once you get Lonnie out of your system, you can move on to someone better! Someone who will take care of you. Someone with real money. Lonnie is not good enough for you, baby." Nancy wouldn't hear it. She made sure her parents knew that she didn't approve of their non-approval.
She would sneak out, day and night, to meet with Lonnie. And when her father caught her sneaking back into the house at 2 a.m. he blew his top. She did the same; she was her father's daughter.
"How could you want to waste your life with someone like him?!"
"Because I love him!" Nancy said. "He's kind to me. And he's real. Not like the fake boys you try to introduce to me!"
"Why don't you give Paul a chance? He's a stand-up guy! He's a doctor for Pete's sake, Nancy. A doctor! You'd rather live like a common dunderhead!"
"Paul is rude and I know for a fact he likes to hop around with other girls."
"Well, you need to make up your mind in the near future. You're nineteen! Do you know how odd it looks for us that you haven't yet married? A girl from a respectable family is unable to wed and have proper children because she's messing around with a mill rat? Nancy, you know better. You were raised better."
"I will marry Lonnie!"
Her father scoffed. "And how is Mr. Lonnie going to pay for your wedding, hm? How will he afford an engagement ring? The dress? The venue? How will he pay for anything, Nancy? Because I sure as hell will not pay for this ridiculousness. And don't even think to tell me that you don't need any of that. No daughter of mine will elope! I won't have it, Nancy! Our family displays model behavior and nothing less!"
When Nancy and Lonnie arrived at the park, they set up a little picnic under a couple of trees that shaded them from the sun. Nancy had swiped cucumber sandwiches from her kitchen that the staff had made. She also grabbed fruit and a small bottle of wine from the cellar. This was the first time in two weeks that Nancy was able to see Lonnie. In that time, she missed him dearly, but she knew he was probably busy with work and didn't think too much of it. The two of them sat on a quilted blanket in the grass as they ate and drank.
"I'm so glad we got to meet today. I've missed you," she said.
"I've missed you too, Nan."
"How are things going at the mill?"
"Oh, there's nothing new. The same old thing as always."
"Remember the last time we were together? And I snuck back home at two in the morning?"
Lonnie nodded. "Of course."
"My father caught me," Nancy giggled.
"Oh no," Lonnie laughed with a bite of sandwich in his mouth.
"He told me to stop seeing you and think about marrying Paul Anderson."
"Oh? And what did my Nan say to that?"
Nancy laid back on the quilted blanket. "I told him I would marry you."
Lonnie said nothing. It went silent between them.
"What's wrong?" Nancy asked.
Lonnie took another bite of his sandwich and sniffed, wiping his nose.
"Lonnie, what is it?"
Lonnie cleared his throat after swallowing his food. "Nan, you know I love you, truly. But you have to know by now that I'm not right for you."
Nancy sat up from the blanket. "Well, you know my family wants me to get married."
"But not to me. No way in hell."
"Lonnie, I don't care about that. I would marry you if you asked me."
"Nan," Lonnie took a deep breath. "I can't marry you. In fact, it pains me to say it but I can't see you anymore. This is the last time."
Nancy couldn't believe what he was saying to her. "What do you mean you can't see me anymore and this is the last time?"
"I do love you, Nan. But your family will never accept me. It would be hard on me, hell, it would be hard on you. I can't deal with that. I can't mess around anymore."
Nancy scoffed. "Mess around?"
"There's someone else, Nan. Her name is Jane. I can see a future with her. An easy one where we don't have to live up to someone else's expectations. Her family loves me." Lonnie had his head down. He wouldn't look Nancy in the eye.
"So," Nancy said, "you're saying that this is over?"
"Yeah."
Nancy pursed her lips and tightened her fists around the quilted blanket that they were on. She never thought Lonnie would suddenly up and leave. They were going steady for two years.
"I'd like you to take me home now."
Lonnie helped clean up the picnic and drove Nancy home on his motorcycle. They were silent the entire drive there. When they arrived at her house he didn't even kiss her goodbye. He only waved as he took off down the long brick driveway. Nancy wandered through the front door of her house. She was greeted by the head butler, Willard.
"Miss Nancy, your father requests your presence in his study right away."
"What for?" Nancy was fed up. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed.
"Your father has a piece of exciting news for you, miss."