True Love

by Lurlene McDaniel

  “I just want to talk to you,” Luke said. “Please. It’s important.”

  Wild horses couldn’t have kept her away. And so the next morning, promising a nervous Diedra she’d be back in time for lunch, Julie hurried down the quiet street to the chapel. She pushed open the timeworn wooden door. Inside, the air was cool, candles glowed on the altar, and small rectangular windows allowed sunlight to filter into the darkness. She waited for her eyes to adjust and saw Luke sitting in a pew near the front.

  She slid in beside him. “Hi,” she whispered, for although they were alone, she hesitated to break the reverent quiet. “What’s up?”

  He turned to her and took her in his arms. “I wanted to be alone with you here, before the wedding and all.”

  She returned his hug and felt her anxiety evaporate. “Well, here I am.”

  Luke shifted in the pew, and Julie could tell that something was troubling him. All at once, he asked, “What if you could never have babies, Julie? Would that make you not want to marry someone?”

  Caught totally off guard by his question, Julie fumbled for an answer. “Gee, Luke, I haven’t even decided what college I want to attend. It’s hard to think about having babies and what I might want years and years from now.”

  “But it’s important. I—I need to know.”

  “Did all of Steve’s talk about kids make you think too much about your future? You know, like the day we went to Marilyn Monroe’s grave?”

  He shook his head. “It started me thinking about what my doctor told us about the radiation possibly making me sterile. It made me wonder if getting married knowing I might not be able to give a woman kids would make her not want to marry me in the first place.”

  “If having kids is the most important thing, then maybe it would make a difference. But no one knows if they’re able to have kids until they start trying. I guess if babies are that important to a couple, and they can’t have their own, then they adopt. It seems like the world’s full of unwanted babies.”

  “That’s true, but I want to know how important having children is to you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love you, Julie.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Because I want to marry you.”

  The atmosphere in the chapel became charged, and Julie could scarcely hold in her breath. Her heart hammered against her rib cage. “Didn’t you ask me that in sixth grade?”

  He smiled at the memory, easing the tension. “Yes, and you said, ‘Get lost, bozo.’ ”

  “Ouch! Was I that mean?”

  “You’ve made up for it.”

  “So is this a bona fide marriage proposal?”

  He took her hand. “There’s never been anybody else for me except you, Julie Ellis. And there never will be.”

  Her heart melted. “And you’re afraid I might not want to marry you if I know you might not be able to have children?”

  “You should have a choice.”

  “You’re my choice,” she said softly.

  A smile of joy and relief lit his face. “That’s what I wanted you to say. You already told me that the cancer didn’t matter to you, but I had to know for sure how you felt about this baby thing.”

  “Now you know.”

  He straightened his leg, dug in the pocket of his jeans, and withdrew a small box. “This is for you.”

  Heart pounding, she opened it and saw a ring of fine silver, intricately carved, with a turquoise set in its center. “It’s gorgeous,” she whispered.

  “It’s Mexican. According to folklore, long ago, before soldiers went off to war, they gave this kind of ring to their special girl as a signal to others she was taken.”

  “So is this my engagement ring?”

  “It’s a promise ring.” Luke removed it from the box and slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand. “It’s a promise that someday I’ll buy you a diamond engagement ring, when I can really plan on marrying you. I know you have college ahead and I know your mother will kill me if you don’t go.”

  Tears filmed her eyes as she held out her hand to stare at the ring. “We both have college,” she reminded him.

  “Well, the jury’s still out about my future.”

  “Don’t say that!” Her tone was urgent. “You can’t promise to marry me and then say you might not have a future. I won’t hear it.”

  “Knowing that you want to marry me someday gives me more to look forward to than anything else ever could,” he said in an attempt to calm her.

  “Even more than playing football?”

  “Football’s only a game. You are real life.” He leaned forward and, in the quiet sanctity of the chapel, he kissed her lovingly on her lips.

  Hours later, Julie returned to the chapel with a nervous Diedra and Steve. Since the ceremony was to be small and unattended, Diedra didn’t walk down the aisle. She joined Steve at the altar in front of the priest while a guitarist played haunting Spanish music.

  Julie thought Diedra looked beautiful in a simple white summer dress of eyelet lace. A white-lace Spanish mantilla covered her head and flowed down her shoulders. Her bouquet was made up of lilies mixed with pale purple orchids. Steve’s eyes shone as he gazed at her, reminding Julie of candles alight with fire.

  Julie wore a sundress in the palest shade of butter yellow, carried a bouquet of daisies and gardenias, and quivered with excitement and anticipation. Someday, she would be the bride, and Luke her groom.

  Luke stood beside Steve, looking lean and fit in a navy-blue suit. The family resemblance between nephew and uncle was striking. During the speaking of the vows, Luke caught Julie’s eye, and it was as if every word the priest spoke was meant for them also: “… for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part.”

  The words took on new meaning for Julie. Getting married was a serious business—a life-and-death commitment. A pledge to be joined with one other person for all of earthly time. And when the person you loved, as she loved Luke, already had a life-threatening illness, the promise seemed even more profound.

  She locked gazes with Luke and saw his love for her shining in his eyes. She smiled, hoping to communicate that she was willing to make such a commitment to him. That she was willing to stand by him no matter what his future held.

  She fingered the silver and turquoise ring on her finger—his promise ring. Silently, she promised to love and stick by him until they could say their vows before God and formally pledge their love for all time.

  19

  Julie and Luke returned home to a crowd of family and friends waiting for them at the airport. Everyone was glad to see them and everyone started questioning them at once about their trip. Julie’s father reminded Luke about upcoming preseason practice, Luke’s mother eagerly sorted through photos of Steve and Diedra, and kids from school wanted to know who they’d seen who was famous.

  The hawk eye of Julie’s mother fell on the ring, which Julie brushed off as a souvenir, but when Solena came over to her house the next morning, Julie told her the truth.

  “A promise ring! Oh, Julie, that’s so-o-o romantic.”

  “When he gave it to me in that chapel, my heart almost stopped.” Julie held out her hand, allowing the ring to catch the light of the morning sun coming through her bedroom window. “I’m never going to take it off.”

  “This means you’re practically engaged. Are you sure you can wait to get married until you’re out of college? That’s years from now.”

  “I know, but Luke should have a chance to play college ball and I really would like to have some kind of career. If you could have met Diedra and seen how cool she was, you’d understand. Besides, now that Luke and I are sure that we want to get married, we can take our time about it. But you’re right—it is going to be hard to wait,” she added wistfully.

  “Well, I don’t think it’s fair for one person to have so much going for her. But”—Solena smiled—“if it has to be somebody, I’m glad it’s you.”
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  “Thanks. What’s hard for me now isn’t thinking about college, but thinking about high school. I’m bored already, and my senior year hasn’t even started.” She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. “So how was your summer? And how’d the job go? What was Jason like?”

  Solena wrinkled her nose. “Waterton is mega-boring—the armpit of the Midwest. And as for the job and Jason, well, the best I can say about the whole experience is that I got a regular paycheck.”

  “Pretty dull, huh?”

  “Jason discovered Melanie Hawkins and spent the whole month of July trailing after her. It was disgusting! Don’t guys have any self-respect?”

  Julie giggled. “Well, at least that kept her away from Frank, didn’t it?”

  “Yes, but …” She jutted her lip in a pout. “It sure didn’t give me a chance to have an adventure like you. And Jason is going home soon, but Melanie will still be here. So, I guess it’ll be another year of keeping her away from Frank.”

  “You can do it, girl.”

  Solena made an outrageous face. “Okay, tell me more about California.”

  “It was the most wonderful place in the world. I never had so much fun, and because I was with Luke … well, that was the most special part of all.”

  “How’s he feeling?”

  “Fine. He worked out at his uncle’s gym to stay in shape.”

  “Seeing how good he looked at the airport, it’s hard to remember how bad he looked during chemo. I’m sure this whole mess is behind him.”

  “Me too,” Julie said. She gazed down lovingly at the ring. “Especially now, when we have so much going for us.”

  On Friday, Luke and Julie had Solena and Frank over to her house for an all-night video movie marathon. “Your last all-nighter,” her father told the boys. “Once practice starts, it’s back to hard work and regular hours.”

  In a way, Julie resented the imposition of the schedule, but with Luke looking forward so to resuming play, she kept her feelings to herself. Practices were called for three hours each morning and two hours each afternoon at the nearby middle school field, which would be their temporary home field for the fall season. In the grueling August heat, Luke was so exhausted he fell asleep early each night, leaving Julie to spend her time hanging out with her friends and getting ready for the start of the school year.

  On Labor Day, her father had his annual barbecue bash for all the players on his team. He fired up a massive grill in the backyard and fed over thirty guys, from incoming freshmen to seniors. Luke was clearly the hero of the day. A newspaper reporter showed up, interviewed him, took pictures of Luke and the team, and told Luke there’d be a front-page story in Sunday’s sports section.

  Late in the afternoon, Luke whisked Julie away to the high school and the football stadium, which was still under construction. They climbed up a new set of concrete bleachers and settled on the highest tier. Below, the field appeared green, with wispy strands of grass, but the underground sprinkling system had yet to be installed and the final sod hadn’t been put down. Since the growing season was all but over, it would be spring before the new turf could be installed.

  “Too bad I won’t get to play here,” Luke said.

  “This time next year, you’ll be throwing for some college. Daddy says the Tulane coach has contacted him about you.”

  “Tulane and Ohio State. I wish I could play for both of them.”

  “I’ve never seen Dad so eager about the start of a new season. He’s driving me and Mom crazy with football talk.”

  Luke puckered his brow. “Everybody’s counting on me, Julie. I hope I don’t let them down.”

  “You’ll do just fine. Just make sure you don’t get hurt.”

  He grinned. “Frank’s my main man up front, and he says he’ll take off anybody’s head who sacks me.”

  “And if he doesn’t, he’ll have Solena and me to face.”

  “That’ll keep him scared enough to do his job.”

  “It better.” She twined her fingers through his. “I got a postcard from Steve and Diedra in Paris.”

  “Me too. They sound like they’re having a ball.”

  “Diedra says that she wishes we were with them and that when we take a honeymoon, we have to include Paris on the tour. What do you think?”

  “I think we’ll be lucky to afford Parris Island, South Carolina.”

  “Are you kidding? By then, you’ll be a Heisman Trophy winner and a first-round draft pick for the NFL.”

  “I like the way you think, Julie,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve dreamed about playing pro ball since I was a kid.”

  “You still should.”

  He shrugged. “Let’s face it, I may not be anyone’s first choice anymore. Cancer has a way of scaring pro scouts off.”

  She linked her arm through his. “You’re my first choice.”

  He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “Then get a good education, in case you end up supporting me.”

  She grimaced. “Isn’t it enough I get this from my mother? Do I have to get it from you too?”

  “She on your case again about picking a college?”

  “She’s never gotten off my case. So give me your top three choices and I’ll tell her and she can start sending off for applications.”

  “You’re really serious about going wherever I go?”

  “Of course. Unless you want to be separated for four years.”

  “Not hardly.” He studied her face. “It’s just that I want you to do what you really want—not feel tied down by promises you made to me.”

  She held out her hand. “Then this ring doesn’t mean anything?”

  “It means I love you and want to marry you.”

  “That’s what I want. And so going to a college far away from you isn’t likely.”

  The sky was darkening, threatening rain. “We’d better head for home before we get drenched,” he said, pulling her to her feet.

  They hurried down the steps and onto the field. The ground was lumpy and hard. Julie jogged ahead to the center of the field, stopped, and tried to imagine what it would be like to play a game with hundreds of people cheering and yelling her name. She couldn’t. Yet for Luke, she knew, it was a common occurrence.

  Luke came alongside, picked up a stick, tossed it high in the air, and caught it while she cheered. “Our first game is against Hammond next Friday. Your father thinks we’ll wipe up the field with them.”

  “One thing my father knows is football,” Julie said. “If he thinks we’ll win, we probably will.”

  Luke gazed over the field, letting his vision sweep from one end to the other. “Yep, this is going to be one fine field.” He took the stick and scrawled symbols in the dirt. He made the letter I, drew a heart, and then scrawled the letter U. It was the same “I love you” message he’d carved on Julie’s backyard tree the previous May.

  “Don’t let my dad see you marking up his field,” she teased. “He’ll have a fit. Football players are supposed to be tough, not sissies who fall in love.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Is that what I am, a sissy?”

  “A wimp,” she said, as large drops of rain began to splat against the ground.

  “You call me—a guy who’s going to be on the front page of the sports section—a wimp?”

  Playfully, she stuck out her tongue and darted off.

  He chased her down and began tickling her sides. “Who’s a wimp?”

  Julie shrieked with laughter and fell to the ground, rolling every which way to evade his fingers. Rain fell in sheets, stinging Julie’s skin and soaking them both. In minutes they were streaked with mud, but Julie didn’t care.

  Pressing her to the ground with his body, Luke pinned her arms over her head. “Beg for mercy,” he said above the sound of the pouring rain.

  “Never,” she cried.

  Water streamed off him and his eyes looked like glowing coals. Julie felt a surge of fire course through her body and was surp
rised that her skin wasn’t sizzling with the heat. “Then suffer the consequences,” he said.

  He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her long and deep while the rain washed over them and thunder clapped in the sky.

  20

  By the end of September, the Waterton Warriors were 5 and 0 and ranked number one in their division in the state. Luke got most of the credit for team leadership, while being lauded for keeping a cool head under pressure and for his golden throwing arm, and Julie had never seen her father more excited about a team. “This is it, Julie,” he’d say each morning after a victory. “I’ve waited for this team for over twenty years. They’re the best. And Luke is absolutely the finest player I’ve ever coached—one in a million.”

  “I agree, Dad,” she’d reply. “He’s one in a million.” But for Julie, his stellar status had little to do with football. She loved him so much it was becoming increasingly difficult to think about waiting until they both finished college to get married.

  Meanwhile, her mother never let up on her about college. To appease her, Julie sent off for applications to Tulane and Ohio State. “Why Tulane?” her mother asked.

  “Why not? You said I should get away from this area.”

  “Well, what course of study are you interested in taking? Some colleges concentrate more on one area than another. If I know what you’re interested in, I can do a computer search for the schools that offer your area of interest and you can apply to them.”

  “I’m not sure. Isn’t it enough I’m picking some colleges without having to determine the entire course of my college career before I even begin?”

  “That’s not what I mean.”

  “Can we just drop it, Mom?”

  Her mother studied her thoughtfully, and said, “I’m not stupid, Julie. I know you’re ambivalent because you want to wait and see where Luke chooses to attend.”

  Julie saw no reason to argue about it. “So what? Only the best colleges are recruiting him, so it’s not as if I’ll pick a bad one.”

  “You need to choose a college based on your needs—not Luke’s.”