LET’S LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND
Chapter Twenty-One
One Month Later
Ruth had returned to her life in
Philadelphia, but kept in constant contact with her daughter and son-in-law.
The farm was still booming, and Jack was busy helping his father with the
fields. In addition, Richie had disappeared two weeks ago, after receiving a
mysterious telegram. At first, there was speculation about where the eldest
Dawson sibling had gone off to, but things soon quieted down and fell back into
a normal routine. Little did anyone know the surprise that Richie Dawson had in
store for them.
Two weeks had passed since Richie
had left Chippewa Falls, and a great many things had changed for him, his
marital status being one of them. The telegram he had received from New Orleans
had been from a friend, informing him that a girl that he had fallen in love
with but had been forced to leave was in need of his help. Jolene Dubois was
her name, and she was from the Louisiana bayous. People in her town thought of
her family as trash, and perhaps most of them were, but Richie didn’t think
that about Jolene. He just saw her beautiful blue eyes and ebony hair. How her
smile lit up the room when she smiled at him.
They had met when Richie had
wandered out of town and got lost. She had helped them. Since her family didn’t
care for outsiders or the townsfolk, the two had met secretly, striking up a
friendship. He had learned that her stepfather, Buford Dubois, constantly abused
Jolene. Whenever he could, the old man forced himself on her. Her poor
grandmother was too weak to try to help her, and her mother was too drunk to
care.
During their meetings, Jolene and
Richie had somehow fallen in love, spending every moment they could get
together. He would never forget their first time together, or their last.
Unfortunately, Buford had found out about their relationship and had threatened
Jolene’s life if Richie didn’t leave. So he did leave, but not before giving
his address to one of the few friends that Jolene had, and telling her that if
anything came up, to send for him right away.
So when the telegram had arrived
at the Dawson farm, informing him that Jolene needed him immediately, Richie
had picked up and left, not leaving word with anyone. He didn’t want a big
argument with his father or to see his mother’s tears. He just picked up and
went to Jolene’s aid.
Once he got to Louisiana, he
found a badly beaten and pregnant Jolene. It turned out that their tryst had
indeed created another life, and since Buford couldn’t father any children, the
only possibility was Richie. He knew his father would have his head for this,
but Richie had no regrets. Despite his earlier speech to his brother’s wife, he
had found that one person who softened his bitter stance on love. Jolene. He
loved her still, after all these months.
Taking the crying girl into his
arms, he promised that he would take care of everything. Looking into her eyes,
he proposed, and she, of course, accepted. Richie was everything to her. Her
friend and lover, and now soon-to-be husband. She knew he’d take care of
everything. But there was one problem. Buford. He was out searching for his
stepdaughter, determined to take care of the pregnancy himself, but Jolene had
wisely hidden away with Richie’s friend in town. The sooner Richie married
Jolene and got her out of Louisiana, the better. So, that evening, they found a
Justice of the Peace and got married. The next day, Richie bought another
ticket to Chippewa Falls, and together the new Dawson newlyweds set off for
Wisconsin, not looking back.