Woe unto any newly married couple whose hiding place was discovered. The groom needed a trusted friend to guard the vehicle and bring it around just in time for the couple to escape on their honeymoon, hoping to lose any pursuers. Conversely, the groom took pains to hide it in a secret place so that no monkey business could take place. Small town tradition called for the groom’s friends to meet after the ceremony and decorate the get-away vehicle. Now, from the perspective of 58 years of marriage, that seems awfully young, but at the time we didn’t think so. But, he and I had pledged to wait until marriage to have sexual relations and we were unable to wait any longer. The only suggestion my parents made was that it might be better to wait a while to get married, perhaps until Neal and I had finished at least one year of college. Bless my mother, she never objected, either. But, I loved her, wanted her and have never regreted my choice. Some had suggested she was too young and would serve better as a junior bridesmaid. My 18 year old bridegroom, Neal Mercer, waited at the altar, flanked by his best man, Harry, and two groomsmen, opposite two of my best friends as bridesmaids and my 11 year old sister, Anna, as maid of honor. It was a beautiful spring day, unseasonably warm for this part of the country, sunny with a high of 70 degrees.
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