War Against Love

April Showers Bring May Flowers

He lived in the recesses of my mind. Every day I awoke, he was there and every night he bid me farewell before I closed my eyes. I longed to stretch my hand out and feel him near me, but unfortunately a spirit cannot be felt. They occupy another world that doesn’t include us. Without him, I am alone with only my memories of space we once shared.

April 9, 1927

It was a breezy April afternoon as I hopped into one of our black model-Ts. Across town, my dress for the party that evening awaited me. A smile snuck across as I thought about what it was going to look like. Daddy insisted I continued to wear these ridiculous constricting clothes; however, he never specified any fashion restrictions when it came to party dresses. It was the 20s! We no longer lived in a society where every inch of skin needed to be covered because God forbid someone saw my pale pasty wrist. Didn’t want to tempt the males. However, with women’s suffrage came freedom and I wanted to embrace it full heartedly. After starting the car, I wrapped a teal scarf around my head and slipped on a pair of those sinful shaded glasses. My dad always said that the only people who wear sunglasses are criminals and young boys with no future, so basically lowlifes. I had to buy my pair from a boy at school. It was a secretive operation, so I could only wear them when I was alone. Lucky for me, my sister Carol hated driving into town. She was two years older than me, 18. For some people, she was a young girl facing a long life span waiting to be lived. For our people, she was an old maid.

 I came from a wealthy family. My father was a prestigious banker in the area. He not only stored the city’s money, but he also advised multiple people on their investments in the stock trade.

My point is, when it came to the wealthy people of society a young girl was ripe for marriage at 16. Carol had a hard time connecting with guys. When they spoke to her, she never could quite respond in an interesting way. What I am saying is that Carol was boring. None of the younger men wanted to marry her because even they were ignited by the fire of women’s suffrage and the new attitudes some of us flaunted. It’s taken a while to break from the mold of high collars and dainty voices, but I found the strength to become who I really am. That is why I designed a dress that was completely against what these old fogeys at the party would expect.

I stepped on the gas and began my journey to town. The wind brushed against my skin and I felt so alive! There was nothing more perfect than a drive through the country into the city. About three miles into it though, I felt a hard bump and my car began to skid. I quickly grabbed onto the wheel trying to regain control. I was able to swerve into a pasture just off the side of the road. Once I was able to breathe and my hands weren’t shaking, I stepped out of the car and assessed the damage.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I shouted when I saw the flat tire. Unfortunately, my father never taught me how to change a flat. Rather pathetically, I leaned against the car after giving the side of it a good kick.

A few moments later, a car horn began blaring. Startled I looked up and saw anther model-T drive into the pasture towards me. I began to back away unsure if the driver would stop. Luckily, he did. Boy was he a sight. His tall frame stepped from the car and began walking towards me. He wore a fitted blue suit and his hair was a chocolate brown. It was cut with an acute precision. He too wore sunglasses.