Moments that define us

Chapter Four

Jameson

Sometimes we don't know the power of one single moment. If I would have known then what I do now, would I have changed anything? Turned around and said it's not worth it. Would I have fought harder? Sometimes all we can do is wonder. That moment meeting Emily may have set things in motion, but it was the next moment that started everything.

I was pulling my black f250 down the long gravel drive of Emily's house. She lived on a small farm, in a beautiful white farm house. It even had a porch swing, and rocking chairs on the front porch. I shut off the truck, and grabbed my old navy blue baseball cap and put it on my head. When I stepped out of my truck I looked down at my rugged old work boots, my blue and white flannel was tucked into my jeans. I wore my belt buckle I won from my high school days doing rodeos. I was a little nervous. Did I look enough for her? I didn't know. She told me I would be meeting her parents, and suddenly nerves had kicked in that maybe I wasn't good enough for a beauty like Emily. Too late to back out now, I thought. I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans and headed towards her front door.

I knocked twice before I heard someone coming. When the door opened a man who looked to be in his mid forties opened the door. He had light brown hair, much the same color as Emily's, but it had started to gray in some places. His eyes were blue and squinted at me. The frown seemed to be plastered to his face, and I started to panic. I may have had some height on him. I was 6'3. He looked to be about 6 foot even. But height had nothing on a man, when his daughter was apart of the equation.

"You must be Jameson." He drawled. Even his deep set voice was intimidating me, and I wasn't a guy who was easily intimidated.

I stuck my hand out for him to shake, and replied "Yes sir. I was hoping to take your daughter out. If that's alright."

He looked at my hand a good long minute before he shook it. "What's your intentions with Emmalynn?" He asked.

I held his gaze straight on as I said "The only intentions I have are to get to know her. I would like to see where things lead, but won't do anything she doesn't want." I hoped that was okay to say. I was a 28 year old man, a few months shy of turning 29. I thought my days of meeting the parents like a high school boy were over.

He seemed to ponder on what I said, and as soon as he opened his mouth to speak a beautiful woman who I assumed to be Emily's momma walked into the room.

She had a kind smile that radiated everywhere in the room, and had that scowl on her husbands face disappearing as if it was never there. "Now Roger, you take it easy on that boy."  She smiled as she winked at me.

"I'm bein' nice Alma! I was just making sure his intentions were pure." He stated, scowl back in place as he glared at me.

"Well I'm sure his intentions are good. Otherwise he won't have to worry about you. He will have to worry about me." Suddenly that smile wasn't so nice, and I gulped loudly.

"I can assure you ma'am, my intentions are completely pure." I rushed out.

"See Roger. Not a thing to worry about." Alma gave me another mean smile, then laughed.

If only I would have known back then I wouldn't be able to keep that promise. That sometimes in life we get carried away. Sometimes in life we break our own hearts more than anyone else's. Sometimes life happens and we must learn to sway one way or another. That or we get eaten alive. Maybe that's how Emily would feel when it was all over. Maybe the world ate her alive and spat her out, that all that was left was the recklessness our love caused a girl as amazing as she was.

Her parents told me I could take a seat on the couch, and continued to ask what I had planned for our date tonight. I was finally feeling a little more like myself when a throat cleared behind me.

I got up off the couch and turned around to see the most beautiful girl I had ever seen before me. Emily was beautiful when I met her in the pouring rain. But standing here now she was radiating. Her long light brown hair was in curls that cascaded down her back. She had on a light blue sundress that accentuated her waist, and flared around her hips to her knees. She had on cowboy boots that made her look stunning. She had a little makeup on, but not over the top like some girls liked. She was breathtaking.

She stepped forward and smiled up at me. "Hi." One small word, but it was like fresh water cleansing my soul coming from that small pouty mouth.

"You look beautiful." I told her. There wasn't anything else that you could say to a girl like her. She was simply beautiful.

She blushed, and that did something weird with my heart. "Thank you." She said looking down at her boots. When she looked up, that blush was still there, but she smiled. "You ready to get outta here?"

Before I could answer her momma was telling her to take her keys and not stay out too late, cause they had church in the morning. I shook her dads hand once more. Tipped my hat to her momma, then took Emily's hand. Together we headed toward the door. To the start of what I hoped may be the rest of our lives.