Evelyn

Marriage

Mr Ducie, whatever his science, was sympathetic. Indeed he was too sympathetic; he attributed cultivated emotions to Maurice and did not understand that he either understood nothing or everything.

He was fluent, having talked to boys in this manner before, and he knew what kind of questions they would ask.
But Maurice wouldn't ask anything. He would only say "I see, I see" and that made Mr Ducie fear that he didn't actually see. In the end Maurice asked a question or two about sex, and they were to the point. Mr Ducie was in fact very pleased.

"One day, I'm sure you will fall in love and marry. You will discover to serve and protect a woman, you will have children. And this is life's chiefest glory."

"I think I shall not marry", said Maurice.

"I'll tell you what. Ten years from now, I invite you and your wife for dinner with me and my wife. Will you accept?"

"Oh sir!", he smiled.

"It's a bargain then!", Mr Ducie laughed.

That day I realised Maurice and I had more in common than I thought we had. He wasn't like the other boys.
While every boy wanted to get married, he didn't.

Everybody gets married eventually. That's how life worked in my mind.
It was school, then college. Then you grow up and find someone. You get married and have children. You work and make money and then send your children to school. And it all starts all over again. In the other hand, there were the poor ones, who didn't have enough money to educate their children, so instead of going to collage their children took up simpler jobs, for which they needn't be educated. There was always the option of working for the wealthy people, of course. You could become their gardener, or their maid-servants and many more.

My mother once asked me if there was any guy in town I'd be interested in. I've always said there was one, but didn't mention any names. In truth though, I was lying. Every girl in town had a boy on their mind, but I never did.

As I was growing up I realised that at that time, nobody could be different.
Because the different is not acceptable.
So I decided not to be different. I found a guy, who everyone though was pretty and managed to convince myself I liked him. I used to think this is how love works. You needn't actually be in love, but you must marry someone.

I hated the thought of getting married.

I thought that been like the other girls was my only choice. I thought that being in love with a guy and marrying him was the only way to be accepted in this world.

And I was right of course.