T For Texas

T for Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1)

Dear Mary Grace,

I went to a very beautiful wedding yesterday. It was Hank and Sarah's, you remember them don't you? They've been going steady since high school and they've finally got married. Sarah looked so beautiful in her wedding gown. You should have seen her. Happiest bride I've ever seen.
Have you been thinking about marriage lately? I have because of all the weddings that have been happening. I've been to three in the last month. Don't you miss going to them?
Everyone is just getting married. It makes me feel almost left out. My wedding was so drab and normal. I suppose I'll have to make up for it when you finally get married. I will of course be the maid of honor when that happens. If I'm not then I will be very disappointed with my little sister. You should get married soon. I can't wait to plan your wedding.
Which reminds me, mama and papa have been urging me to try and figure out a way to get you to move back home. That land you always wanted has been bought by this very sweet man that happens to be single. He isn't very much of a looker, but he's quite rich and he doesn't have a silly twang like ours. He sounds very intelligent. It drives all the girls wild. If I wasn't married...

Mary Grace's phone rang. She put the letter down and walked to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Mary, this is Thomas. Do you want to go to a concert with me?"
"I haven't been feeling too well. I'd jus' be a drag," Mary Grace said.
"It'll be fun."
"I jus' don't feel like it."
"Please, for me?"
Mary Grace hesitated. She didn't want to go, but Thomas was the one person that stood by her side through thick and thin. "All right," Mary Grace replied.
"I'll pick ya up in a couple hours," Thomas said. "Wear something real pretty."
Mary Grace was quiet. "Okay," She said softly.
Thomas hung up the phone and Mary Grace went to get herself ready for this concert. She slipped herself into a solid blue wiggle dress and put her hair up. She looked at herself in the mirror, and it made her feel sick. She lost a lot of weight in the past six months, too much for her to feel comfortable in her own body.
Mary Grace felt too thin for her dress. She went back and put on a pair of cream bellbottoms and a loose blue tunic and let her hair down. Her new outfit hid how frail she had become. She looked back in the mirror and put on the slightest amount of make up just to cover up the bags under her eyes.
After all of this Mary Grace had to wait. She drank some coffee and ate a little food. Not enough, but she put a little something in her stomach.
After a few hours of waiting there was a knock on the door. Mary Grace answered it. Thomas smiled at her. "You look beautiful, but something's missin'," He said as he dragged her out the door to his car.
As soon as Thomas and Mary Grace were in the car Thomas opened his glove compartment and pulled out a mass of beads. He untangled the necklaces and handed a few blue and green ones to Mary Grace. She put them on.
"Now you look like a regular hippy," Thomas said as he put his key into the ignition of the car.
The car roared to life, and Thomas and Mary Grace drove away. It was starting to get rather cloudy as if it were going to rain, but they continued on to the concert. They reached a pretty large concert hall. Thomas led Mary Grace into the hall.
"Who're we goin' ta see?" Mary Grace asked as they got past the ticket gate.
Thomas looked back at her and smiled. "That's a secret."
Mary Grace frowned as she thought about all her favorite bands. None of them were in Los Angeles at this time. Most of the people in the hall were girls. It could be a Ricky Nelson concert, but it seemed like the turnout was too large for that.
Thomas pushed his way through to the front of the hall. The curtains were drawn as to hide the band setting up. Mary Grace could vaguely hear instruments getting tuned. It also sounded like someone was slapping a tambourine on their leg. She couldn't imagine what band would have this many people to come and see them without her hearing about it. If they were someone important Thomas would have told her unless he was planning on surprising her with this.
Then the curtains opened.
Mary Grace felt her heart in her throat. It was the Monkees. They wasted no time with introducing themselves. They just started their first song.