Well...Alright | Buddy Holly

California (V.W)

January 2nd, 1960. 2:05pm. Stanford College, Californa

I'm shocked to see that Violet, Juliet, and Buddy all wrote me.

I barely speak to any of them.

I hurry up to my dorm and am glad to see that Josh is gone. I think he's in a lecture.

I tear open the letters. Violet and Buddy's are practically the same. The whole 'I don't care you're a fag I forgive you blah blah blah.'.

I don't know why they're still so hung up on that. I was drunk and Buddy already broke my nose, I think that was good enough payback.

Rolling my eyes, I sit at my desk and put on the best 'happy' attitude I can muster. Maybe if I pretend to be happy, my letter will come off as happy.

Buddy still thinks I'm in love with him. He's old news. I was head over heels for Desmond Winters, but he just had to get a stupid role in a stupid Hollywood movie that I stupidly will see no less than five times in the theaters.

Yeah, sure, it sucks to hear Vi's pregnant with the child of an old love of mine, but I've been through this rodeo before. Hell, it was back when I thought I could never love anyone besides Buddy.

I remember the exact day. September 15th, 1954. Vi came home sobbing with Buddy who looked sick.

Juliet and I quickly pulled them into Juliet's room and sat them down, asking what had happened and why they were so upset.

Vi was too hysterical to answer.

So Buddy just bit the bullet and said it.

"She's pregnant."

I was shocked, taken aback, angry, and terrified.

I knew they'd been having sex. Everyone knew. It's not like they tried too hard to hide it. I heard them more than once, but that's just because my bedroom was right next to Violet's and her headboard was right against mine, just in opposite rooms.

Juliet pulled Vi into a hug and told her they would figure it out right away. That Juliet would trade her place if she could. That having a baby will be fun.

Vi was buying into it. Buddy wasn't.

Buddy was horrified. No doubt blaming himself. How did he not notice if the condom broke? How careless was he?

"I can't tell mom and dad, they'll be so, so mad!"

Violet was right. When they would inevitably have to break the news, mom and dad would NOT be happy. Mom and dad would almost definitely kick them out or force them into marriage.

Four days later, we came to find out that it was the latter. They had to get married. Their offical wedding day was September 20th, 1954.

Vi cried all night the night before the shitty little courthouse ceremony. There was no white dress and no tux. No bouquet or bridesmaids or groomsmen or receptions or vows. It was just me, Juliet, mom, dad, Buddy's parents, and the bride and groom.

I didn't want to go. I was heartbroken, seeing someone I loved marry my sister. But Juliet forced me to come. "Vi needs us." she said. "We're the only ones who she can trust. We're the only ones who know her like this."

The ceremony lasted a grand total of fifteen minutes from when dad signed the papers, making Buddy her legal guardian, all the way until the "I pronounce you man and wife."

We all went to lunch afterwards. The Double Nickle.

Vi wasn't beaming like a normal bride should be, but she wasn't a normal bride. She was a pregnant teenager in a West Texas town. She didn't have a choice. Her options were either go live with Buddy's cousins up in bumfuck Utah or marry him. Obviously she ended up in marriage. Who would want to live in Utah, anyway?