I'm Gonna Marry That Boy Someday

For as long as I could remember, my father had always hated the boyfriends I had while growing up. He never approved. I guess when I was in junior high, it wasn't that big of a deal; I was never serious with those boys. But this time, it was different. This time, I was in love. I loved Jimmy Sullivan. We'd been dating for a year and a half, since I was 16 and he was 17. He was the sweetest boy I'd ever met, and he had his adorable little quirks. He never pushed me to do things I didn't want to do, he defended me if his friends or anyone else ever gave me bullshit about something, and he was basically an all-around gentleman to me. This wasn't puppy love. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Jimmy, and I was pretty sure he felt the same. But there was always that one thing standing between us: my father.

It was a Friday night, in the spring, and graduation was just around the corner. I sat by the door, looking out a window, as I waited for Jimmy to come pick me up. He was taking me out for the night, like he'd done many times before. Soon, I saw his headlights as he turned onto my driveway and I saw him park his truck and get out. I stood and opened the door before he even knocked and greeted him with a smile which he returned. He pulled me to him and leaned down to gently kiss my lips.

"You ready to go?" he asked quietly as he pulled away.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go get a coat," I said as I pulled away and went to the closet in the living room.

"And where do you think you're going?" I heard my father ask. I turned to look at him and he was peering at me over the top of his newspaper as he sat in his armchair.

"Jimmy's taking me out Daddy. I told you that yesterday," I said as I tucked my coat under my arm. He grunted.

"James," my father called out. I heard Jimmy's footsteps come nearer before he was standing in the doorway behind me.

"Yes, sir?" he asked politely. He always called my father 'sir'. I wasn't quite sure why. I saw my father's gaze shift slightly away from me.

"I want her home by 11:30. No later."

"Yes, sir," Jimmy replied, and I turned around and took his hand, leading him back to the front door. My mother was now in the kitchen, and she smiled as she saw Jimmy and me.

"Hi, Jimmy," she greeted as she cleared the table from dinner.

"Hello, Molly," Jimmy replied fondly with a smile and a nod of his head. My mother was very approving of Jimmy. She didn't care that he was in a band or that he dressed the way he did. She saw Jimmy as the same sweet guy I saw him for, and they got along since the first day I introduced them. Perhaps that was why Jimmy addressed my father so formally: he didn't want to mess up and get in trouble with my father.

"Where are you guys off to tonight?" my mother asked.

"Jimmy's taking me to see a movie," I smiled as I felt him come up behind me and place his hands on my hips.

"At the drive-in?" she asked, knowing that's where I liked to go. I nodded my head yes. "Oh. Well, have fun you two," she replied, sending a smile our way again. I went over to her and gave her a hug and said goodbye before Jimmy and I went out to his truck. It was only 9:30 so even with my father's curfew I knew we'd have time for that movie.

As Jimmy drove down the road, he reached over and took my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. "I really wish your dad didn't hate me so much," he said sadly. I gave his hand a light squeeze.

"Don't worry about him. If he can't see what a great guy you are, then I don't care what he thinks. You'd think he'd at least be happy that I love you and that you treat me right, but...I dunno. He just wants me to be miserable for the rest of my life..." I sighed.

"…Are you miserable? Right now?" Jimmy asked quietly.

"Because of my father, yes. Because of you, absolutely not. If anything, being with you makes putting up with my father all the more bearable," I replied, meaning every word I said. I looked over at Jimmy and I saw a slow smile creep to his face, and this caused me to smile.

"I love you, Kels," he said, looking over at me briefly, and pulling our linked hands up to his lips so as to kiss the back of my hand. I smiled at this simple gesture, and soon we were at the drive-in movie. Jimmy paid for our tickets, and then drove through the rows til he got closer to the back. He parked the truck and reached out the window to the speaker. He attached it onto the windowsill and then moved more to the middle of the seat. I scooted over toward him as well, and he put his arm around my shoulders as I leaned into his chest.

Soon enough, the movie started playing up on the screen. But there seemed to be a problem.

"Jimmy?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"...Our speaker doesn't work," I stated plainly, and looked up at him. He looked down at me shortly before looking over at the speaker. He started to play with the knobs, trying to get it to work, but it was useless. He sighed, and looked like he was thinking.

"So.. what are we gonna do?" I asked. I watched as Jimmy looked over to the concession stand building. I followed his gaze but I didn't know what it was he was looking for. He squinted before he turned the radio to some obscure channel. The sounds of the movie suddenly filled the truck.

"Ta-da," Jimmy said, smiling down at me. I smiled back, and then we both turned our heads to the screen. I soon found it difficult to concentrate on the movie with Jimmy's hand slowly creeping up the side of my shirt to rest on my hip. He kept lightly running his fingers over my skin, and it drove me crazy. He knew how he was affecting me. I could just imagine the sly look on his face as he continued.

I whined as I felt him move his fingers slightly upward. "Jimmy, you're distracting me from the movie," I whined, and I heard him chuckle. His movements stopped, but only just about five minutes before he started up again, only this time he had leaned his head down to kiss my neck. I slowly closed my eyes and tilted my head to the side and then moaned when I felt him bite me.

I turned to face Jimmy and his lips collided with mine. He pulled my body so I was straddling him and slid his hands to my hips.

I parted my lips slightly, and felt him push his tongue into my mouth. He slid his hands to my back pockets, and pulled my body tighter to his as he kept kissing me. I moaned into his mouth, and slowly started to grind against him, earning a groan from deep in his throat. He pulled his lips from mine and attached them to my neck and he started sucking and biting in the same spot as before. I wrapped my hands around his neck, slipping my fingers through the hair on the back of his head as I pushed harder against him. Jimmy moved his hands up and started to tug on the bottom of my shirt, pulling it upwards.

"Jimmy, wait..." I said softly. I pulled away from him and sat back a little, allowing us to both catch our breath.

"What is it?" he asked sincerely, looking into my eyes. It wasn't that I was scared; Jimmy and I had already reached that part of our relationship. It was something else.

"If we get into this right now, I know we'll never make it home on time," I reasoned, and he nodded, understanding perfectly. When my father set a curfew, you knew damn well that if you were late, you were in trouble.

I got off Jimmy's lap and sat next to him, his arm going around my waist again as I leaned against him. We finished watching the movie, and by then it was already 11:00.

"Alright, so. What do you wanna do to waste twenty-five minutes before you go home?" Jimmy asked as he drove away from the drive-in.

"Hmm...I dunno. You choose," I said, not really knowing what I wanted to do. We could just drive around, Jimmy and I, and I could be content just being there with him.

"Alright then..." he said solemnly to himself, and continued driving in silence. He drove to the ocean, which was deserted since it was so late. He parked the truck and we both got out. We walked hand in hand toward the fishing pier, and I listened to the waves crash against the sand underneath the creaky boards. Jimmy led me all the way out to the end of the pier, where he stood behind me, his arms wrapped around my waist.

He couldn't have picked a better time or place to go. It was perfect. The moon was out and the clouds were nowhere to be seen, and the ocean was so still farther out that it was like glass. I sighed contentedly, placing my arms with Jimmy's so our hands were linked.

"This is perfect Jimmy," I whispered, not wanting to disturb anything around me, it was so calm.

"It could be ours, you know.... Anything we wanna do, we can do it. Anywhere we wanna go, we can go. There's nothing stopping us. We can have the world at our fingertips," Jimmy said quietly into my ear. I smiled. Jimmy was a romantic at heart, and I was glad I was the only one who knew it.

"Kelsey?" he asked after a bit.

"Hmm?" I answered.

He sighed. "I know we're young, and we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and there's no telling what will become of us and where we will go. And...I know this isn't much..." he trailed off, pulling out a ring with a small diamond from his pocket. "But, will you marry me?" he asked quietly, looking into my eyes as I looked up at him.

I was speechless. Completely and utterly speechless. I didn't know what words or syllables were anymore. My lips forgot how to work and my heart seemed like the only thing that was actually working.

"I...yeah. Y-yes Jimmy. I'll marry you," I finally stuttered out, and a smile slowly came to his face, so huge I didn't think it would ever go away.

I turned toward him more as he slipped the ring on my finger and he leaned down to kiss me. It was like everything I'd ever thought it would be. It was the single most beautiful, wonderful, perfect moment of my life. It was Jimmy and me, against the world, but together all the same, and that's all that mattered in that one moment.

I turned back to face the ocean, and smiled as I stood there in Jimmy's arms. A tear escaped my eye, strolling down my cheek before dripping onto the pier below me.

We stayed there a moment more before I felt Jimmy move his arm.

"Oh shit. We gotta get going Kels. Your dad is gonna have my ass mounted on the wall over this," he said, and we hurried back to the truck before taking off toward my house.

It was already 11:50; we practically got lost in oblivion standing out there on the pier. All the lights in the house were off, so I hoped to God that my parents were asleep, more so my father.

Jimmy parked the truck, and we got out; he always walked me to my door. Always. We walked up the porch steps, the only light being cast on us coming from the porch light by the door. I heard someone clear their throat, and I about jumped out of my skin. I looked to my right. My father was sitting on a porch chair, waiting for us. I hadn't seen him due to the fact that the bushes in front of the porch had grown so much, blocking all sight of it from the roadside.

"Daddy. I--we..." I stuttered, not knowing quite what to say. He slowly stood up.

"Get inside. Both of you," he said, and what scared me the most was that I couldn't find a trace of emotion in his voice, or on his face. Jimmy and I both walked silently through the front door, our hands still linked, and my father came behind us, shutting the door afterward.

"Kelsey, get up to your room. I think I want to have a talk with young James here..." he said, and I nodded slowly. I looked up at Jimmy, and not daring to utter a single word in front of my father, I tried to tell him how much I loved him through my eyes. I could tell by the way he reacted that he got the message.

I unlinked our hands and made my way up to my room, stopping at the top of the stairs to sit. I pulled my knees up to my chest and let the tears silently spill from my eyes. This was it. Daddy was going to yell and make a fuss and it would all turn into one great big mess. Jimmy and I could never be together as long as he was around. I sniffled and tried hard to listen in on the conversation downstairs.

"So, James. Does the word 'curfew' mean anything to you? Is it even in your vocabulary?" my father asked.

"Yes, sir," I heard Jimmy's reply. Part of me wished Jimmy would just stand up to my father, but the other part remembered that Daddy wasn't a force to reckon with.

"And is there a reason why the set curfew seemed to have...slipped your mind?" my father asked icily.

"Yes, sir. There is. I love your daughter and I-" Jimmy started.

"Do you really?! I think you both are too young and immature to really know what those feelings are. Teenagers these days just throw those words around. It doesn't mean anything to you."

I almost jumped out of my skin for the second time that night when I felt a hand lightly set itself on my shoulder. I turned my head to see my mother crouched next to me, a look of disdain in her eyes. She gave me a sympathetic smile. I couldn't bear to even force one out in return.

"Excuse me, sir, but I think it's a bit wrong of you to tell me what my feelings are. You don't know what goes on in my head. You don't know any of it. So I find it hard to believe you have the right to dictate to me what feelings I could possibly have for your daughter," Jimmy replied. My eyes widened and I held my breath, waiting for my father to explode.

"You know, I could have you arrested, James," my father spat.

"Oh what grounds, sir?" Jimmy replied coolly.

"Kidnapping."

I rolled my eyes, the entire thing blowing completely out of proportion. Leave it to my father to do something like that.

"Sir, I really think that's not possible. The last I was aware, you can't get arrested for, what you say, 'kidnapping' your own fiancee."

I cringed and shut my eyes, putting my head in my hands. Jimmy just probably blew the last straw. I felt my mother squeeze my shoulder and I looked at her as she gave me a questioning look. I nodded and showed her the ring as it glistened in the small amount of light shining from downstairs. I could see her soft smile. She approved. And that was why I loved my mother.

"What did you say?" my father asked.

"I asked Kelsey to marry me and she said yes," Jimmy replied.

"Oh no. No no no. I won't allow it. Absolutely not. I'm not going to let my only daughter ruin her life by making such a foolish mistake. You're nothing. You're in a band, James. Where is that going to get you? You've got no brains. You're not good enough for her!" my father retaliated, raising his voice. At this point, my mother pulled her hand from my shoulder and slowly made her decent down the stairs. I followed. There was no way I was going to just sit back as my father did this to the man I loved. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs to see my father's hand raised in the air, ready to strike.

"Don't touch him!" I shouted, causing both Jimmy and my father to look at me. "Don't you lay a hand on him, Daddy," I said firmly as I walked over to where Jimmy was sitting at the kitchen table. I kneeled next to Jimmy who never took his eyes off me. I placed my hands on his cheeks and lightly kissed him before he engulfed me in a hug.

"James, I want you out of this house right now and I don't want to see you back here again," my father said coldly.

"Now Bill, let's try and be rational," my mother said as she tried to calm him down.

"Rational? Molly, this low life is going to ruin her!" he replied nastily. I pulled Jimmy close to me, somehow trying to shield him from the mean things my father was saying about him.

"That's exactly what my father said about you, and that didn't stop us, did it? You haven't even given Jimmy a chance; you don't know him like I do. He's a sweet, caring young man. If you even tried to get to know him, you'd know that already," my mother retaliated. My father huffed. "Look at them, Bill. They may be young...but they are in love, can't you see it?" she asked.

"Molly, they are too young, that's the thing. They don't know what love is. Sooner or later, he's gonna knock her up and leave her to fend for herself. I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Sir, I would never ever do that. I would be more than honored to have your daughter bear my children. Leaving her would be the furthest thing from my mind," Jimmy said, and I smiled at him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Did I say you could speak, boy?" my father snapped.

"Bill, stop this nonsense. Right now. If you looked at them the way I do, and saw them the way I see them, you'd understand. I look at them and I see us. Honey, they're going to do this with or without your permission. She's gonna marry that 'boy' someday, and there's nothing you can do to stop them," my mother said in a hushed tone. My father looked very discontent. I think he knew what my mother said was true.

He sighed before my mother took him back upstairs, claiming that Jimmy and I needed some 'alone time'.

"Come here..." Jimmy said in a hushed voice, and he pushed his chair out a bit from the table, patting his lap. I sat down so I was facing the side, and wrapped my arms around his neck loosely as he wrapped his around my waist.

"I knew I liked your mom for a reason," he joked.

I smiled half-heartedly. "Don't listen to a word my dad says. He's just trying to bring you down," I whispered.

"Babe, I stopped listening to the shit your dad said to me probably the second day I met him," Jimmy chuckled, and I joined in with him. After a moment the laughing died down, and Jimmy rested his forehead against mine, looking me directly in the eyes.

"I love you more than anything Kelsey. And I will marry you. I don't care what anyone says about it," he whispered against my lips. I kissed him softly.

"I love you too, Jimmy."

And true to his word, there we stood at the altar, seven years later.

"And by the powers invested in me by God and the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," the reverend said, and Jimmy scooped me up into his arms and kissed me with every ounce of passion he could muster. He placed my feet back on the floor and took my hand as we walked back down the aisle as our friends and family clapped.

Jimmy looked down at me and smiled before pulling me out of the church. "Come, Mrs. Sullivan. Your chariot awaits."