Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love (61 page)

It was many years later when he told her he had his eye on her for a long time. He happened to get lucky when she ran a stop sign. They both laughed when she confessed that how they bumped into each other wasn't luck at all. She saw him and deliberately ran the stop sign.

They have one son Sampson who had gone off to college on a basketball scholarship. He had no choice but to be tall, and he even towered over his father at six-foot-ten. All the Berry family was active in church, and Sampson happened to be engaged to the preacher's daughter Pricilla.

Three short rings
:
Jerrod and Sarah Hammond. Jerrod was a happy go lucky guy who never forgets his wife's birthday and maybe it's because they shared the same birthday. They were born the same year and the same day October 31, 1931. They met in kindergarten and since they shared the same birthday, they developed a strong bond. They did go through a time in junior high that they hated each other, and that hate lasted only a month. Jerrod always told people the time they hated each other was when they fell in love.

When Jerrod got a scholarship to UCLA, Sarah became heartbroken. After a month of anguish, she decided to go with him. Their parents had a conniption fit, so they married on a day befitting to them, Halloween.

Jerrod stood five-ten with a small frame, but his mischievous eyes make up for it. He had brown curly hair that frizzes in rainy weather. He had deep brown eyes and a smile that lit up the world. He was best known for his laugh and how he likes to joke around with people. Everyone loved him and
that's the reason for his success as an insurance salesman. Allstate, part of Sears hired him right out of college. Four years ago they transferred him to Spiro.

Sarah took on the responsibility as being the down to earth partner in their relationship. She was the one who disciplines the children and keeps the house in order. She cheered in high school and volunteers as a coach for the Spiro Bulldog cheerleaders. She ran several miles a week and because she was so physically fit, her five-foot-five stature showed athleticism. Two years ago she ran the Boston marathon and patted herself on the back because she finished the race in the top ten percent. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin stood out in a crowd, especially Spiro where many of the residents are Native American.

Jerrod and Sarah had a daughter and a son, Laurie and Lenny. People always commented on how Laurie looked identical to her mother but had her father's personality. She had beautiful hazel eyes with long blond straight hair and was athletic like her mom.

Lenny was opposite, he looks and acts just like his dad. Lenny got the curly brown hair like his dad. Even Jerrod and Lenny's eyes were a deep dark mysterious brown. The brown in their eyes appeared so dark you couldn't even tell where their pupils began. Laurie always told her brother his eyes reminded her of an alien. She even told him he came from another planet. When Lenny was little he cried when Laurie told him he came from an alien, now he clobbers her when she teases him. Laurie turned eighteen October 30. Her parents tried for the 31st, but missed it by sixteen minutes. But they made up for it with Lenny. He was born on October 31, and Lenny never lets Laurie forget it. He calls her the oddball of the family.

Four short rings
:
Bill and Bessie Pacer. They are Gerty's great aunt and uncle. Bill and Bessie met at the furniture manufacturing plant in Fort Smith forty two years ago. Once they married Bessie quit her job to take care of the home. For years they tried to have children, but they were never blessed. Between the two of them, they had hundreds of nieces and nephews who love them.

Since both of them were from Spiro, they stayed active in family gatherings and church functions through the years. They never missed a graduation or wedding. Bessie even tried to visit all the nieces when they became new mommies.

For decades Bill had been a hardworking man who turned sixty one years old last winter. Even though Bill only stood five-feet-nine, he still towered over Bessie's small five-foot frame. He had turned gray headed years ago. Although his years and gray hair told his age, his personality didn't reflect old age at all. His outgoing jolly spirit put everyone in a good mood. Nobody could ever remember Bill showing anger, nor could they remember him ever being in a bad mood. It was not in his nature.

Bessie turned sixty one years old this past spring. She had also turned gray headed and didn't weigh one hundred pounds dripping wet. She walked everywhere and that kept her in shape. One day she estimated her and her sister Lenora walked about fifty miles a month. Bessie and Gerty's grandmother, Lenora Wallace, walk to town two or three times a week, sometimes more. Usually they bought groceries, but sometimes they only window shopped. It all depended on their mood. Bessie and Lenora were only fourteen months apart in age (Lenora's older), and they are best friends and have been all their lives. When Jeremiah, Gerty's grandfather was alive the four of them were inseparable. They all went to church together, ate together, and did everything together. When Jeremiah died in 1967, Bill never got over it because they were best friends.

Saturday

June 5, 1971

"Come on Gerty, everyone is wait
ing
on you. Tommy and your dad
have already left for the car,
"
yelled Gerty's mom, Ann Connor, as s
he
g
rabbed a
few items out of the pantry to put in the cooler
. She knew they would drive straight to her mom's house because Harry hated
to stop for anyth
ing
. He said if they stopped, the three hour trip turned into a five hour trip.

On the way to the staircase Ann
glanced at the din
ing
room mirror next to the kitchen and
looked at
her
reflection. Even though
she
had passed the ripe old age of thirty
,
she
still had pretty features. Ann had high cheek bones with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair.
She moved closer to the mirror for one quick glance
for any gray hairs
,
she
didn't find any. If
one did pop up
,
she
pluck
ed
it out immediately.
Her
shag haircut fell loosely around
her
face and it made
her
look at least five years younger.
She
tossed
her
hair with
her
f
ing
ers
and glanced up the stairs. Gerty was nowhere in sight.

Ann yelled at her daughter from the bottom of the stairs.
"Gerty, I'm not go
ing
to tell you again,
we have waited on you for at least twenty minutes
. You know how upset your dad gets when we don't leave right at nine o'clock." Ann glanced up at the black and white cat clock nailed on the wall above the stove. It read 9:09, Harry will have a conniption. Ann grabbed a bag and filled it with crunch 'n'munch, RC cola, Yoohoo's, and fruit.
She
put everyth
ing
by the door, and went back for
her
Tab. Ann couldn't forget
her
Tab. After two kids
she
had to cut back every calorie
possible
. Ann tapped
her
foot and tried to think if
anyth
ing
had been forgotten
, against
her
better judgment
she
grabbed some pop rocks and bottle caps for the kids.

Frustrated,
Ann
ran up the stairs to see what kept
her
daughter. "Gerty, we have
waited
on you for twenty minutes, and you better hope your dad doesn't come in to get you," said Ann
as she walked into
Gerty's bedroom.
One quick glance around the room
she
noticed
the empty suitcase
and all the clothes haphazardly tossed everyw
her
e. Ann
got madder than a wet hornet.

"Ann
,
do I look fat in this outfit?" Gerty asked
while pos
ing
in front of the full length mirror stand
ing
upright
in the corner of
her
bedroom.
She
loved that mirror.
She
practiced model
ing
hours on end in front of the antique mirror. Gerty and
her
friends pretended they were models on a New York runway mak
ing
three dollars an hour, a ton of money. Then they thought of ways to spend the money
. Gerty
decided
she
wanted to
buy a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
fastback
.
She
didn't know anyone who had one, so
she
would be the first
one
in Tulsa to own one.

"I have told you a million times
not to call me Ann, my name is M
om. You need to be more worried about the time. Your
granny
wants us to get there by noon, she
will have lunch cooked for us," said Ann as
she
threw Gerty's clothes in the suitcase.
This little toot didn't have o
ne th
ing
packed. Everyth
ing
was
thrown across the bed; shorts, socks, tennis shoes, tops, and
her
Sunday dress.
Ann
reached over and swatted
her
daughter on the bottom. "I'm giv
ing
you
five minutes to get downstairs or I'll
send
your dad up
her
e, and I don't think you want me to get him."

"Did you
was
h my pedal pu
she
r
s? I can't find my purple and white palazzo pants." Gerty bought a new yellow pheasant top the last time they were at TG & Y and it looked good with
her
multi-colored striped pedal pu
she
r
s.

"Everyone is in the car wait
ing
on you,"
impatiently
yelled Harry Connor as he slammed the front door.
He stomped in the house and when he got mad everyone knew about it. His Irish skin turned red which made his red hair blend in with his face. His stocky six foot frame looked like a WWE wrestler. Gerty said her dad was built like Bruno Sammartino. Every time someone mentioned Bruno, Harry
would chase the kids through the house and act like a wrestler chas
ing
his opponent.

"Now you're in trouble young lady, your dad has come in to look for us."
She
grabbed the pedal pu
she
r
s that
hung
in Gerty's closet and threw them in the suitcase while head
ing
for the door. "You have five minutes. Harry, we'll be down in a few minutes." As Ann walked out the bedroom door and
she
held up five f
ing
ers as a reminder to
her
daughter.

Pushy, pushy, pushy! Grown-ups are always in a hurry
, thought Gerty.
She
hummed the new Beatles song that just came out,
Hey Jude
.
She
closed up
her
suitcase and struggled to lift it off the bed.
As it
was
dragged
across the wood floor and it made a click, click, click as it crossed over the cracks.
Someone needs to invent a suitcase that rolls
,
she
thought still humm
ing
Hey Jude
without a care in the world.

"Gerty, if I have to come get you, I will take away your record player for a month," said
her
dad madder than a hornet. He dreaded the day
she
started
to
wear makeup.
This little girl
was
already late everyw
her
e they went. He
couldn't
imagine how long it could take
her
when
she
started
to get all dolled up, and started
to wear all that junk on
her
face.