Daddy stayed mad, for a while, about the damage to his car,even though it was his fault.Shortly after this episode he decided to quit drinking.He had done this many times before and would do it many times again.It was during these times we had to be very quiet,momma said,because we didn't want to get on his nerves and cause him to start drinking again.Momma must have talked to him about me because he decided I could go places on Sunday afternoons with my cool guy,IF,I took my younger brother with us.Well that was kind of okay,but having your ten year old brother going with you gets old pretty quick.
    Summer vacation from school started as I completed the
ninth grade on the honor roll.At the age of fifteen I could not see the need for any more education.After all I thought I already knew enough to get married and take care of my children.That's what my mother did.
Boy,how stupid can one person be?
It was about this time we decided the thing to do was to run away and get married. His aunt would sign,as my mother, for me to get married. He worked at the local grocery store stocking groceries and other odd jobs.The plan was I would stay with his family while he worked and no one would no where I was staying.Well, this cool guy's mother had left him and his younger brother with their married sister,moved to another state about a thousand miles away.
We decided to go for it.
We crossed the county line,stopped at a gas station so I could chansge into a dress.After all I figured the proper thing to do was to wear a dress for my own wedding.During this time his aunt was inside signing the necessary papers.When we started to walk back to the building ,which was about a block away,I looked up and there stood my mother and father.It seems one of my sisters decided to tell them that she had helped me get a bag of clothes out of the house.
The only thing I knew to do was run.Since the cool guy wasn't about to face the music by himself,he ran with me.
I was really scared.I had never done anything like this before.The only thing I could think of was I didn't want to go back home.We were in a really small town where we knew no one.So,we kept running and running into a wooded area.We stayed ln the woods for almost the entire day.It was getting close to being dark and about this time we came upon an old barn that looked as if it hadn't been used for a long time.Surely no one would find us here.We climbed a rickety ladder and hid in the loft.I had never seen the true darkness that night time brings.We had no flashlight,no matches,nothing.We huddled together all night in that dark barn dozing a little off and on.As the sun began to rise we decided that surely no one would be out still looking for us.
We walked out of the woods in about fifteen minutes,we were not hidden as good as we thought we were.
The railroad track ran along the edge of the woods.We thought it would be the smart thing to do if I stayed hidden while he went to the small restaurant that could be seen from the edge of the woods.We were both starving and thirsty.Maybe we could think better if were weren't so hungry.I sat down behind some bushes and watched him walk away.The next thing I knew he came back but not by himself.A police officer was with him.He had recognized the cool guy,taken him into custody and was convinced to lead him to me.
We were in custody for several hours.I was scared and hurt.
Remember the dress that I changed into?Seems it wasn't the right attire to have on for running in the woods.My bare legs had come into contact with every bush and  bramble along the way.
My parents were called and they came and picked me up.
My daddy fussed althe way back .He was mad because I had embaressed him,he fussed about how my legs were scratched up and why did I do such a thing to him.
I sat silently in the back seat.I knew when to be quiet and this was for sure a time to shutup.Of course momma cried all the way back and I knew why when my daddy kept going all the way into town.They had arranged for me to be dropped off at the detention center to stay and await a court date to see the juvenile judge.That was a long seven days.I found a song during that time,I knew it was meant for me(Only the Lonely by Roy Orbison).I thought I was going to be sent somewhere where my cool guy wouldn't be able to find me.
The judge placed a court order on him.
If he was seen anywhere around me he would go to jail for kidnapping.I was hurt and mad.I kept quiet though and hung my head as I listened to the judge.I had a broken heart.He sent me home with my parents.I had made up my mind ,we would run away again and forget about getting married until we were both old enough.
We left the courthouse and I was in the back seat crying.
How could my mother let me be put in that place for a whole week and let the judge take away the only one I cared about.
Many years later I was so sorry for all I had put her through.
I started looking out the back seat window and realized that I
didn't know where we were going.A little later I discovered that in those seven days I sat alone and confined my parents had moved to the other side of the county so my cool guy could't  find me.
I thought my whole world had come to an end.
But that's not what God had in mind.