BILLY HILL Chapter Eleven

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Two words kept going over in Billy's mind and they were twenty and sixteen.  Linda’s mother was married at the age of twenty and Linda was only sixteen.  

He was staring off in space when Linda's mother brought him back to earth by saying, “Was there anything else Billy?”  

 

Billy was still caught up with his own thoughts but said; “What is the minimum age for Linda to be wed, do you think?”  Linda's mom Ellen smiled to herself for she knew what Billy was struggling with but kept a straight face and said; “At least eighteen.”

Billy thought to himself, "She just turned sixteen and that would mean she had two years to go to be eighteen."

He spoke up, “You know some of the girls are getting married at the age of thirteen, and how come you think she should be eighteen?”  Ellen smiled again and said; “How old is your youngest sister?” - - to which Billy answered “Thirteen.”

He didn't want to argue that point any further because he knew what his sister was like. - - So immature, silly and seemingly didn't have any common sense concerning real life.

Ellen then caringly asked him; “Are you considering Linda for a wife?”

He turned all kinds of red and tried to be a little aloof, but he couldn't carry it off, so he just came right out with it and said; “Yes, absolutely!”

Ellen said to him, “If you came out and asked her now, she would say no and you would go away hurt and would misunderstand the reason she said no.”

Ellen continued, “Since Linda entered into puberty I have laid out a plan for her to follow until she was prepared for the rest of her life after going out on her own. The girl you feel you are in love with is the product of that plan. The way she acts and handles herself is from taking things a step at a time, and to get married before she has the time to finish maturing will leave her, in a sense unfinished or not being what she could have been. Part of it is education but the main thing is being able to experience life growing up.”

Billy heard what she said but didn't understand exactly what she meant for these were things he never thought of before.  He always had to accept whatever came his way and deal with it, but this was a different line of thinking.

After some time considering Ellen’s speech, he concluded that what she said was; Linda needed a little more time to get ready to be a wife, and he grudgingly agreed and let it go at that.

As he was leaving he said; “Would it be alright if I saw Linda once in awhile?”  Ellen answered, “Surely, as much as you want.”

When he got home he thought about how Linda’s mother took the time to explain why he and Linda should wait, where she could have become indignant, and ran him off and said; don't come back. It was like she was welcoming him into the family.

He never discussed his talk with Linda about what her mother said to him for as yet he had not ever brought up the subject of marriage to her and wasn't totally sure what her feelings were toward him.

He knew how he felt about her but so far he had only kissed her on the cheek good night. While being with Logan he had been exposed to from the very naive to the loosest of women and he knew Linda was in a class of her own.

If she chose she could fit into high society with out any pretence.

The next day they went for a drive and Linda began to smile, and told Billy that she had overheard his conversation with her mother.

This caused him to slam on his brakes and to park.

To be Continued