Ch. 22 - The Moment of Purity
The sun had fallen beneath the distant mountains, hiding it between the breaching branches of the evergreen trees. Most trees had lost their leaves by now, but not these. They stood tall and strong and beautiful. The reds and browns and orange-colored leaves had been long buried by the falling snow, which had only started pounding its mark on chaotic Mexico, but a month ago.
The streets were covered in the white dust. And although it was swept away daily, it always came back; like the problems in the Chapman house, or the Hall house as well. They just kept coming back. But there was significance to these problems. There was a beauty hidden beneath the trampled gleam.
It all seemed a blur to the young couple, who had finally fallen asleep amidst their efforts. The driver didn’t seem at all discouraged about the whole situation, about having to drive in the same routine for the last three hours. He just hummed softly to himself and enjoyed the weather.
It seemed like an eternity, but eventually, Laura Chapman blinked her eyes open, feeling the cold, magnificent feeling of snowflakes open her eyelids and nose. At first, she could not even think of moving, for the beauty of it all was overwhelming to her, and she did not want to interrupt. As Sam began to adjust his position over Laura, however, she whispered quietly to him, and he awoke.
“Sam,” she said, lightly tapping his lower right arm. He groaned a bit, and Laura smiled. “Sam, it’s time to wake up,” she said, kissing his nose lightly. Sam’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Laura, and smiled.
“Yeah?” he asked, gazing at her intently.
“Look,” she said, pointing with her finger towards the falling snow. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked with the expression of a young girl who was observing her first snowfall.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, turning Laura’s face to his own, and lightly kissing her lips. Laura mumbled a ‘thank-you’ and cuddled with Sam a bit, before forcing him to gaze at the soft falling snow. It was hard.
After just sitting in the carriage for a good ten minutes, watching the snow and the delicacy of it, Sam stopped the driver once more.
“Excuse me, sir,” he said. The driver turned around and gave him a look that told him to continue. “Could we stop here?” Sam asked.
“Certainly,” the driver said, pulling over. Laura said nothing, knowing that Sam probably had good intentions. Probably.
“I’ll be right back,” Sam told Laura, saluting her with his frozen hand.
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“I hope you don’t mind if I doze off a little, miss,” the driver asked Laura.
“Oh no, go right ahead. I’ll let you know when he gets back,” she said, smiling politely.
With that, Laura was left alone to her thoughts. She couldn’t see where Sam was headed, but she knew he would return eventually. Fortunately Sam had brought warm, winter coats incase the weather got ugly, and Laura gladly pulled one from under the seat, and flung it on herself. It was very warm, and almost entirely made of brown fur. Luckily, for Laura, it wasn’t real. She hated the thought of killing animals. If she didn’t enjoy meat so much, she’d probably be a vegetarian.
Time passed, and still Laura sat. She let her mind wander into the utmost thoughts of everything that had happened over the last week or so. She thought of the little girl. She thought of her father, of her sister, of her mother. She thought of Sam. She thought of everyone in the world and how they must be feeling right now, where they must be, and what they must be doing. Then, she thought of herself and Sam, together, as a couple. I’m so incredibly happy all of this happened. I would’ve never known Sam like I do, or even as I will know him in the future. He’s such a great guy. He respects me. He loves me. He cares about me, and he would never hurt me. Not in a million years. She sighed happily, and let her mind drift further. She thought of when…it’s too soon now of course, but…when she and Sam would “sleep” together. The thought made her weak at the knees, but somehow she felt wrong about it.
An interruption greeted her shortly from her “pleasant” thoughts by a familiar young girl.
“Hello Laura,” the young girl said, waving at her. Laura turned around immediately, wiping the recent memories from her mind. I should be ashamed of thinking such thoughts in the presence of a child!
“Hey, Betsy, where did you go? I was wondering where you went,” Laura said, focusing on the girl.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I had to go home, but I’m back now,” she said twirling her blonde braids between her fingers.
“Well, alright, I guess that’s okay then,” Laura said smiling down at the girl. “Hey why don’t you come up here?” she asked.
“I don’t know, doesn’t it cost money?” Betsy asked.
“Friends don’t cost anything, and besides it’s been paid for already,” Laura said, gleaming.
“In that case, I think I will,” Betsy said, climbing into the carriage. “So, what’ve you been up to, Laura?” she asked, after she had gotten comfortable.
“Well, not much, actually. Sleeping,” she said, as they both giggled. Laura realized how unbelievably cold Betsy seemed to be, and gave Betsy her jacket, without even thinking to grab the second for herself.
“Thank-you,” Betsy said.
“You’re welcome,” Laura answered. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Betsy asked.
“I mean, do you have a family?” she asked.
“Well, sort of,” Betsy said.
“What do you mean, sort of?” Laura asked.
“Well,” she said uneasily, “See, my mom wanted me, but she was scared, so she “attempted” to kill me at birth,” she started. Laura gasped. “But I’m here now, and that’s what matters.”
“What about your father?” Laura questioned, afraid of the outcome.
“Oh, he was the one who made her do it. He was scared too, but I think deep down…he would’ve really cared for me,” she said.
“So, then you’re adopted?” Laura asked, scooting in closer towards Betsy.
“I guess you could say that,” she said, smiling.
“I don’t get it.”
“What?” Betsy asked.
“How can you smile so much? How can you give such good advice or be just pleasant? So much bad has happened to you. Who do you run to?” Laura asked, sympathetically, but somewhat curious herself.
“My father,” she said.
“You’re adopted father?” Laura said.
“Yes. He supplies all my needs. I’m never unhappy. That’s why I go to others in hope of encouraging them. I want to share the love he’s given to me…to others.” Laura sat still for awhile, thinking deeply. She dwelled on the earlier things that had come to her mind, and greatly regretted it. Here, this girl was in a bad of all bad situations, and she was happy. It wasn’t a forced happiness either. Now, she was even going to spread that love to others. How amazing! And here Laura was, dreaming of the day that Sam and she would sleep with each other for the first time…before marriage. Laura hated herself for thinking the way that she did. She was a good girl after all, but still couldn’t come to grips on whether she should expect it or not. Whether she should go through with this action, or prevent it from coming up. She knew it would be absolutely ridiculous to ask of this little girl, of Bethany, but who else would she ask.
All this time, Laura had been staring into the space in front of her, almost complete unaware of Betsy Humert. Finally, she released herself from her daze to ask Betsy a particular question. But as she turned her body, and focused her mind on what was to be said, she was rendered speechless. Betsy was gone. Once again, without saying good-bye, she was gone. Laura didn’t know what to do, but felt somewhat of a spiritual presence around her and suddenly shouted out into the snowfall.
“I don’t know what to do,” Laura shouted. “Betsy, are you there?” she asked, hoping for an answer, and then slouching down into the seat when there was none.
“I’m here,” a quiet still voice said. Laura didn’t move an inch. She just waited for the rest of the message. “Do what you think is right. Do what you would want your daughter to do. If you were an outsider looking in on this situation, what would you expect? The right thing….” And then the voice was gone. Laura knew all too well what this meant. She pushed those sweaty, hot thoughts out of her mind and filled them with purity of the snow falling upon her head. Sam was a moral man. He always had been. Sure, he probably had thoughts like Laura had experienced, but he was always determined. He wasn’t going to break his oath of morals…and now, neither would she.
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“I’m back!” Sam said, shivering as he ran down the slick sidewalk, skidding a few times. Laura smiled and helped him into the carriage, tapping the driver on his back.
“We’re ready, sir,” she said with a smile. The driver nodded and awoke the horses to his demand. They were on their way.
“Please tell me you were not just in the bathroom,” Laura said with an uneasy glance towards Sam. He looked everywhere but at her, and then she knew. “Well, at least you’re here now,” she said, leaning up against his chest for more warmth. Sam smiled, but then shifted slightly, reaching for another coat beneath the seat, and then finding none.
“Um…didn’t I bring two coats?” he asked, cautiously.
“Mmmhmmm,” Laura said, closing her eyes.
“Well, where’s the other one?” he asked. Suddenly, Laura’s eyes flung open and she realized that not only was she wearing the other coat, but the little girl was wearing hers.
“Um, don’t be mad, but I gave it away,” she said, smiling fearfully. Sam kissed her forehead and allowed her to rest back upon him.
“Don’t worry about it. What’s important is that you’re warm,” he said, trying to keep his chatters at a minimum. Laura allowed for about a minute, and then forced him to share the single fur coat with her.
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“This is it,” Sam told the driver after about 20 minutes on a new snow-fallen road.
“Alrighty then,” the driver said, slowing the horses, and allowing Sam and Laura to come out of the carriage. All three of them waved good-bye as the driver continued onto the next road, and Sam and Laura walked towards a white-covered park.
“So, this is our last stop?” Laura asked gleaming.
“Mmmmhmmm,” Sam said, holding her tight—partly for her warmth, partly for his own.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
“So….Sam?” Laura asked, a little confused.
“Yeah?” he answered.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” he said calmly.
“Well, we’ve been walking around this park for a good 45 minutes, and I’m just wondering if I’m supposed to enjoy the scenery or just get cold,” she said.
“Well, you’re not supposed to get cold. Here, come with me,” Sam said, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the middle of the park. He dusted off a white-covered bench and offered Laura to sit on it. Which she did.
“Laura Chapman,” he said confidently.
“Yes, that is my name,” she said, wondering where this was going.
“Yes, I know,” he said, merrily. “Laura, we haven’t been together that long, but already I know it’s you that I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Laura’s eyes bulged open. Is he proposing? On our first date? I’m not prepared for this! What is going on? No, just sit still Laura, and see where he takes this. Okay…breathe.
“Wow, Sam. That’s quite a compliment,” she said, a lump forming in her throat.
“I meant it,” he said with a silly smile. “But I’m not ready,” he said. Suddenly, Laura felt this wave of relief come over her, and she was very well prepared for the rest of his little speech.
“From the moment I met you, I loved you. When you returned that beautiful feeling, emotion, whatever you want to call it, I was more than overjoyed. I was ecstatic, and I still am. Laura, when I told your dad I was a man of morals…I wasn’t lying. And as wonderful as it would be…and I think you know what I’m talking about,” he said. Laura nodded. “It would be even better after marriage. So, Laura Chapman,” he said, getting down on one knee and pulling a beautifully crafted ring out of his pocket. The ring looked to be of very beautiful white gold. It had engraftments all around it of ‘I promise,’ and ‘I love you no matter what’. There were two icy blue pearls positioned in the middle of a ring with a silver heart just barely separating them. It explained the meaning of it so perfectly.
“Yes?” Laura asked overjoyed.
“I present to you this ring. I will promise to you this night, if you will, to always be faithful, to always love you, and to remain pure until after out wedding date, if and when we have one,” Sam said sliding the ring upon Laura’s finger.
“I promise,” she said. “I know you’ve always cared for me, and somewhere in the depth of my heart…so have I. This isn’t our initial date, even if on record it is. This is our proclamation date. I gladly accept,” she said, embracing him.
“Also,” Sam said, “I do believe our ‘kisses’ ,if you may, have been a little intense, so could we possibly…” Sam asked, being cut off by Laura’s finger on his lips.
“Absolutely. I mean, they were enjoyable, but I can’t even imagine how much better they’ll be once we are….you know….official. We can slow it down a bit. We’ve come to a climax, and now we need to climb down the hill slowly,” she said smiling, and lightly kissing his lips.
“Oh Laura,” Sam said, embracing her tightly. “I am so happy this worked out. I love you so much,” he said lovingly.
“As do I,” she said. They spent several moments just looking at each other, happy to be in each other’s presence. That was finally enough. After that, sure they had thoughts about things we shouldn’t mention, but they were rare. They had grasped the concept of what was true…of what was happiness. And far away, on a snow-covered street, a young girl with blonde braids and a knitted sweater for a coat, smiled.
The streets were covered in the white dust. And although it was swept away daily, it always came back; like the problems in the Chapman house, or the Hall house as well. They just kept coming back. But there was significance to these problems. There was a beauty hidden beneath the trampled gleam.
It all seemed a blur to the young couple, who had finally fallen asleep amidst their efforts. The driver didn’t seem at all discouraged about the whole situation, about having to drive in the same routine for the last three hours. He just hummed softly to himself and enjoyed the weather.
It seemed like an eternity, but eventually, Laura Chapman blinked her eyes open, feeling the cold, magnificent feeling of snowflakes open her eyelids and nose. At first, she could not even think of moving, for the beauty of it all was overwhelming to her, and she did not want to interrupt. As Sam began to adjust his position over Laura, however, she whispered quietly to him, and he awoke.
“Sam,” she said, lightly tapping his lower right arm. He groaned a bit, and Laura smiled. “Sam, it’s time to wake up,” she said, kissing his nose lightly. Sam’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked at Laura, and smiled.
“Yeah?” he asked, gazing at her intently.
“Look,” she said, pointing with her finger towards the falling snow. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked with the expression of a young girl who was observing her first snowfall.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, turning Laura’s face to his own, and lightly kissing her lips. Laura mumbled a ‘thank-you’ and cuddled with Sam a bit, before forcing him to gaze at the soft falling snow. It was hard.
After just sitting in the carriage for a good ten minutes, watching the snow and the delicacy of it, Sam stopped the driver once more.
“Excuse me, sir,” he said. The driver turned around and gave him a look that told him to continue. “Could we stop here?” Sam asked.
“Certainly,” the driver said, pulling over. Laura said nothing, knowing that Sam probably had good intentions. Probably.
“I’ll be right back,” Sam told Laura, saluting her with his frozen hand.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“I hope you don’t mind if I doze off a little, miss,” the driver asked Laura.
“Oh no, go right ahead. I’ll let you know when he gets back,” she said, smiling politely.
With that, Laura was left alone to her thoughts. She couldn’t see where Sam was headed, but she knew he would return eventually. Fortunately Sam had brought warm, winter coats incase the weather got ugly, and Laura gladly pulled one from under the seat, and flung it on herself. It was very warm, and almost entirely made of brown fur. Luckily, for Laura, it wasn’t real. She hated the thought of killing animals. If she didn’t enjoy meat so much, she’d probably be a vegetarian.
Time passed, and still Laura sat. She let her mind wander into the utmost thoughts of everything that had happened over the last week or so. She thought of the little girl. She thought of her father, of her sister, of her mother. She thought of Sam. She thought of everyone in the world and how they must be feeling right now, where they must be, and what they must be doing. Then, she thought of herself and Sam, together, as a couple. I’m so incredibly happy all of this happened. I would’ve never known Sam like I do, or even as I will know him in the future. He’s such a great guy. He respects me. He loves me. He cares about me, and he would never hurt me. Not in a million years. She sighed happily, and let her mind drift further. She thought of when…it’s too soon now of course, but…when she and Sam would “sleep” together. The thought made her weak at the knees, but somehow she felt wrong about it.
An interruption greeted her shortly from her “pleasant” thoughts by a familiar young girl.
“Hello Laura,” the young girl said, waving at her. Laura turned around immediately, wiping the recent memories from her mind. I should be ashamed of thinking such thoughts in the presence of a child!
“Hey, Betsy, where did you go? I was wondering where you went,” Laura said, focusing on the girl.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I had to go home, but I’m back now,” she said twirling her blonde braids between her fingers.
“Well, alright, I guess that’s okay then,” Laura said smiling down at the girl. “Hey why don’t you come up here?” she asked.
“I don’t know, doesn’t it cost money?” Betsy asked.
“Friends don’t cost anything, and besides it’s been paid for already,” Laura said, gleaming.
“In that case, I think I will,” Betsy said, climbing into the carriage. “So, what’ve you been up to, Laura?” she asked, after she had gotten comfortable.
“Well, not much, actually. Sleeping,” she said, as they both giggled. Laura realized how unbelievably cold Betsy seemed to be, and gave Betsy her jacket, without even thinking to grab the second for herself.
“Thank-you,” Betsy said.
“You’re welcome,” Laura answered. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Betsy asked.
“I mean, do you have a family?” she asked.
“Well, sort of,” Betsy said.
“What do you mean, sort of?” Laura asked.
“Well,” she said uneasily, “See, my mom wanted me, but she was scared, so she “attempted” to kill me at birth,” she started. Laura gasped. “But I’m here now, and that’s what matters.”
“What about your father?” Laura questioned, afraid of the outcome.
“Oh, he was the one who made her do it. He was scared too, but I think deep down…he would’ve really cared for me,” she said.
“So, then you’re adopted?” Laura asked, scooting in closer towards Betsy.
“I guess you could say that,” she said, smiling.
“I don’t get it.”
“What?” Betsy asked.
“How can you smile so much? How can you give such good advice or be just pleasant? So much bad has happened to you. Who do you run to?” Laura asked, sympathetically, but somewhat curious herself.
“My father,” she said.
“You’re adopted father?” Laura said.
“Yes. He supplies all my needs. I’m never unhappy. That’s why I go to others in hope of encouraging them. I want to share the love he’s given to me…to others.” Laura sat still for awhile, thinking deeply. She dwelled on the earlier things that had come to her mind, and greatly regretted it. Here, this girl was in a bad of all bad situations, and she was happy. It wasn’t a forced happiness either. Now, she was even going to spread that love to others. How amazing! And here Laura was, dreaming of the day that Sam and she would sleep with each other for the first time…before marriage. Laura hated herself for thinking the way that she did. She was a good girl after all, but still couldn’t come to grips on whether she should expect it or not. Whether she should go through with this action, or prevent it from coming up. She knew it would be absolutely ridiculous to ask of this little girl, of Bethany, but who else would she ask.
All this time, Laura had been staring into the space in front of her, almost complete unaware of Betsy Humert. Finally, she released herself from her daze to ask Betsy a particular question. But as she turned her body, and focused her mind on what was to be said, she was rendered speechless. Betsy was gone. Once again, without saying good-bye, she was gone. Laura didn’t know what to do, but felt somewhat of a spiritual presence around her and suddenly shouted out into the snowfall.
“I don’t know what to do,” Laura shouted. “Betsy, are you there?” she asked, hoping for an answer, and then slouching down into the seat when there was none.
“I’m here,” a quiet still voice said. Laura didn’t move an inch. She just waited for the rest of the message. “Do what you think is right. Do what you would want your daughter to do. If you were an outsider looking in on this situation, what would you expect? The right thing….” And then the voice was gone. Laura knew all too well what this meant. She pushed those sweaty, hot thoughts out of her mind and filled them with purity of the snow falling upon her head. Sam was a moral man. He always had been. Sure, he probably had thoughts like Laura had experienced, but he was always determined. He wasn’t going to break his oath of morals…and now, neither would she.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“I’m back!” Sam said, shivering as he ran down the slick sidewalk, skidding a few times. Laura smiled and helped him into the carriage, tapping the driver on his back.
“We’re ready, sir,” she said with a smile. The driver nodded and awoke the horses to his demand. They were on their way.
“Please tell me you were not just in the bathroom,” Laura said with an uneasy glance towards Sam. He looked everywhere but at her, and then she knew. “Well, at least you’re here now,” she said, leaning up against his chest for more warmth. Sam smiled, but then shifted slightly, reaching for another coat beneath the seat, and then finding none.
“Um…didn’t I bring two coats?” he asked, cautiously.
“Mmmhmmm,” Laura said, closing her eyes.
“Well, where’s the other one?” he asked. Suddenly, Laura’s eyes flung open and she realized that not only was she wearing the other coat, but the little girl was wearing hers.
“Um, don’t be mad, but I gave it away,” she said, smiling fearfully. Sam kissed her forehead and allowed her to rest back upon him.
“Don’t worry about it. What’s important is that you’re warm,” he said, trying to keep his chatters at a minimum. Laura allowed for about a minute, and then forced him to share the single fur coat with her.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
“This is it,” Sam told the driver after about 20 minutes on a new snow-fallen road.
“Alrighty then,” the driver said, slowing the horses, and allowing Sam and Laura to come out of the carriage. All three of them waved good-bye as the driver continued onto the next road, and Sam and Laura walked towards a white-covered park.
“So, this is our last stop?” Laura asked gleaming.
“Mmmmhmmm,” Sam said, holding her tight—partly for her warmth, partly for his own.
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
“So….Sam?” Laura asked, a little confused.
“Yeah?” he answered.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” he said calmly.
“Well, we’ve been walking around this park for a good 45 minutes, and I’m just wondering if I’m supposed to enjoy the scenery or just get cold,” she said.
“Well, you’re not supposed to get cold. Here, come with me,” Sam said, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the middle of the park. He dusted off a white-covered bench and offered Laura to sit on it. Which she did.
“Laura Chapman,” he said confidently.
“Yes, that is my name,” she said, wondering where this was going.
“Yes, I know,” he said, merrily. “Laura, we haven’t been together that long, but already I know it’s you that I want to spend the rest of my life with.”
Laura’s eyes bulged open. Is he proposing? On our first date? I’m not prepared for this! What is going on? No, just sit still Laura, and see where he takes this. Okay…breathe.
“Wow, Sam. That’s quite a compliment,” she said, a lump forming in her throat.
“I meant it,” he said with a silly smile. “But I’m not ready,” he said. Suddenly, Laura felt this wave of relief come over her, and she was very well prepared for the rest of his little speech.
“From the moment I met you, I loved you. When you returned that beautiful feeling, emotion, whatever you want to call it, I was more than overjoyed. I was ecstatic, and I still am. Laura, when I told your dad I was a man of morals…I wasn’t lying. And as wonderful as it would be…and I think you know what I’m talking about,” he said. Laura nodded. “It would be even better after marriage. So, Laura Chapman,” he said, getting down on one knee and pulling a beautifully crafted ring out of his pocket. The ring looked to be of very beautiful white gold. It had engraftments all around it of ‘I promise,’ and ‘I love you no matter what’. There were two icy blue pearls positioned in the middle of a ring with a silver heart just barely separating them. It explained the meaning of it so perfectly.
“Yes?” Laura asked overjoyed.
“I present to you this ring. I will promise to you this night, if you will, to always be faithful, to always love you, and to remain pure until after out wedding date, if and when we have one,” Sam said sliding the ring upon Laura’s finger.
“I promise,” she said. “I know you’ve always cared for me, and somewhere in the depth of my heart…so have I. This isn’t our initial date, even if on record it is. This is our proclamation date. I gladly accept,” she said, embracing him.
“Also,” Sam said, “I do believe our ‘kisses’ ,if you may, have been a little intense, so could we possibly…” Sam asked, being cut off by Laura’s finger on his lips.
“Absolutely. I mean, they were enjoyable, but I can’t even imagine how much better they’ll be once we are….you know….official. We can slow it down a bit. We’ve come to a climax, and now we need to climb down the hill slowly,” she said smiling, and lightly kissing his lips.
“Oh Laura,” Sam said, embracing her tightly. “I am so happy this worked out. I love you so much,” he said lovingly.
“As do I,” she said. They spent several moments just looking at each other, happy to be in each other’s presence. That was finally enough. After that, sure they had thoughts about things we shouldn’t mention, but they were rare. They had grasped the concept of what was true…of what was happiness. And far away, on a snow-covered street, a young girl with blonde braids and a knitted sweater for a coat, smiled.
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