21
One Month later, Ruth had returned to her life in Philadelphia, but keeps in constant contact with her daughter and son in law. The farm was still booming and Jack was busy helping his father with the fields. And Richie had disappeared two weeks ago after receiving a mysterious telegram. At first there was speculation where the older Dawson sibling had gotten off to, but things soon quieted down and fell back into a nice routine. Little did anyone know the surprise Richie Dawson had in store for them.
Two weeks had passed since Richie left Chippewa Falls and a great many things had changed for him, his marital status being one of them. The telegram he received from New Orleans was from a friend, informing him that a girl that he had fallen in love with but was forced to leave was in need of his help. Jolene DuBois was her name and she was from the country part of New Orleans(Note from author: Sorry, I can’t think of the proper name of the area at the moment). People in her town thought of her family as trash, and perhaps most of them were, but Richie didn’t see that about Jolene. He just saw her beautiful blue eyes and ebony-black hair. How her smile lit up the room when she smiled at him.
They had met when Richie had wandered out of town and got lost. She had helped them. Since her family didn’t care for outsiders or the townfolk, the two met secretly, striking up a friendship. He learned that Jolene was constantly harrassed by her stepfather Buford DuBois. Whenever he could the old man forced himself on her. Her poor grandmother was too weak to try to help her and her mother was too drunk to care.
During their meetings, Jolene and Richie had somehow fallen in love, spending every moment they could get together. He’ll never forget their first time together, nor the last. Unfortunately, Buford had found out about their relationship and had threatened Jolene’s life if Richie didn’t leave. So he did leave, but not before giving his address to one of the rare friends that Jolene had and told her if anything came up to send for him right away.
So when the telegram had arrived at the Dawson farm, informing him that Jolene needed him immediately, Richie picked up and left, not leaving word with anyone. He didn’t want a big argument with his father or to see his mother’s tears. He just picked up and went to Jolene’s aid.
Once he got to New Orleans, he had found a badly beaten and pregnant Jolene. It turned out that their tryst had indeed created another life and since Buford couldn’t father any kids, the only father could be Richie. He knew his father would have his head for this, but Richie had no regrets. Despite his earlier speech to his brother’s wife, he had found that one person that softened that bitter stance on love. Jolene. He loved her still after all these months.
Taking the crying girl into his arms he promised that he’d take care of everything. Looking into her eyes he proposed and she of course accepted. Richie was everything to her. Her friend and lover, and now soon to be husband. She knew he’d take care of everything. But there was one problem. Buford. He was out searching for his stepdaughter, determined to take care of the pregnancy himself but Jolene had wisely hidden away with Richie’s friend in town. The sooner Richie married Jolene and got her out of New Orleans, the better. So that evening they found a justice of the peace and married. The next day Richie brought another ticket to Chippewa Falls and together the new Dawson newlyweds set off for Wisconsin, not turning back.