In the year 1948, I was in first grade and fell in love with the blue-eyed beauty who sat across from me in school and who lived across the street from me. Her name was Marilyn Mathews.
Marilyn and I have been best friends since the moment we met. We did everything together and I mean, everything. We even had are first kiss together.
We grew older and when we were 19 she told me, "Carter, I think I'm in love."
I replied in my boyish tone. "With who, Mar?" Secretly hoping it was me.
"Denny Chambers..." She said as she squeezed my arm. I choked on my Coca-Cola.
"What?!" I said, shocked. "Are you sure?" I knew she meant it to.
She looked down at the grass and bit the side of her lip. She brushed back one of the curls in her face and finally said, "I'm sure, Cart." Her voice trailed off. "He asked me to marry him..."
I shook my head. "And what exactly did you say?" I said as I crocked my head to the side.
Her blue eyes left my face and she looked down at her hands. "Well, I didn't want to be rude. So I agreed..."
I couldn't look at her. I turned my head to look at a tree careful not to cry. "Marilyn! Your gonna get hurt!" I screamed.
She backed up. She put her hands over her mouth in shock that I yelled at her.
I moved close to her and moved her hands from her mouth then put my hands on her cheeks. "I can't see you get hurt..." I whispered.
She touch my hand and replied. "Oh, but Carter... I don't think I will."
I backed away. "Well, good luck, Mar." I said as I walked away from her.
"Carter!" She yelled. "Come back, Cart!" She screamed to me as I started walking down the sidewalk.
She started running after me. She grabbed my arm to stop me. "What are you doing?" She asked me as I whipped around to face her.
"Your throwing away your life! You know how bad Denny is to women!" I yelled. "I can't watch you mess up your life, yet."
She just looked at me with teary eyes and backed away. "You said 'yet.'" She said as she looked down at a envelope she had in her hands.
I looked at her. "We all mess up are life's at one point in our life's... Your only 19! Hes 24!" I said. "Your messing up, Marilyn. But I'm trying to protect you."
She moved closer to me and said, "Carter, I'm not messing up. I'm not!" She yelled back. I looked down. "Are you afraid of losing me or something? I have never ever seen you act this way."
I just shook my head and walked away. "Bye, Marilyn."
"WAIT!"
"What?"
"Here..."
"What is this?"
"The invite... I want you to be in my wedding or at least there... Your my only best friend, Carter." She said to me.
I grabbed the envelope from her hand. "I got to go..." I whispered.
"Well, can we hang out later?"
"If I'm home."
She smiled and said,"Bye, Carter."
"Yea, bye."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Please, Stop!" I screamed. "Carter is right! You are a monster!" I said as Denny hit me again across the face. I fell to the ground. He kicked me in the stomach. He got on top of me a hit me again and again and again. I layed there sobbing.
"Next time, have my dinner ready."
"I want out, Denny!"
"You don't know what I have done for you!" He yelled. "So when you screw up I get to beat you!"
He walked out of the room and shut the door. I got up and walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. I looked at my arms and saw the cuts and bruises. I looked at my face, my legs, my tummy, and my back... I was bruised all over my body. "I looked in the mirror and said to myself. "Why didn't I listen to Carter..."
I realized I didn't need Denny... I needed Carter. Denny was screaming and banging things down stairs. So I put on some make-up and did my hair quickly. I opened the window and climbed out the window. I slid down the drain-pipe. When I hit the ground, I started running for town in the dark night.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I'll get it, Mom!" I screamed as I went to the door. I opened it.
"Carter."
"Marilyn!" I yelled when I saw her face. "Wha-What happened to you?" I stammered asking.
Her eyes flooded with tears. "Cart, you were right about Denny... I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you." She said as she came threw the front door and wrapped her arms around me.
I couldn't help but hung her back as she cried in my arms. "Come on, lets got to the couch." I said. I lead her as she still was clung to my body.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered into my chest.
"Marilyn." I said as I pushed her lightly away so I could see her face. "What the hell happened?"
"He beats me..."
"You've only been together for like 5 months. Your not even married yet and he started this." I said.
"It actually started 3 months ago when I told him I would marry him..." She started crying. "What kind of man would lay a hand on the women he loves?" She asked me.
"Guys like Denny. Alcoholics with bad pasts." I said as she cried into my chest. "Your too beautiful and if you listened to your heart it would tell you, it wants something more. Those purple shades on your face are hiding the smile your heart prays for... I get that just by looking at you, Marilyn. And I damn well know its true." I said to her.
She just store at me and she stopped crying.
* * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * *

I looked at Carter as he told me that and all of a sudden the pain in my heart was gone and the tears from my eyes stopped falling.
"You deserve so much more." He whispered.
"I don't think I really loved Denny... I think it was just the thrill of being with a bad boy talking." I admitted to him.
He chuckled. "Well, then. I'm glad and you don't ever have to deal with him again... I'll get the boys rounded up tomorrow then we will take you over there to get you everything you own." He said giving me a reassuring smile. Something funny happened... I smiled back.
"There's the smile I've missed."
"Thank you, Carter... For everything."
"No, problem. Well, You can say her tonight since its about 11 o' clock at night now."
I laughed. "Okay."
"Okay." He said as he patted my leg and headed up stairs.
"Okay." I whispers as he disappeared up the steps.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Marilyn." I said as I shook her shoulder. "Mar."
"Hmm?" She asked.
"Come on. The boys are out front. We are ready to go."
She got up and followed me out to the porch. All the guys hugged her and told her they got her. We all piled into the 5 trucks and drove down Mulberry Avenue.
"We are pulling in now, Marilyn."
She shrugged and said, "I'm scared."
"You got us." I said as we all got out of the truck and went to the front door. There was about 25 guys, 26 including me. We knocked on the door.
Denny opened the door and saw Marilyn and all of us. "Oh, thank you guys for bringing her back... I was getting worried. What happened to your face, Baby?" he said as he touched the side of her face.
"Look, Chambers! We know what your scum-bag self did to Marilyn so save this crap for a Hal-Mark card." I said to him. "We are here to collect her stuff so please let us do this." I said as we all started pushing past him.
He looked at us shocked as we grabbed her stuff and put them in the trucks. "You can't just take her from me! We are engaged!"
"But not married so she can leave you, big boy." I said as I smiled. I looked at Marilyn as she looked around. "Got everything?"
"Yea, but I forgot to do something." She said as she went up to Denny and gave him back the ring. "Your not for me." She said.
He raised his hand. "You are--" I ran up to him and cut him off by punching him in the face. "Screw you!" I screamed at him. "Come on, Marilyn. You don't need this." I said as I lead her out of that house full of bad memories. "Bye, Chambers." I said as I closed the door behind me.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Carter, where am I gonna live now?" I asked him as we rode to his house.
"Why, with me of course." He said as he smiled down at me. "I got a place in the city. I getting ready to move this weekend but now that have your crap we can start to day." He chuckled.
At that moment, I realized... Carter James Kinsley was the boy I wanted to marry. "Lets get married!" I said.
He looked at me confused. "What?" he said smiling.
"I want to get married to you, Carter."
"Really?"
"Yea, no joke."
"When?"
"Next month."
"In the middle of June?" He asked me. "Hmm, okay." He said.
He looked down at me and I looked up at him and I kissed him long, and hard. "I love you."
"You know how long I've been waiting to hear that?" He asked me. "But I love you to." He said as we kissed again.
We drove down to the house in the city and unloaded my stuff.
* ** ** * ** ** * *** *** * ** **
"Come on!" I screamed. "Lets go tell my momma."

"Momma!" I screamed as I walked in the door.
"Me and Marilyn are getting married." She looked at us with happiness and hugged both of us. "I'm ready to be with him forever." She said to my mom.

I never stopped loving Marilyn till this day. Even though she is gone... She is too beautiful to forget. And I will never forget the women I had always loved... Even when I am a hundred.