Page 68 of Love Story
John had just one more week to talk with Cole before the interviews would wrap up. He had organized his thoughts and a few more photos in anticipation of today’s meeting.
But he didn’t need them to remember what had happened next. It was a miracle he and Elizabeth had ever found each other again. And when they did, the heartache was so great it was a wonder they survived at all.
Cole and Ashley were on time, and both of them looked anxious for the final piece of the story. “So much I didn’t know,” Ashley told John as they settled into the living room again. “Where did you leave off?”
“I know!” Cole held up his notes. “And I don’t need these to tell you. Grandma was gone to that house, the place where she lived with other pregnant girls. And Papa was trying to figure out how to find her.” Cole looked at John. “You had just come up with a plan, right?”
His plan. Yes, that was the next part. John appreciated the way Cole cared so much. He took a deep breath and let the rest of the story fill his soul. And like every other week, the memories came to life. They consumed him, taking over his senses until he was no longer sitting in his living room, talking to his grandson about the past.
He was reliving it.
•••
THE PLAN WASsimple.
John thought about it constantly. In class and in the library when he was studying and at home every night. Not because the strategy required so much work. But because John couldn’t wait to see Elizabeth. His arms ached for how badly he wanted to hold her.
He told no one about his intentions. He would wait until a week before Elizabeth’s due date, and then drive to Illinois, straight to the house where she was staying. No one could keep him away from her. By then her father would’ve been convinced he’d kept them apart. Everyone would think John Baxter had given up on Elizabeth.
Everyone, that was, except Elizabeth herself.
Whatever she was going through, whatever lonely nights she faced without him, she had to know he was coming for her. And not just her. He was coming for her and the baby. He had promised he would do what he could. Now he knew how.
School got out the end of May. The next day John would set off for Illinois. Once he arrived at the house, he’d wait until nightfall. Then while everyone was sleeping, John would find a way into the place. He’d wake up Elizabeth, and take her back to Ann Arbor.
At first they’d stay at the Wesleys’ house. Sure, the family had already told him no, but once they saw Elizabeth nine months pregnant and without any options, they were bound to change their minds. At least for a short while.
His plan didn’t stop there.
Their first day back in Ann Arbor, John and Elizabeth would go to the justice of the peace and get married. They could do a more formal wedding later. Then John would figure out where to take his wife and baby next. He would have to increase his hours at the pharmacy, of course. Which would make med school more difficult. But not impossible. John had straight A’s. His professors would work with him. They believed John would run a hospital one day.
Yes, certainly they would work with him.
John found a piece of cardboard and taped it to his wall. At the top he used a marker and wrote “154 days.” That’s how long he still had to wait before he could see her, before he could hold Elizabeth in his arms again.
Every day he crossed out the number and wrote one day less. He relished the times when 100 days became 99, and when 50 became 49. Every sunrise took him one day closer to seeing her. This time Elizabeth’s father wouldn’t be waiting for him. He would rescue Elizabeth and their child and they would start a life of their own.
Forty-five days. Twenty-two. Eleven.
Finally it was time to leave. Time for John to go get his family.
He packed a few blankets and pillows in case Elizabeth needed them for the ride home. And since she wouldn’t be expecting him that particular night, he brought food, too. Peanut butter sandwiches and a thermos of water. They could get more food on the road.
He tried to think of everything as he set out that afternoon. The house where she was staying was in Marion, Illinois—an eight-hour drive from Ann Arbor. If he drove fast he could shave maybe thirty minutes off that, but not much more. He couldn’t afford a speeding ticket.
John didn’t want to arrive until after midnight, so he waited until four that afternoon to leave. At first the drive was smooth. John played his eight-track in the car’s deck.Billboard’s Top Hitswith “Never My Love” on it. In honor of Elizabeth. He couldn’t believe he was about to see her again. After all this time.
But he was nearly five hours out of Ann Arbor when his engine began to smoke.This can’t be happening. John pulled to the side of the road. His gas and temperature gauges were fine. So why was the engine smoking? He found a flashlight in his glove box, climbed out, and lifted the hood. It was already after nine o’clock. He’d be lucky to find an open gas station.
A quick look and he saw the problem. His oil pan was leaking. Which was maybe why the oil gauge wasn’t working. He looked more intently. There was barely an inch of oil left, if the dipstick was right. “Great.” He couldn’t drive far with so little oil. He could blow his engine, and then he’d be finished. Without a car, he’d not only miss his chance at rescuing Elizabeth and the baby...
He’d miss his chance at ever seeing her again.
As soon as the baby was born, if her father had things his way, the baby would be adopted out to another family and Elizabeth would be brought back home. Probably to some undisclosed location with some other friend or relative. If it meant keeping Elizabeth from John, her father would probably enroll her in some other school. Somewhere far from Michigan. Then Elizabeth’s parents could go on as if John had never existed.
Whatever it took to keep John and Elizabeth apart.
John turned off his flashlight. The highway wasn’t busy, and the few cars that passed him while he checked his engine hadn’t even slowed down. John slammed the hood shut, climbed back behind the wheel and drove on the shoulder to the next off-ramp. The sign above the exit said:
