Gilbert's New Girl

The heavens opened and within seconds Tucker and I were soaked through to the skin; drenched from head to foot. Tucker grabbed my hand and we began to run towards home but as we turned the corner onto Main Street, Tucker said, ‘We should turn down the lane next to the Beauty Parlor and it will bring us out close to your backyard.’ Of course, he was right and the rain was torrential so that’s what we did, and because we came in the back door we never saw the Reverend Chambers carry parked on the driveway. We burst through the kitchen door, giggling and out of breath from running, and dripping water everywhere. Suddenly Gilbert appeared in the hallway, his fingers held up to his lips, signalling for us to be quiet. He half closed the kitchen door over and said, ‘You have to stay in here or go upstairs quietly. Tally’s father is in the living room.’ ‘Is everything alright,’ I said, my voice no louder than a whisper. ‘Yeah, everything’s okay. He just wants to talk to me.’ Gilbert’s voice sounded normal, but he had a panicky look in his eyes. ‘I got go talk to him, just try not to make a noise, okay?’ Tucker and I nodded in unison. Gilbert closed the kitchen door leaving us trying to dry ourselves with dishtowels. We could hear the low rumble of voices coming from the living room, but apart from the odd word, we couldn’t make out what was being said. It was more than twenty minutes later, before we heard the living room door being opened and then Gilbert opened the front door to let the Reverend Chambers out of the house. Tucker and I sat stock still in kitchen waiting for Gilbert to come in and tell us what had happened, but the next thing I heard was his voice, speaking to someone on the phone. I got up and opened the kitchen door and I heard Gilbert saying, ‘Just calm down. Everything’ll be okay. ‘l’ll work something out, please Tally, stop crying. Yeah, I know, I know. He’ll be home any minute. No, there’s no point in arguing with him, just go along with him for tonight. Stay home tomorrow. I’ll call you once I know what we’re gonna do, okay? Now calm down.’ There was a silence and suddenly I knew what was coming next. Gilbert lowered his voice slightly before he said, ‘I love you too.’ As I heard him hang up the phone, I closed the kitchen door again and sat down as if I had never moved.

Gilbert came into the kitchen. He looked tense and he was chewing the inside of his cheek again. ‘What’s going on Gilbert?’ I asked him, but he shook his head and said, ‘You and Tucker better go upstairs and get into some dry clothes. I’ll make some coffee and then we can talk.’ And talk we did. We talked for hours that night and a lot of stuff that should have been said long ago was at last given voice, but in the end we were no nearer a solution than before. Gilbert told us that Tally’s father had come round because he was concerned about his daughter dating a man who was old enough to be her father. He also said that he felt a certain amount of pressure from the townsfolk to confront Gilbert about the relationship. As a minister he had a duty to uphold the morals of the town! Tally’s father had forbidden her from seeing Gilbert, from working at the store and he was in the process of making arrangements for Tally to go live with some relatives in Omaha. ‘I asked him how Tally felt about all of this,’ Gilbert said his voice as heavy as his heart, ‘and he said Tally was heartbroken. He said to me, I have no reason to think that you are anything but a good man, but you have to understand that a relationship between you and my daughter is not acceptable in the minds of most right thinking people. I asked if he cared that his daughter was heartbroken, and he said, Tally is very young, Gilbert, she’ll get over this. She’ll get over you in time.’ Gilbert rubbed his hand over his face and leaned back in his chair. ‘Of course, I can understand his concerns for his daughter, but the fact is that Tally’s seventeen, and in this state that means she’s an adult. She can make her own decisions. I tried to make him see that what he was doing was only going to force Tally to make the decision that he was trying so hard to avoid. He was so wound up that I don’t think he realised what I was saying.’ To be honest, I didn’t really know what Gilbert was saying either, but he soon spelled it out for me. ‘I got no choice, Amy. Either I let him send Tally away and lose the chance to be happy, or I take control of the situation and marry her.’

Dear God! I couldn’t believe he was serious. Gilbert was actually considering marrying a girl of seventeen who he had only known for five weeks! This had to be a joke! But Gilbert had never been more serious about anything in his life. ‘What’s going to happen after you get married, Gilbert? Do you think that a wedding ring on her finger is going to make the townsfolk forget that you’re twenty three years her senior? And if they carry on boycotting the store, what are we going to live on? My wages won’t keep all of us.’ Gilbert just went on chewing the inside of his cheek and staring out the window at the rain. ‘I’m not letting her go, Amy. Don’t ask me to give her up. Tomorrow, whether I ask her to marry me or not, I’m bringing her here to stay.’ I leapt out of the chair, ‘Are you crazy? If you move her in here everyone is going to assume that you’re sleeping with her. They’re going think you’re just a dirty old man!’ Gilbert kept his voice down in contrast to my high pitched squeal. ‘Amy, that’s what they all think just now, so it’s not going make any difference. I really don’t give a shit about what the townsfolk think. And as far as sleeping arrangements go, it’s up to Tally. If she wants the spare room she can have it, and if she wants to share with me, then that’s fine too.’ I sat back down at the table, put my head on my arms and cried.