A Husband For Maria

Johnny looked at the girl sitting on the bleachers and smiled at her. She continued to look staight through him. Finally he walked over, leaned on the bleachers seat and asked, "Are you alright?"

Chapter Four

"Hey you should learn to take care of yourself, it's not my responsibliity. Besides, I don't want no halfbreed kid." Jerry Stowe sneered at her. Then he turned and walked away, down the steps of the library, and back toward the engineering building. Suddenly the bright California sunshine wasn't so bright. It was as if a dark cloud had drifted across the sun and across her mind. Maria Teresa Victoria De La Rosa was stunned. She had thought through the whole scenario, had gone over everything in detail. She would tell him she was pregnant, he would take her in his arms, tell her that he would marry her and the would be so happy for the rest of their lives. Jerry had not done that, he had sneered at her and strode out of her life. She started to walk, it had always been her way to work things out. Ever since she had been a child, when things began to go wrong, she walked and thought it through. Maria walked for hours around the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

Nothing, nothing, had come into her agonized mind as a solution to her situation. What was she going to do? She was twenty four years old, pregnant, and totally alone. She climbed to the third row and sat on the bleachers seat. A baseball game was going on in front of her but she didn't see anything. How long she sat there, she didn't know, but the sun was starting to go down across San Francisco Bay. The tears began to flow down her pretty cheeks. She didn't realize that she was crying until the man leaned against the bleachers and asked, "Are you alright?" "No I'm not, but what business is it of yours?" Maria said to him curtly. "Its really none of my business, but my folks brought me up to believe in the idea that, if the the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen was crying, I should ask." He replied in a deep, slow, drawl. Maria looked at him again. Tall, good looking, in a rugged sort of way, and a shock of almost white hair had slipped from under the band of his baseball cap. She still didn't understand that he just wanted to help out if he could. She thought about the other men she had known as she had gone through her undergraduate years and now with her Masters Degree in Literature almost within her grasp, she was pregnant. Three whole years wasted.

"I'm sorry," she said, "Thank you but you can't help me with my problem."Then Maria looked at the tall young man again. Had he really said that she was beautiful? "That is, you can't unless you know where I can find a huaband."

He stared at her for what seemed like a long, long time, then he smiled. He didn't laugh, just smiled. Maria realized that he had a gorgeous smile,

"My name is John Calhoun O'Rourke, but they call me Johnny, and if I can fill that job for you, I will be happy to." The wry smile still on his face."But, you don't even know me." She said, shocked that he would say such a thing. "I think we can remedy that. If you will tell me your name, then we can get on with this breath taking conversation." He said to her, his face now serious.

"My name is Maria Teresa Victoria De La Rosa. I am named after my grandmother Maria, my Mother Teresa, and my Grandfather Victorio, and I am not sure that this conversation should go any farther." She said in a small, frightened voice. Johnny sat down on the bleachers at her feet. "Well, I don't usually volunteer for such and enormous job, but as I said before, you are the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on, and the first one to ever offer me a job as her husband. By the way, does it pay well?" Then he laughed. A good laugh. One that finally broke through the fog that had surrounded her since Jerry had walked away from her.

"My God, did I really ask you that?" She stammered. "I think that's what I heard and it is certianly why I volunteered." Johnny replied, still smiling. He was very serious now and that frightened Maria even more than she already was. Then Johnny told her.

"I'm not the kind of man that would hurt you Maria, but if you'd like something to eat, maybe I could take you to dinner some place and you could tell me what's making you cry." Looking into his dark blue eyes, Maria thought, this is not an undergrad jock looking for a good time. If he was he certainly wouldn't have asked me what was wrong. This was a man. "Do you go to university here?" Maria ventured. "No, my Alma Mater is in Colorado." Johnny told her. "What do you do?" She asked. "I'll tell you what Maria, tell me where we should go for dinner and I'll tell you my life story."

Dinner!!! Well, maybe you could call it that. Maria took Johnny to a greasy spoon where all the students hung out, swilling beer and eating indigestible burgers. Johnny wasn't impressed very much, but said nothing. Maria almost seemed to dare him to complain. After they had finally found a table at the rear of the pub, she told him that she would order for them here and he could order for her next time, if there was a next time.

Maria and Johnny both picked at their food. Johnny, because he couldn't stomach the greasy clump of half-cooked beef on a dry bun, he didn't even like the beer. Maria pushed hers around her plate because she wasn't hungry. She was also a bit apprehensive being here with this man. Finally Johnny shouted above the din. "Look, Maria, you aren't eating and I cannot eat this, so let me take you some place where I can at least hear myself talk."

Maria nodded and Johnny took her hand and helped her out of the booth, then he placed the shawl over her shoulders and the creme sundress she'd worn all afternoon. Johnny walked beside the pretty girl to his car. When they got to the automobile Maria actually saw the car for the first time. It was a metallic, light blue, Mercedes, and it looked brand new. The top was up, but Johnny put it down and helped her into the littleconvertible. He drove away from the pub and within a few minutes, he was on the Interstate headed east. Neither Maria no Johnny said anything for half an hour. Johnny was concentrating on his driving and Maria had started crying again.

"You really are hurting, aren't you Maria?" Johnny asked seriously. "I am hurting, but not physically Johnny, I hurt in here." Maria pointed to her heart. "Maybe you should take me home. You've been very kind, but enough is enough, I can't saddle you with my problems."

Johnny took the next exit off Interstate 80 and drove into the parking lot of a lovely place called the 'Nut Tree'. He parked the car and walked around to her door. Johnny smiled down at Maira and said, "You have to come in with me, I promised you my life story and I don't get to tell it very often." He was now grinning as she still sat in the car. Maria allowed him to take her hand as he helped her out of the car and for some reason they kept holding hands as they walked into the Restaurant.

The dining room was a lovely place to eat. There were live birds in huge aviaries and they continuously twittered and sang. He asked for a small steak, basted with butter and done medium rare, oven roasted potatoes and carrots, sauteed in butter, Johnny ordered a nice wine and as the waiter left the table he turned to Maria, who turned toward him at the same time, her lips just inches away from his, They were suddenly drowning in each others eyes.

Johnny moved first . He leaned into her lips slowly and kissed her gently. As he drew his lips from hers he whispered. "I've dreamed of kissing you since I first saw you in the bleachers with tears in your eyes. I just got tired of imagining it."

Maria had been kissed before, but nothing had ever effected her like his soft kiss. A bolt of liquid fire flashed through her body. Her hands were shaking and her breathing was very ragged. Then Johnny pulled her hand to his lips and sofly kissed the tips of her exquisitely small fingers. She felt the tremors in Johnny's hand and the look in his eyes matched the simmering in her own.

"Oh my God Johnny, I've never been affected like that before. Have you got some power over me that I don't know about?" She whispered as she gasped for breath. Her words were the same as he felt.

Neither Johnny nor Maria could tell you what they had for dinner. They cut their meat, ate it and never took their eyes off each other. Something was happening here that neither of them expected. Maria thought she would go for a burger with the guy, because he was handsome and he was there. Johnny wanted to help a young, beautiful woman who was crying and looked as if she could use a little fun.

Then Johnny began to tell his story. He told Maria about the untimely death of his father, and his mother's suicide, of the aunt and uncle who had taken him in as a baby, of the years he had grown up in west Texas and of breezing through high school. He continued with the story of having no money for University and so he had joined the Air Force. He told her how he desperately wanted an education and that he found out a way he could get the Air Force to pay for most of it. It would cost peanuts, compared to the thousands it would cost to go to a regular college.

Then Johnny told Maria about the day his commander had called him into his office and offered him the chance of a lifetime...to go to the Air Force Academy. There were a number of openings for enlisted men who had two years of college under their belts and were recommended by their superiors. He told her all about the interviews, where he sweated blood, being so nervous, and the tests and physicals...Then going back to work and being assigned over- seas and having a lawyer track him down and give him some money that had come from a big law suit. About how the same day his orders had come in sending him to Colorado Springs and the Academy for two years and a year of flight training.

"I am twenty five years old. I have a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. I am a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, and a pilot. I fly the big 'Hercules' aircraft and live in San Rafael. Some friends asked me to go over to Berkeley and play some baseball. I met you and here I am...thats it." Johnny finished.

"You are in the Air Force?" Maria asked incredously. "I've seen men marching around on the campus but I've never met one of them, much less an Officer for real. I guess you want to hear my story, but I warn you, it'll be boring."

Johnny looked at Maria. "She is so pretty," he thought, "when she walks down the street, men would turn their heads and just stare. Not because she resembled a luscious center fold but rather because she was everyones idea of the All American girl, sexy without knowing it, beautiful yet naive. She had it all, but without the big ego of most beautiful women."

Maria continued, "I was reared at a vineyard and winery up in Napa County. I went to high school there and then to University at the University of California, Berkeley. I finished my degree in literature and history, then return-ed to get my masters degree and teaching cre-dentials. A couple of months ago, after mid terms, a bunch of us girls went out to celebrate. I drank too much and I woke up next morning with a man in my bed. I found out that he was an engineering student and was very busy, we had no more dates and I never went to bed with another man. Last week I found out that I was pregnant with his child and confronted him this afternoon. He sneered at me, then walked away. It was some- time later that I looked up and saw a knight, ready to help me. You!"

"Maria, I think that after dinner, you should come back to my home with me. No strings attached, but we can talk this out in better surroundings, and try to come to some decisions." Johnny said to her.

"You're sure there's no strings!" Maria said suspiciously. "No strings. Now lets eat, I'm starved." Johnny smiled.

Chapter 5

The ride back to Marin County was filled with chatter, though neither Johnny nor Maria could tell you what they talked about. When Johnny drove the Mercedes into the three car garage, Maria was amazed. His home, sitting on several acres of trees and lawns was fantastic. It looked as if it would cost several hundred thousand dollars, which in fact, it had. Inside he introduced Maria to Senor and Senora Delgaddo. He told her that Carmelita was his house-keeper and part time mother, and Juan was the caretaker of the estate. "Please come into the den and we can talk the night away." Johnny whispered in her ear. Maria smiled that lovely, trusting smile and held out her hand to him. They walked into the den, which she saw was entirely a man's room, with lots of wood, leather, and the smell of rich tobacco.

"Would you like a glass of wine to sip on while we talk?" Johnny asked. "Please." Maria answered.

When Johnny took two wine glasses from a small wet bar, opened the fridge and took out a bottle of cold Chablis, Maria almost fainted. "Where did you get that wine?" she stammered. "Oh, I toured the wine country once and we stopped at a tiny winery that was family owned and operated. We tasted the wines and I bought a case of Pinot Blanc, one of Cabernet and a wonderful Chablis. I think you will like this Chablis, it has such a boquet and the taste is different from any wine I've ever tasted." Johnny said and then turned to Maria. As he finished praising the wine, he raised his eyes and looked at her. She was ashen, her softly tanned skin was almost chalky.

"Maria, my God, whats wrong?" the worry in his voice coming through. "The wine Johnny, look at the label!" she gasped. Johnny stared at the label, reading the name of the winery and the name of the family that owned it. "The De La Rosa family, owners....It's your family?" he asked. "Yes," she told him, "It is my family that owns the winery and the reason that the wine tastes unique, is the way the grapes are prepared. The women of of the estate stomp the grapes to squeeze the juice from them. It's really a lot of fun and I have always been home at harvest time to do my share of grape stomping." Maria answered with a happy note in her voice. The happiest she'd sounded since he had met her. The choice of wine might have been anything but coincidental, but both of them believed that it was prophetical that her family's wines had given them something to talk about. Maria went through the whole process: about how the grapes had come from one plant that her Grandfather had brought to California from Spain, the work it takes each year to get the grapes to grow and mature properly, fighting the late, spring frosts and finally harvesting the grapes and making them into wines, but with a lot of fun along the way.

"You should have taken Agriculture," Johnny laughed, "You know everything there is to know about raising grapes and making wines." Maria knew that it was the truth and it was at that moment she began to think about a decision. "I think that I should go home to the vinyard and my Family. They will help me to have the strength to carry on. Maybe after the baby comes, I'll go back and finish my education." she told Johnny.

"May I come too?" he asked, knowing that he would never let this beauty get away from him. Thats when Johnny realized that he loved this girl, this magnificent woman. "Why would you come with me?" Maria asked, then paled again. "No! I couldn't let you do that, it's not your child!" she almost shouted at him.

"But you need two things Maria, a husband or a man who's willing to possibly get shot, and if he lives, attend his own shotgun wedding. I can be your husband, but I will not set myself up for target practice." he laughed. The he turned serious. "I must tell you how I feel about you, I must say this. When I saw you crying, I wanted to hurt someone. I have never felt such fury before nor have I ever seen a woman such as you are. You are beautiful, educated, well bred, and with a good upbringing. That you made a mistake and let yourself become the victim of a predator, does not reflect on you but on the bastard that did this to you. You were raped you know! If you want to keep the baby, I'll marry you next Saturday, if you don't want to marry me, then I will give you money to get you through this and be there to help you, or you can decide not to have it and I will pay for that too. Until you decide what you want to do you could stay here, or I will take you back to your dorm. If you stay here, you will have Carmelita at your beck and call, and if she finds out that you are pregnant, she will mother you to death. I just realized that I am in love with you Maria De La Rosa. Please believe me."

At that precise moment, Senora Delgaddo was walking past the door of the den, and since the door had remained open, she heard the last couple of sentences. She stopped, whirled about, and stormed into the den. The Spanish began to fly, her arms were flinging about and her big bust was getting bigger as she stamped her feet and scowled at Johnny. "Dammit Carmelita, speak English, I only got about a third of what you just said." Carmelita glared at Johnny as Maria burst out laughing and crying at the same time. "Johnny," Maria said, "Carmelita thinks it was you that made me this way. I guess she got the tail end of our conversation. Now I see why you call her mother." With that Maria collapsed into tears and laughter. Carmelita turned her glare on Maria and demanded to know what was going on. Johnny explained the pertinenet details to Carmelita and asked her if she thought he should marry Maria and take good care of her.

Senora Carmelita Louisa Helena Delgaddo stared at Johnny. "Do you love her Johnny O'Rourke? How long have you known this girl and what have you done to get her into this state?" Johnny's soft drawl was a little tense as he told Carmelita. "I've known her for eight hours and I have loved her for seven of them, does that satisfy your colossal curiosity Senora Delgaddo?"

Carmelita wept tears of joy. "I'm just so happy my Johnny has finally found a girl that is so beautiful, so smart, yet dumb enough to fall for his line of baloney. Of course you shall stay here my darling Maria, you can let me take care of you and when the baby comes I will be its nanny and grandmother. Juan and I have practically adopted this orphan Texan anyway. You will be so happy, I promise you. Now I must find Juan and tell him."

With that speech out of the way, Carmelita went in search of Juan to tell him the happy news. Johnny smiled at Maria and said, "I'm sorry that you had to be exposed to Senora Delgaddo's wrath. Sometimes though, she really does believe that she has the right to tell me what to do."

Maria smiled a wistful smile at Johnny, then she made a truly monumental decision. Maria lowered her eyes to her lap and told him. "I don't want you to be shot, not by my Papa, nor as I suspect, by Carmelita if I don't marry you. So I have decided that I will marry you Johnny O'Rourke, but I assure you that my father is going to have a fit. Since we won't be married in the Church, I doubt if he will accept it as valid. If we can agree to be married again in the Church that I have always attended, it will make everyone happy, especially me." Johnny stood up and walked to the door, calling out to Carmelita. "She'll do it Carmelita, she'll do it." Then he knelt in front of a visibly shaken Maria. He held her hand, which had suddenly turned icy. Johnny said quietly,

"Maria Teresa Victoria De La Rosa, I love you, will you do me the honor of marrying this coming Saturday?"

Maria stared at Johnny, then looked up and saw Carmelita and Juan standing in the doorway. She saw Carmelita nodding 'say yes' to her with a joyous smile on her face.

"Yes Johnny, I will marry you, and you will never be sorry for marrying me. I will love you, I know that, and I think I will stay here until we are married. My classes are all over for the year, so no one will miss me. Though I must move my things out of the dorm." Finally Maria's tears flowed joyfully.