Jc got up early to take Becca home. Her aunt uncle and cousin had probably already gone to church but they still liked to have her home by noon during her visits. Jc often got the impression that her family didn’t liker her or him for that matter. Only one unit of her family was ever truly genuinely polite and that was Becca’s aunt and uncle in Washington. They would be the family members who he would ask for permission to marry her.

Jc had come to St. Margret’s for anorexia. He had always been self-conscious about his appearance. And even as a child he had suffered from low self esteem. So one day in middle school one of the children decided to play a bit of a cruel joke. They and a group of their friends started to call Jc fat. They told him it was a found nickname but he knew better after a few weeks that they were just being the same cruel children they had always been He tried ignoring it but eventually the parents caught on and not knowing any better they started playing along with their horrid devil children. Eventually the whole town made jokes about his appearance.

His parents were not much help either. His mother coddled him and his father told him to toughen up. The anorexia started off small. Just trying to eat healthier and exercise more. His mother thought nothing of it and his dad actually cheered him on. But it escalated. The week before he had been sent to St. Margret’s his mother had found him curled up in his room shivering and completely skin and bones.

His first few weeks at the hospital had been hell for him. He had made friends all right but just recognizing the fact that he was sick and needed help was the worst. He had met Joey, Howie, and Levi on his first day there. He shared a room with Joey and the guys had decided to have a welcoming party. Howie and Joey had both welcomed him warmly but Levi had taken some getting used to. Jc later figured out that Levi had problems accepting who he was too. Only for him it was on a frighteningly larger scale. Jc had hoped that he and Levi could help each other and in the end come out as friends. That was until Levi had decided to kill himself.

It had been a couple of months later. The day after Becca had arrived. Levi had finally snapped and was just unable to cope with the fact that he was gay. He had pulled the trigger in front of them all. Jc was surprised that Becca hadn’t been scarred for life. He figured she was but probably didn’t show it. About a week later Levi’s sister Jordyn arrived. It had been a wild ride from there. He and Becca had hooked up shortly after. Six months of post hospital dating had only assured him that she was the one for him. She was quiet and shy and wasn’t very outgoing but she was honest. Now all Jc had to do was get her family’s okay. It was June so he’d have to wait another six months before she’d be 18 and it wouldn’t be any of her families business. But he still wanted their okay.

After dropping Becca off at her aunt and uncle’s house, Jc took out his cell phone and dialed a number Becca had given him. In his other hand he held some papers that would need signing before he could go any further. He only hoped that they would pick up and that his long distance minutes wouldn’t go to waste.

“Hello?” It was a young mans voice, no older then eighteen.

“Hello. Is this Henry?” Jc asked. Becca talked a lot about her extended family.

“Yeah, who may I ask is calling?”

“My names Joshua. You can call me Jc.” He hoped that some one older then 18 would pick up the phone and take this ‘kid’ away from it.

“You’re Becca’s boyfriend?” He sounded interested. “Becca really likes you.”

“Yes she does. Can I talk to your mom Henry?” Jc replied. Over the phone Jc could hear a woman’s voice asking whom Henry was talking to and then what sounded like the phone being taken away from him.

“Hello? Who is this?” It was much clearer now and Henry was now the one who sounded distant. Jc braced himself for the worst.

“Hi Ma’m, are you Terry Smithson?” Jc asked.

“That is correct. May I ask who this is?” The woman sounded faintly suspicious.

“My name is Jc. I think Becca might have told you about me. I think we might have already met before.” Jc said trying his best to sound polite.

“Yes I think my niece introduced me to you a few months ago during our annual family reunion in Oregon. You two met at that hospital right?” The woman’s voice softened a great deal. “Yeah I remember speaking to you in Lincoln City. Anyways I was calling to talk to you about something. I was wondering if you could sign a few papers.” Jc waited for the reply. He was expecting an adamant no. But instead the woman paused for a moment before giving her answer as if she was trying to choose her words carefully.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to answer this question over the phone. I’ll tell you what; I’ll meet you next week at your place while Rebecca is at school. I take it this regards to you proposing to her?”

“How did you know?” He was stunned.

“I could tell from the way you sound. Besides when I saw you two together at the reunion I knew that it was probably going to be a permanent thing. Becky’s parents have pretty much disowned her and a lot of the family doesn’t like to admit that she exists. But it looks like she’s found happiness with you. In fact forget the meeting. Send the papers over to me in the mail and I’ll sign them. But only on one condition.”

“Name it.” Jc said ginning. This was turning into one of the greatest days of his life.

“You have to promise that you won’t get her pregnant before she turns 20.” Jc furrowed his brow. This was a strange request.

“Sure. I don’t think either of us really wants kids but I think I can use a rubber until then. Can I ask why?”

“She’s still pretty frail. Having a kid at seventeen or eighteen would take a huge toll on her. Even with today’s medical science she’d still have some problems. That and our family have a history of pregnancy complications.”

“Alright. I promise.” Jc said softly. “I’ll talk to you later then.”

“See you at the wedding.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

Jc hung up the phone. He had to restrain yelling excitedly. He drove off to the post office and sent the papers immediately. Then he went back to the house, called Granite Lake Farm thanks to Howie, and ran back upstairs finally allowing himself to start dancing around the house.