Eleven Days: An Unexpected Love

by Lora Lindy

  Finally, a trivia question I want to ask you. What year was the first cell phone call made? You will find out the answer at the end of the story. I bet most of you will be shocked by the answer.

  Now let’s get to the definition of party line. It is also called a shared line. It’s a telephone number several homes share. That’s right homes or houses. The most common were two, four, and eight party lines. Simply, it means two homes shared the same telephone number, or four homes shared the same telephone number or eight homes shared the same telephone number. If you have a four home party line, three of your neighbors have the same telephone number as yourself. Just think how crazy it would be if you were on an eight home party line, you would have seven neighbors with your telephone number. For example, let’s say your telephone number is 555-5555, seven neighbors also had the same telephone number 555-5555. That’s crazy, and it get’s crazier. If your telephone rang, so did all you neighbors who shared the same party line. I bet now you’re wondering how did the houses know which call was for them? You would know by the number of rings. The first house got one short ring. The second house got two short rings and ���. you get the meaning. So if you were the eighth house on that party line you had to count eight short rings. If you’re still confused, I think it will become clear once you read the story.

  If you have any other questions about party lines, ask your grandmother, and I’m sure she can tell you all about it. She might even tell you more than you want to know.

  Lora Lindy

  Now the story begins!

  ‘List of the Families on the Four Home Party Line’

  One Short Ring: Cary and Hazel Carter. Cary was named after the actor Cary Grant and Hazel was named after her great grandmother. They were a couple in their early forties and he worked as a supervisor at a cannery in Fort Smith Arkansas twenty miles from Spiro Oklahoma. He had been with the company since he turned sixteen years old and quickly moved up the career ladder. One of the reasons for his rapid ascent in the chain of command was because of his laid back happy-go-lucky personality. He had to be a great guy to put up with Hazel’s illnesses. Cary had brown hair and stands about six feet tall with an average build. He had what most women called dreamy eyes, just like Paul Newman. Every woman Cary ever met commented on his dreamy eyes. When people found out he was named after Cary Grant, they laughed. They said he should have been named Paul Newman Carter. The irony of it all, Cary and Hazel named their son Paul Newman Carter. When Hazel saw those beautiful blue eyes the minute he was born, she couldn’t resist, poor little fellow.

  Hazel was a housewife who loved to read, especially love stories. She couldn’t get enough of love stories and soap operas. Everyone loved the soaps especially the wife’s who stayed home. In 1971 soaps were the number shows women watched during the day. If they talked about a new recipe, Hazel tried to cook it. If they showed a new hairdo, she tried to fix her hair the exact same way. If one of the stars got ill, she got sick even if the illness was a figment of their imagination. Hazel dyed her hair a medium brown, and she swears up and down she has never put any liquid color on it. She stood at five-feet-eight and squeezes into a size ten dress. Nobody could even begin to count how many times this woman let the buttons out of her dresses. Everyone smiles when she tells them she had been in a size ten dress since before she married over twenty three years ago. According to her, even though she gave birth to three children, she never lost her girly figure. But everyone loved Hazel, mostly for her drama.

  Two Short Rings: Dustin and Patty Berry. Dustin was the chief of police and held that title for over twenty years. Everyone in the community loved Chief Berry and that was one of the reasons for his long tenure. He had sandy blonde hair and green eyes. His height towered over many people with his six-foot-six large frame. His stature and deep voice intimidated many criminals and small children. Once a little six year old girl lost her puppy and she went door to door in search of her beloved Oscar. When she walked up the chief’s house and knocked, she had to lean her head way back to look at his face.

  He asked with his scruffy deep voice. “Can I help you?”

  Tears ran down her cheek and after sniffling for a few seconds she gathered the courage to answer him. “I lost my puppy, and you’re scary.” Then the little girl ran to her daddy. She cried her eyes out as she glanced back at the chief. She wanted to make sure this mean man didn’t chase her.

  The chief felt bad for her and drove around for two hours in search for a cute little puppy, then finally found a miniature Lassie. He found the puppy bouncing around as he barked at a squirrel he had run up a tree. Then he drove house to house in his neighborhood to find the little girl. At the end of the day the puppy and owner were reunited. Maybe that was the reason why everyone loved him so much.

  His wife loved life. Patty had beautiful light brown hair that fell nearly to her waist. Her gorgeous hazel eyes melted her husband’s heart. She was tall for a woman, six feet, and she towered over most men. But her stature was small and she weighed only one-hundred-thirty pounds. When she was young, she dreamed of pursuing a modeling career like Cheryl Tiegs, but it never worked out for her.

  Patty met the chief just after she turned nineteen and they’ve been together for over twenty five years. One day he stopped her for a traffic violation and asked for her telephone number. Patty told this handsome policeman she would give it to him if he didn’t give her a ticket. He didn’t. The cute young lady wrote her number on the palm of his hand. From that moment on, they fell in love.

  It was many years later when he told her he had his eye on her for a long time. He happened to get lucky when she ran a stop sign. They both laughed when she confessed that how they bumped into each other wasn’t luck at all. She saw him and deliberately ran the stop sign.

  They have one son Sampson who had gone off to college on a basketball scholarship. He had no choice but to be tall, and he even towered over his father at six-foot-ten. All the Berry family was active in church, and Sampson happened to be engaged to the preacher’s daughter Pricilla.

  Three short rings: Jerrod and Sarah Hammond. Jerrod was a happy go lucky guy who never forgets his wife’s birthday and maybe it’s because they shared the same birthday. They were born the same year and the same day October 31, 1931. They met in kindergarten and since they shared the same birthday, they developed a strong bond. They did go through a time in junior high that they hated each other, and that hate lasted only a month. Jerrod always told people the time they hated each other was when they fell in love.

  When Jerrod got a scholarship to UCLA, Sarah became heartbroken. After a month of anguish, she decided to go with him. Their parents had a conniption fit, so they married on a day befitting to them, Halloween.

  Jerrod stood five-ten with a small frame, but his mischievous eyes make up for it. He had brown curly hair that frizzes in rainy weather. He had deep brown eyes and a smile that lit up the world. He was best known for his laugh and how he likes to joke around with people. Everyone loved him and that’s the reason for his success as an insurance salesman. Allstate, part of Sears hired him right out of college. Four years ago they transferred him to Spiro.

  Sarah took on the responsibility as being the down to earth partner in their relationship. She was the one who disciplines the children and keeps the house in order. She cheered in high school and volunteers as a coach for the Spiro Bulldog cheerleaders. She ran several miles a week and because she was so physically fit, her five-foot-five stature showed athleticism. Two years ago she ran the Boston marathon and patted herself on the back because she finished the race in the top ten percent. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin stood out in a crowd, especially Spiro where many of the residents are Native American.

  Jerrod and Sarah had a daughter and a son, Laurie and Lenny. People always commented on how Laurie looked identical to her mother but had her father’s personality. She had beautiful hazel eyes with long blond straight hair and was athletic like her mom.


  Lenny was opposite, he looks and acts just like his dad. Lenny got the curly brown hair like his dad. Even Jerrod and Lenny’s eyes were a deep dark mysterious brown. The brown in their eyes appeared so dark you couldn’t even tell where their pupils began. Laurie always told her brother his eyes reminded her of an alien. She even told him he came from another planet. When Lenny was little he cried when Laurie told him he came from an alien, now he clobbers her when she teases him. Laurie turned eighteen October 30. Her parents tried for the 31st, but missed it by sixteen minutes. But they made up for it with Lenny. He was born on October 31, and Lenny never lets Laurie forget it. He calls her the oddball of the family.

  Four short rings: Bill and Bessie Pacer. They are Gerty’s great aunt and uncle. Bill and Bessie met at the furniture manufacturing plant in Fort Smith forty two years ago. Once they married Bessie quit her job to take care of the home. For years they tried to have children, but they were never blessed. Between the two of them, they had hundreds of nieces and nephews who love them.

  Since both of them were from Spiro, they stayed active in family gatherings and church functions through the years. They never missed a graduation or wedding. Bessie even tried to visit all the nieces when they became new mommies.

  For decades Bill had been a hardworking man who turned sixty one years old last winter. Even though Bill only stood five-feet-nine, he still towered over Bessie’s small five-foot frame. He had turned gray headed years ago. Although his years and gray hair told his age, his personality didn’t reflect old age at all. His outgoing jolly spirit put everyone in a good mood. Nobody could ever remember Bill showing anger, nor could they remember him ever being in a bad mood. It was not in his nature.

  Bessie turned sixty one years old this past spring. She had also turned gray headed and didn’t weigh one hundred pounds dripping wet. She walked everywhere and that kept her in shape. One day she estimated her and her sister Lenora walked about fifty miles a month. Bessie and Gerty’s grandmother, Lenora Wallace, walk to town two or three times a week, sometimes more. Usually they bought groceries, but sometimes they only window shopped. It all depended on their mood. Bessie and Lenora were only fourteen months apart in age (Lenora’s older), and they are best friends and have been all their lives. When Jeremiah, Gerty’s grandfather was alive the four of them were inseparable. They all went to church together, ate together, and did everything together. When Jeremiah died in 1967, Bill never got over it because they were best friends.

  ‘The Beginning’

  Saturday

  June 5, 1971

  Chapter 1

  “Come on Gerty, everyone is waiting on you. Tommy and your dad have already left for the car,” yelled Gerty’s mom, Ann Connor, as she grabbed a few items out of the pantry to put in the cooler. She knew they would drive straight to her mom’s house because Harry hated to stop for anything. He said if they stopped, the three hour trip turned into a five hour trip.

  On the way to the staircase Ann glanced at the dining room mirror next to the kitchen and looked at her reflection. Even though she had passed the ripe old age of thirty, she still had pretty features. Ann had high cheek bones with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. She moved closer to the mirror for one quick glance for any gray hairs, she didn’t find any. If one did pop up, she plucked it out immediately. Her shag haircut fell loosely around her face and it made her look at least five years younger. She tossed her hair with her fingers and glanced up the stairs. Gerty was nowhere in sight.

  Ann yelled at her daughter from the bottom of the stairs. “Gerty, I’m not going to tell you again, we have waited on you for at least twenty minutes. You know how upset your dad gets when we don’t leave right at nine o’clock.” Ann glanced up at the black and white cat clock nailed on the wall above the stove. It read 9:09, Harry will have a conniption. Ann grabbed a bag and filled it with crunch ‘n’munch, RC cola, Yoohoo’s, and fruit. She put everything by the door, and went back for her Tab. Ann couldn’t forget her Tab. After two kids she had to cut back every calorie possible. Ann tapped her foot and tried to think if anything had been forgotten, against her better judgment she grabbed some pop rocks and bottle caps for the kids.

  Frustrated, Ann ran up the stairs to see what kept her daughter. “Gerty, we have waited on you for twenty minutes, and you better hope your dad doesn’t come in to get you,” said Ann as she walked into Gerty’s bedroom. One quick glance around the room she noticed the empty suitcase and all the clothes haphazardly tossed everywhere. Ann got madder than a wet hornet.

  “Ann, do I look fat in this outfit?” Gerty asked while posing in front of the full length mirror standing upright in the corner of her bedroom. She loved that mirror. She practiced modeling hours on end in front of the antique mirror. Gerty and her friends pretended they were models on a New York runway making three dollars an hour, a ton of money. Then they thought of ways to spend the money. Gerty decided she wanted to buy a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia fastback. She didn’t know anyone who had one, so she would be the first one in Tulsa to own one.

  “I have told you a million times not to call me Ann, my name is Mom. You need to be more worried about the time. Your granny wants us to get there by noon, she will have lunch cooked for us,” said Ann as she threw Gerty’s clothes in the suitcase. This little toot didn’t have one thing packed. Everything was thrown across the bed; shorts, socks, tennis shoes, tops, and her Sunday dress. Ann reached over and swatted her daughter on the bottom. “I’m giving you five minutes to get downstairs or I’ll send your dad up here, and I don’t think you want me to get him.”

  “Did you wash my pedal pushers? I can’t find my purple and white palazzo pants.” Gerty bought a new yellow pheasant top the last time they were at TG & Y and it looked good with her multi-colored striped pedal pushers.

  “Everyone is in the car waiting on you,” impatiently yelled Harry Connor as he slammed the front door. He stomped in the house and when he got mad everyone knew about it. His Irish skin turned red which made his red hair blend in with his face. His stocky six foot frame looked like a WWE wrestler. Gerty said her dad was built like Bruno Sammartino. Every time someone mentioned Bruno, Harry would chase the kids through the house and act like a wrestler chasing his opponent.

  “Now you’re in trouble young lady, your dad has come in to look for us.” She grabbed the pedal pushers that hung in Gerty’s closet and threw them in the suitcase while heading for the door. “You have five minutes. Harry, we’ll be down in a few minutes.” As Ann walked out the bedroom door and she held up five fingers as a reminder to her daughter.

  Pushy, pushy, pushy! Grown-ups are always in a hurry, thought Gerty. She hummed the new Beatles song that just came out, Hey Jude. She closed up her suitcase and struggled to lift it off the bed. As it was dragged across the wood floor and it made a click, click, click as it crossed over the cracks. Someone needs to invent a suitcase that rolls, she thought still humming Hey Jude without a care in the world.

  “Gerty, if I have to come get you, I will take away your record player for a month,” said her dad madder than a hornet. He dreaded the day she started to wear makeup. This little girl was already late everywhere they went. He couldn’t imagine how long it could take her when she started to get all dolled up, and started to wear all that junk on her face.

  “I’m coming, this suitcase is heavy and it took awhile to lug it downstairs,” Gerty whined. She knew if she whined loud enough, her dad would come to her rescue.

  Harry walked up the stairs and grabbed the suitcase. “You know I wanted to be gone by nine. Now, it’s nine-thirty, so you better go to the bathroom before we leave because I’m not stopping.”

  Ann listened to the anger in her husband’s voice. Normally he tried to be a patient man, but he never had patience when it came to being on time. Ann smiled when she thought about how Gerty was born two weeks past her due date. Thinking back, she couldn’t remember her ever being on time for anything.

  Everyone piled in the 1968 Me
rcury Colony Station Wagon, and just before dad drove out of the driveway he asked one last time. “Does anyone need to go to the bathroom? Speak up now or hold it until we get to Granny’s.” He looked around and no one said anything.

  Ann smiled as she thought no one dared say anything because they knew Gerty had already made Harry mad. Everyone knew to keep their mouths shut or dad would go into a tyrant for the next thirty minutes.

  “Harry, did you remember to go by the gas station yesterday?” Ann asked wanting to change the subject.

  “Yes I did, I filled up at Gulf gas station, and next stop will be your mom’s. I’m sure glad the stations started this self service option, the gas is cheaper. It’s nice not having to pay to have my oil checked or my windshield to be washed. I can maintenance my car at home.” He had calmed down and he reached over and squeezed his wife’s hand.

  “You know Spiro won’t have any self service stations,” said Ann as she pulled down the visor to block the sun.

  “I know, but I’ll find a station that is self service and we’ll fill up there, if not I’ll stop at Stuckey’s. It doesn’t matter where we stop the price of gas is still high. Can you believe gas cost .36 cents a gallon, that’s highway robbery?” He got mad every time he thought about the price of gas.