Until the End of Time Read Online Free Page B

ask her by the end of the year, maybe at Christmas. But he loved her so much, and wanted her to know how serious he was about her. His family’s shoddy treatment of her had made him want to speak up now. He kissed her then, even before she answered, and she looked at him solemnly.
    “Do you mean that?” she asked him in a whisper.
    “Yes, I do.” His eyes never left hers. “Jenny Arden, will you marry me? If you do, I will love you until the end of time.” She smiled whenhe said it. He was so earnest, and such a good man. She had known from the very beginning that he was the one for her. And he had finally convinced her that it was destiny that they’d met. They were perfect for each other, they got along, and the fact that their paths had crossed twice seemed like more than just happenstance or blind luck. They felt made for each other, whatever his parents thought.
    “Yes,” she said in a tiny voice, with tears in her eyes. “Your parents will kill you, though. I didn’t go to boarding school, or Vassar. I was never a debutante, and I’m not blond.” She was teasing him a little, but she had them nailed.
    “I don’t give a damn,” he said, smiling, as he kissed her again. He was ecstatic, and she was smiling too. They were engaged! “I’m twenty-nine years old, and they’re not going to stop me from marrying the woman I love. And besides, they may have been rude today, but they have no right to interfere with us.”
    As it turned out, he underestimated them. His father was outraged and discussed it with Bill in an icy tone. His mother had nearly fainted when he told them. “Are you insane ? A coal miner’s daughter? Are you on drugs?” And his brothers had begged him not to break their parents’ hearts. They said that Jenny seemed like a nice girl, but not someone he should marry. They told him he’d get over it, and when he assured them he was serious, his brother Peter had stormed out of the room and slammed the door, after telling him he had been a weirdo all his life, and now it was obvious he was nuts. Tom was more restrained, but clearly felt the same way. They acted as though he had told them he was planning to join a monastery or cut off his head. No one in the family had ever married someone who wasn’t in the Social Register, and hadn’t been a blue blood forcountless generations. Bill didn’t tell Jenny how bad it got or how rude they were, and their appalling behavior convinced him even more that he was right, and he didn’t want to wait.
    On Thanksgiving, he told them that he and Jenny were going to be married in January, in a small ceremony. They had decided to get married in New York, in a tiny church they loved. Her grandmother and mother were going to come, and there would be a lunch afterward. Bill’s mother burst into tears, and Bill was grateful that Jenny wasn’t there to hear it. She had gone to Philadelphia while he told them on his own. It was a painful weekend for Bill. They didn’t sway him, but they made it as hard for him as they could. By Sunday, his parents said they would give a luncheon for them at their home after the wedding, providing they kept it small. They didn’t want to lose him by boycotting the event, but Bill had the feeling they would have planned his funeral with less despair. All of them were treating his marriage to Jenny as a tragedy. He was exhausted when he went home that night, and he spared Jenny the details of the weekend. He told her about the luncheon his parents were giving for them after the wedding. She had spent the weekend designing her wedding gown with her mother and grandmother. She wanted something very simple, but spectacularly beautiful for their big day. It was going to be absolutely exquisite, covered with incredibly delicate embroideries and tiny pearls, encrusted on antique lace. It was a gown that would have cost a fortune in Paris and would look magnificent on Jenny.
    The wedding went off as expected. Bill and Jenny were