Love In A Time Of Innocence

By Eleanor Jaye

People agree: Love makes the world go round. The book "LOVE In A Time Of Innocence" is a story that chronicles the emotions of love -- Fleeting -- Illicit -- Enduring.

Told mainly through dialogue, the book is an authorized condensed adaptation of the novel "No More An Island" written by Henry Jordan.

The fascinating story weaves through the lives of “ordinary” folk who explore and experience the mysteries of love in its many facets.

He loves cars – she loves him - they love life together. They elope and build a family. The man inside Jake craves freedom, excitement and danger. The woman inside Mary Lou wants the same, but she also craves peace, happiness and security.

Mary Lou's three sisters find themselves in love life situations entirely different from hers.

Life is changing fast – too fast. The tried and true ways and customs they learned growing up are melting away, as the whole world around them begins to change their lifestyle with new, surprising turns.

Fun, sex, success, pride, infidelity, disappointment – they all happen to Mary Lou's sisters, as Jake and Mary Lou’s marriage survives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hank10 Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452465722

Book preview

LOVE

IN A TIME OF INNOCENCE

A Novel by Eleanor Jaye

Copyright © 2011 Eleanor Jaye

All Rights Reserved

Published by Hank10 Publishing

Smashwords Edition

PREFACE

Love, as everyone acknowledges, makes the world go round. Fleeting, Illicit, Enduring. Love in a Time of Innocence chronicles all these emotions through an adaptation of No More an Island, a novel based on the years 1920 to 1941. Told mainly through dialogue, this is a story you will find fascinating as it weaves through the lives of ordinary folk who explore the mysteries of love with its many facets.

Chapter 1

It was almost ten o’clock on a Tuesday morning in late June, 1920. The hot rays of the summer sun were softened by the leaves of the large mimosa tree in the front yard. Nature’s yellow fireball in the sky was directing its revealing radiation right through the screen in the front door. Filtered light fell gently across her face as she looked out, watching the handsome young man walking along the sidewalk. Jake Johnson saw her and turned his head smartly to the left, flashing his best big smile.

Jake’s blood rushed as he watched the shimmering strands of hair move like waves of summer grass in the breeze when she tilted her head ever so slightly behind the screen door. All thoughts of automobiles were instantly drained from his mind. He could not control the sudden hard that pushed his pants forward. Embarrassed, he hoped she could not see the throbbing cigar shaped bulge that hinged upward.

Inside Jake’s mind, the sunlight turned her honey blonde hair into angel’s hair, as he continued to strut westward along East Main Street toward the business section of Oakswood. He was just on his way to work. He could set his own working hours now in his new job as an automobile salesman because he worked on commission only. Before he passed her house, he had been thinking about the shiny new Model A Ford demonstrator he would get this week. Mr. Moses had promised him the next roadster to roll off the railroad car when the new shipment arrived at the depot Friday, direct from Detroit.

Good morning Miss Beautiful; your hair is lovely in the sunlight, he said in a loud voice as he tipped his yellow straw hat and bowed his head ever so slightly.

Go to the devil! the seventeen year old responded, and whirled around to retreat farther inside the house into the shadows out of his sight. But she smiled to herself and felt a warm surge through her body as her youthful bosom heaved gently.

Who is this young man who dresses so smartly and walks by here almost every morning now? she thought to herself, I wonder what he does. I don’t dare show any interest. It wouldn’t be lady-like. Maybe Papa could find out who he is.

Papa was the county sheriff. He knew or knew about everyone in town and he could find out almost anything about anybody. But no, Mary Lou wouldn’t dare risk asking her father to check up on him. Papa would surely smell a rat. Papa said she was too young to have a steady boy friend, especially a newcomer to town. Besides, she was supposed to study all summer and get ready to become a school teacher.

Papa always said that Mary Lou was the smart one in his family of four girls and three boys. She was the first one in the whole family to graduate from high school. Less than ten percent of the entire population of the United States graduated from high school. He told his friends she would become his pride-and-joy school teacher daughter. But Mary Lou wasn’t convinced at all that she should sacrifice her youth, and her deep hormonal desires, just to stand in front of a room full of young boys and girls every day, mostly to please her Papa’s ego.

Sure, she was intelligent and school work had always been a snap for her, but she strongly felt all the urges that oozed out of the Irish genes buried inside her body -- the urges to set up housekeeping and mate with a handsome young fellow who could add excitement to her life and father her children. Mary Lou Huggins equated school teachers in her mind with old maids. And she had absolutely no intention of becoming an old maid, thank you very much. She saw a much more exciting and fulfilling future through the crystal ball buried in her mind.

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The next time she saw him, he was driving the new Ford roadster. The word convertible wasn’t coined yet. It was a honey, with big shiny wire spoke wheels mounted in front of both running boards. Four wheels on the ground to go and two up on the top for show. The car was painted bright yellow, with accent touches of dark brown. The tires were white sidewalls. The front and back bumpers were heavily chrome plated. The light brown canvas top could be folded down. It was absolutely the most beautiful moving vehicle Mary Lou had ever laid her bright blue eyes upon, and the well-dressed brown-eyed fellow driving it obviously had a shine on her.

Now how could she wangle a ride in that car?

She puzzled over the problem of how to meet him for three days before she hit upon what she decided was an ideal solution. It was a bit of a gamble, but it would be worth it if it worked. She would use Tut as her foil.

In Egypt, a British archeology team had unearthed a mummy named King Tutankhamen a few months ago. The newspapers and magazines were abuzz with publicity about the fabulous tomb of the boy king. Stories abounded about the rich golden artifacts, the luxurious furniture, and the unique colorful drawings on the walls of the tomb. Everyone started calling the mummy King Tut for short, because practically no one knew how to pronounce the whole proper name. The Huggins family had decided to bestow the name King Tut upon their new white puppy dog. Most of the family members immediately ditched the King part and shortened the name to Tut.

Tut was a playful fellow, and he quickly learned to come when called, wagging his little tail furiously. He was not allowed to leave the yard, and only once did he find his way into the house. Mama Huggins promptly shooed him out with a gentle swish of her straw broom. Dogs lived strictly outside the house in their society. Almost every family in town had at least one dog. All the dogs were loved, fed well and cared for, but dogs lived outside; people lived in houses. Some dogs had dog houses, but many made their beds in the wood shed or the buggy shelter. Tut had his own nice little red dog house. His name was lettered in white paint over the dog house door: King Tut.

Mary Lou carefully constructed her plot to meet the young man with the yellow macho car. She noticed he drove past her house frequently, going back and forth, east and west on Main Street. He obviously lived east of her house, but not on Main Street itself. Most probably he lived in one of the two boarding houses on Long Street, which was about five blocks farther east, out toward the train station. One of the mysteries in town was why it was called Long Street. It only ran three blocks. Nobody knew whether it was named as a joke or if, perhaps, a Mister Long had christened it. No records at the court house mentioned it, one way or the other.

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Mary Lou would arrange to be in the front yard of her house. She would make sure the front gate was open, and she would pretend to be sweeping leaves off the small lawn. She had made a note in her head of the approximate driving habits of this desirable piece of manhood and his gorgeous riding machine. She knew he often drove past about nine o’clock in the morning during the week days.

On Wednesday morning, at eight forty-five, she went out into the front yard, where the gate was closed. She called Tut, and sure enough the little dog came bounding into the front yard from the back yard where he had been sprawled under a china berry tree in lonesome agony. He was more than eager to please, and happy to see Mary Lou outside in his world. She leaned down and petted him and spoke to him, all the time watching the street. There weren’t too many cars in Oakswood yet. Not more than ten cars a day drove past the house, mostly going to and coming from the ice house and railroad station, so she hoped to be able to hear her young man approaching before he got there.

Luck was with her. She heard a car engine and looked down the long block. It was the yellow roadster. Carefully judging her timing, she picked up Tut, walked swiftly to the front gate, paused a moment, then opened the gate and put Tut on the ground, giving him a hefty shove toward the outside world. This startled and pleased the dog to no end. He had never been outside that gate before. Sudden freedom was his. He looked, he jumped up and down, he sniffed the sidewalk, and then, just as Mary Lou had hoped, he decided to investigate the street.

The gods of love were clearly on her side, as Mary Lou saw Tut run into the middle of Main Street at precisely the right moment to put himself smack dab in front of the oncoming yellow Ford roadster.

Jake Johnson saw the dog and slammed both his feet against the pedals as hard as he could, jamming the clutch on the left and the brake pedal on the right. He pushed with all his might, and the tires bit into the brick paved street with a loud squealing noise that brought three neighbors out of their houses to see what all the commotion was about. No other cars were in sight in either direction.

The Ford came to a quick stop just inches away from the spot where the trembling puppy stood frozen in terror, virtually glued to the pavement, trickling yellow urine onto the red brick pavement.

Thank God he stopped in time, Mary Lou said softly out loud to herself. She had harbored the hidden fear that the prank would backfire and she would have effectively murdered the beloved family pup. Fate saved her from that tragedy, however, and the morning sun was now smiling down upon her carefully orchestrated opera entitled How to Meet Jake Johnson. The scheme had worked!

Chapter 2

Mary Lou grabbed the dog Tut and cuddled him in her arms next to her two breasts. Tut trembled and shivered for a few moments, then settled down. Mary Lou walked with a bit of hesitation to the driver’s side of the roadster. She looked right into the eyes of the handsome young man driving the car. She admired his strong chin, his flashing brown eyes, his rich black hair, and his overall masculine aura.

She smiled her broadest smile, then said haltingly I’m awfully sorry. Our dog got out through the gate when I wasn’t looking. He’s just a puppy, and he has never been outside the yard before. I guess he just doesn’t know about the danger of being in the street when an automobile is approaching. I want you to know how very much I appreciate it that you could stop in time to save him.

I’m glad I saw him and could stop in time. He’s a cute little thing. What do you call him? said Jake Johnson, as he returned her frank gaze. He thought she was the most delicious mortal he had seen in Oakswood, Alabama. Her blonde hair, her blue eyes, her creamy complexion, her well proportioned body. This was a girl he could go for in a big way.

How can I get her interested in me, he wondered.

Struggling for something meaningful to say, without blurting out what was really in his mind, he simply said, I like dogs.

Mary Lou lost no time in keeping the conversation going. His name is Tut – actually King Tut, but everybody just calls him Tut. We named him after the Egyptian king mummy they dug up over there.

Oh, I’m afraid I don’t know anything about Egypt or mummies.

I’ll bet you know a lot about cars, though.

Well, yes, I do know a little bit. In fact I am a car salesman, and this is my new demonstrator. My name is Johnson – Jake Johnson. He tipped his stylish straw hat and smiled broadly, revealing his jet black hair, and never taking his eyes away from hers.

Holding Tut tucked against her with her left arm and hand, she stuck her right hand through the open window and shook his masculine hand demurely. Howdy Mr. Johnson. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Miss Huggins.

Do you live in this house?

Why yes I do.

Jake glanced briefly at the neat lawn and white frame house, but quickly returned his full attention to Mary Lou.

I heard that the county sheriff lives in this house. Are you his daughter?

Mary Lou flushed and blushed a bit, but managed to control her voice as she replied Well, you may be new in town, but you sure do get around, and find out about people.

I make it part of my job to find out about the really important people in town. I intend to settle down and live here a long time, and sell a lot of cars to the people in town. I figure if I can get the leading citizens in town to trade with me, and get to know me and trust me, other folks will follow their lead, and I can really make it.

Jake was determined to make a life for himself totally different from the farm life he had left behind. He had been born and raised on a small farm about thirty five miles north of Oakswood, near the community of Clear Creek.

.Jake was the youngest of three boys and Clara was the younger of two sisters. His two older brothers, Joshua and Julius, had left home as soon as they turned eighteen. When they left the farm, they both took jobs in Oakswood, which was a growing town with ready employment.

Joshua became a railroad conductor. Julius, who worked at various manual jobs in town, never married. He was killed in France during the war.

Clara’s sister Elsie had left home at the age of sixteen to get married.

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As he plowed and repaired the farm’s equipment, Jake vowed to own an automobile some day. He often pictured himself in his mind driving a Ford with a pretty girl sitting beside him. He didn’t realize that the Model A would be a major influence in his life.

Chapter 3

Jake and his brother