Chapter One

Dolly and Joe have been friends with each other since childhood. Dolly grew up in a small trailer park at the other end of town. Joe was her neighbor. In the summer of 1970, Dolly experienced her first sense of romance. They were swimming in the Spring Creek. They laughed and had a wonderful time. He kissed her suddenly and unexpectedly passionately. She was a sheltered teenage girl who had never been kissed before. The passion that filled her body was overcoming. She was lost in the passion of the kiss and taken to another world. She didn’t know what to say or do. She just stood there and enjoyed the moment. A warm feeling came over her body. She felt happiness. She felt as if someone was taking care of her. Then her sister Marie called her name. The wonderful moment and the feeling were over. She began to feel like she had done something wrong.

The next day, she saw Joe and didn't know what was going to happen next. They sit and talk for hours. They shared their dreams for the future. He wanted to play Professional Football. She wanted to be a schoolteacher. They sit on a blanket on the ground near the spring and listen to the radio. He held her in his arms for hours. She felt safe for the first time in a long time. She had been sexually abused by her brother-in-law Charlie. Charlie would get her in the corner and caress her breast. She was afraid to tell someone. She couldn't hurt her sister like that.  Her sister Charity was suffering from cancer and was fighting for her life.

Charity was her older sister. She was taking chemotherapy when the incidents began to happen. Dolly did everything she could to avoid him, to include babysitting after school. They all lived together with their parents in the same house. Charity moved in with her husband Charlie and three children, when she was diagnosed with cancer. She needed help to take care of the children. Charity was on the verge of death and Dolly could not intensify the pain. It was hard enough to see her in pain every day. Knowing that she couldn't do anything.   If she could have taken the pain away, she would have.

Many nights she stayed up late with Joe and listened to the radio. When she was with Joe, Charlie would never mess with her. She feared the nights when Joe couldn't stay with her.  One evening, when Joe came by, she was the only one at home. She was afraid that Charlie would come home. Joe had his aunt from out of town visiting for the week. She told Joe about Charlie. Charlie never abused her again. Joe had threatened to kill him. Dolly knew that Joe loved her and would protect her.

A week later was homecoming. Dolly was dressed in a beautiful evening dress and felt like a queen. Joe was her king. They danced until after midnight. After the dance, they went to Spring Creek and continued to celebrate Homecoming. She knew was safe and had nothing to fear. They lay on a blanket and watched the sunrise. He held her tightly and insisted on kissing her again. The passion of the moment had overtaken them both. Being carried away in the moment of passion, he began caressing breast. Then he began to remove her underwear. He stopped and looked her in the eye and asked, "Have you done this before?"   Dolly was a virgin. When she replied, "I've never done this before." Joe gently held her in his arms and said, "I want you to think about it and make sure it's what you want."  They sat down on the blanket and held each other. Dolly was reassured Joe really loved her. She found her soulmate.

He took her home the next morning before her parents woke up. They had spent their first night together. She wanted to be with him forever and he felt the same way. Two teenagers experience love for the first time. This was a magical time for them. True love between two people. The relationship she has always dreamed of. She couldn't wait to get home from school. She wanted to see him all day. She had never been happy. For the first time in a long time, she was looking forward to coming home. Before she was afraid, Charlie would wait for her.

As months passed Charity became weak and filled with pain. Dolly sat by her side and prayed that God would please take away the pain. The cancer had covered her whole body. She was paralyzed from the waist down. She didn't want to eat; the chemotherapy had made her sick. Joe always stopped by after school on the way home. He would pick up something special for her. He felt that if he could her make a life a little better, if only for a little time. Then maybe the pain would subside if only for a moment. Sometimes it was just a candy bar, and sometimes it was a meal for a fast-food restaurant. No matter what it was, Charity would always eat it. Dolly and Joe sat next to her on the bed and fed her. The tragic illness of Charity had placed a special bond between them. Joe’s heart was broken to see the pain.

It was Friday evening, Dolly and Joe went to Spring Creek. It took her some time to get away from the house. It was hard for them leave Charity she was restless, and they didn’t want to leave her alone.   Joe showed Dolly compassion. While sitting on the blanket, he began to kiss her passionately. While they were carried away in the passion of the moment, they experienced love in a compassionate sexual manner. The night was special. They lay in each other’s arms until they were awakened by the warmth of the morning sunrise on the face. Dolly returned home and was confronted with the real world. She had been swept away into another magical world. She felt in love, protected and committed in her heart to a life with Joe.

Joe heard some talk on TV about how marijuana helps people going through chemotherapy. It should help with nausea and pain. Joe had never seen marijuana. He knew that involvement in drugs would get him out of the football team. He would lose his chance to become a professional footballer. As he sat at Charity’s bedside, he was distraught to see how she was in so much pain. He was willing to do anything to make the pain go away. He desperately tried to hide the tears that dripped down his face.

When Dolly left the room to go to the bathroom. Joe took the opportunity to talk to her about marijuana. Charity was in great pain. The painkillers that the doctor had prescribed for her did not help her. She tried to hide it from the family. Joe could see it in her eyes. Charity was desperate to find something to ease the pain. If only it would go away for a little while. If only for a moment it could be painless. She agreed to try the marijuana, but Joe had to promise not to tell anyone. He agreed. Every day after school, he brought her a joint. If no one was there, she would smoke it, the pain did not seem to be so bad?  She had found a way to get a little relief.

Joe was looking forward to another night with Dolly. The passion and love continued to grow. It was just an escape from the real world. Dolly cried for hours in his arms. Joe was always there to hold her in his arms. When she was in his arms, the world turned into another place. Joe began to gently rub the tears from her eyes with his thumb. He asked to kiss her passionately and they had another intimate night together.

The next day on his way home from school, Joe meets Clark and bought the marijuana for Charity. He would only take one joint a day and leave the rest in his car. That way, no one would ever know. Charity had been in so much pain that day. She kept asking for Joe. She knew that he would bring her a joint and the pain would subside. Joe went into the house and gave her a joint. She smoked it and was able to relax and feel relief from the pain.

On the way to school, Joe was stopped by a police officer. His vehicle was searched, and the marijuana was discovered. The police officer arrested him and took him to prison. Joe spent months in prison waiting to go to court. Six months had passed, and he wouldn't tell anyone what he was doing with marijuana. Dolly's parents forbid her to see Joe anymore. Joe was seen as being a drug user.

Joe had accepted a plea bargain for two years in prison for possession of marijuana. Charity on her deathbed told her parents and Dolly why Joe had the drugs. Dolly held her hand while sitting on the bed, Charity took her last breath. Dolly was distraught. This was her first experience with death. Now she knew Joe had to be told. He had given up all his dreams and two years of his life for Charity.

Dolly went to the funeral home. When she saw the coffin, her eyes filled with tears. Her knees were weak. She couldn’t catch her breath. The pain she felt in her heart was too much. She felt her whole body become limp. She had fainted. She was lying on the floor; everyone was standing above her. The ambulance was called, and Dolly was taken to the hospital. Dolly received a pregnancy test and tested positive. Dolly didn’t know what to do now. Joe was in prison, and she was pregnant. She was hospitalized and sedated. She didn't get to tell charity bye.

On the day of Charity's funeral, she learned that she was pregnant. She didn't just have to tell Joe about charity passing. She also had to tell him that she was pregnant. How could life be so cruel to them? The loss of Charity and Joe, who went to jail, and her pregnancy was too much for her to deal with emotionally. She prayed and asked God to help her endure the pain. Help her heal. Bring her comfort. She felt the presence of the God fill the hospital room. She heard someone singing Amazing Grace, but no one was in her room.

She looked around and didn't see anyone around. No one was in the hallway. She sits in awe. Amazing Grace was the song Charity would sing all the time. It was her favorite song. She remembered when Charity was diagnosed with cancer, she would sing it all the time. Every night before bed, she would read a Bible story to her children and sing them to sleep with Amazing Grace. Dolly began to feel a warm feeling that covered her body when she realized that Charity was there with her. It was her way of letting her know that everything was fine. She was now in heaven, no more pain, no more tears, filled with happiness. Charity lived for the day, she could walk through the streets of gold and praise the Holy Name of Jesus. Dolly continued to cry but felt peace in her heart. Now she had to tell Joe about Charity and the baby. Dolly wanted so much to be held in his arms again. In only place she felt safe.

Joe was sentenced to prison. Dolly never thought her life would end like this. Even after everything Joe did for Charity, her parents still didn't want her in a relationship with him.  She desperately wanted to visit Joe, but her parents didn't want to allow it.  Minors must never go to the visitation alone and must always be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Dolly was sixteen. How could this happen to her? She was sixteen, pregnant and couldn't even see Joe. The only contact she could have with him was to write letters. They did not allow her to talk to him on the phone.

She wanted to be with him to watch the expression on his face when she told him she was pregnant. He was to become a father. She didn't want to tell her parents until Joe knew. She didn't want to tell him a letter. She didn't know how to handle the situation. Dolly's parents believed that Joe would destroy Dolly’s life forever. If Dolly didn't smoke marijuana now, she would soon. If she continued to be with Joe, she would end up being addicted to drugs.

Dolly decided to talk to Joe's mother Julie about the situation. When she visited Julie, she became hostile. Julie believed she was the reason Joe was in prison. Julie didn't even open the door to let her in.  Julie saw that it was her at the door and said, "Never come back. You are not welcome." Dolly walked off the porch in tears. Everyone in the world was against them. Dolly called her best friend Amy. They had been friends since elementary school. The only other person that had always been there for her.

Dolly meets Amy for lunch at the local Crabby Shack. Dolly didn’t want to eat, she just wanted to talk. Amy ordered a bucket of crab legs. They could both eat. Amy's favorite foods of all time was seafood, especially crab legs. Any chance that she got crab legs to eat, she was happy. Dolly began to tell her that Charity had passed, Joe was in prison, and she was pregnant. Amy didn't know what to say. Dolly was alone in a garb of confusion. Everything had happened once. Dolly was waiting to wake up the nightmare. Only it was real. One day she sat on the top of the world. The next day, her life had changed forever.

Dolly needed a faithful friend. Amy was eighteen and maybe she could take her to see Joe. Would she be ready. How would she ever trick her parents into signing a paper that Amy could bring to see Joe. Her life became complicated in everyday life. When would it end? Life was so unfair. Would Amy agree to sign the papers and take them to Joe. Would they be able to accomplish the scheme?