A Jailhouse Wedding

Deputy Cody, the broad half-Indian with thick hands played his harmonica to the tune of "Here comes the bride. Sheriff Clayburn stood at the Jailhouse door with a loaded shotgun. He let down his guard over the wedding when the judge appeared at the entrance in his shoestring tie and shiny cufflinks, holding a black leather Bible in his hand.

The sheriff nodded. "I was beginning to wonder if what the pair said was true." He stepped aside as the judge shuffled toward Ruth and Luke inside the jail cell.

Luke looked past the judge toward the door to see if he could spot Ayanna the Indian maiden before the sun went down. He hadn't a chance to explain the wedding to her. Luke himself was trying to yoke himself to the idea.

Anna Beth, Ruth's daughter, held her mother's hand alongside Luke, as the judge stepped inside the cell. The judge seemed in a playful mood, as he bent over and introduced himself to Anna Beth. "You wouldn't be the precious gem of a girl I heard so much about?"

Anna Beth offered a shy smile and then hid behind her mother. Ruth shook the judge's hand. "I'm Ruth Thompson, sir. Thanks for doing this on short notice."

"I'm awful sorry that I couldn't meet you on better terms. I've likely learned more about you from town gossip then you would know about yourself." His fat cheeks reddened.

Luke reached over and held Ruth's hand. She looked drained of color until the lowering sun radiated through the barred window behind them. Luke put his other arm on her back to steady her. "It's okay, Ruth. I will take care of your daughter until you are free."

After Luke said it, he thought of the broken road she would go down and whether she could survive in prison. Ruth rested her head on his chest. Luke feared she could hear his heart pounding. A cold sweat hung on his neck. He was getting married in a jail cell. It wasn't the church wedding he once imagined.

"Well folks, I see we have witnesses by way of the sheriff and deputy," The Judge exclaimed.

Luke looked off through the front windows of the jail house. Ayanna was not to be seen. He couldn't tell Ruth how his heart was heavy as sand in a water spout.

"Let's get this legal then," said the judge. He looked over at the little girl Anna Beth. Are you ready to have Luke be your Pa?"

She beamed up at him. "Yes, sir."

"Ok, then," said the judge. "Lucas Cole, do you take Ruth Thompson to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and health, for better or worse, to have and to hold and until death do you part?"

"I do." Luke shuddered over the words, "Death do you part." He was sure he talked to the judge about saying, "For as long as you both shall live," than the mention of death."

"Ruth Thompson, do you take Lucas Cole to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold in sickness and in health, for better or worse, to have and to hold until death do you part?"

Luke watched as her eyes glistened with tears. Her tremulous lips spurted the words, "I do."

"If there is anyone here that would object or oppose to this union between Lucas and Ruth, speak now or forever hold your peace."

There was a gulf of silence, as Luke looked out the front jailhouse window, expecting Ayanna to walk in at any moment and say the words, a moment that never came.

The judge continued. "If there are no objections..." Oh no wait. It so happens I had a ring a poor girl gave me when her husband to be called off the wedding. It was fashioned from the silver found in the mine." He pulled it from his pocket and handed it over to Luke.

Luke slipped it on Ruth's finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

As Luke kissed Ruth, he wondered if her husband loved her, and somehow, he held her lips with his, as if it sealed his future. Opening his eyes, he watched Ayanna spill through the door.

Anna Beth raced over to her. They hugged. Luke shook the judge's hand and was about to leave Ruth to spend the night in jail.

Ruth looked lost. She grabbed Luke's arms and turned him around. "Stay with me, Luke! It's my last night. This one night. I've never had a man who cared about me the way you do. I'm afraid for tomorrow. I won't know what to tell Beth. She doesn't know they will take me back east. Just hold me until I fall asleep."

It was Luke's turn to look lost. He looked over at the sheriff, as the judge tipped his hat and left with his Bible. Ayanna hugged Anna Beth. He walked over toward Ayanna.

Ayanna looked at Luke without blinking. "I have a place for Anna Beth and I to stay. The church has a loft with a bed. I was there alone, praying when the preacher found me. He offered it. We can stay there until morning."

Luke's words for Ayanna were buried in his heart. He wanted to console her. But she hadn't seemed to let on that she was disappointed he married Ruth.

Cody, the deputy locked the pair in the jail cell. Luke had never been locked away before, and it took him a while for the tightness in his chest to subside. He sat down with Ruth on the mattress. They talked as darkness crept inside the dank cell. Eventually she curled into her cocoon on the mattress, and Luke held her in his protective arms until sleep found the dreams of freedom.