Tessie D

I’m going to be leaving my job at the end of the month. Mr. Owens and Angel were talking about the spring, and it seems that the dairy is struggling. They can’t afford to keep everyone on, and Angel suggested that they didn’t need me anymore.  When Angel told me, I asked him about my…

Angel and I went shopping yesterday afternoon for the wedding. I wanted to wear a dress, but I didn’t have a white one. To be honest, I didn’t have anything that would’ve been nice enough for a wedding. I could’ve worn my new white suit, but it seemed like it might be… inappropriate to wear…

I had a terrible night last night. I didn’t get any sleep, and then I came into work and broke down in tears in front of Angel. He was so confused, and I couldn’t tell him the real reason why. I just told him that it was about a book I’d read, and he figured…

Angel and I went to the courthouse at lunch today to pick up our marriage license and get an appointment for the ceremony on February 14th, Valentine’s Day. We haven’t told anyone at the dairy yet, so we were vague and only told Mr. Owens that we were running an errand in town during lunch…

Angel and I went out for a walk again today at lunch.  “Let’s go down to the county clerk’s office tomorrow at lunch. We’ll file for our marriage license and schedule our appointment with the judge. You’re okay with nothing fancy, right? I don’t want a big deal. It can be just you and me.…

We set the date for two weeks from now. This seems a little prophetic that Momma and Daddy got married after two weeks, so maybe it’s a sign. I told Angel yesterday evening after work. He’d followed me home in his truck to drop off my car, and then we’d gone to get dinner at…

Angel asked me again this morning about setting the date. I will admit that I like the idea of taking his name — I could be a new person with a new family and new connections. We could move further south, further away from home, away from everyone who knew me before, and I could…

An ice storm came through this morning. Luckily, the pipes and tanks in the barn didn’t freeze up. The cattle huddled together near the barns and under the awnings. They looked like statues, standing still together to keep warm and conserve energy. The dairy was still, as if a white weighted blanket had been dropped…

Sometimes I wonder how Angel hadn’t heard anything about me. Brownwood isn’t far from here. People know me back home. They know people here. I keep waiting for some spark of recognition. Or that he overhears some gossip. I would probably be a bit relieved, that way I wouldn’t have to tell him.  Maybe he…

The weather was nice this afternoon, so most of us at work sat outside under the big tree in the backyard during lunch. “Did you hear about the youth pastor at Hilltop Baptist Church? The real big one on the outskirts of town?” one of the dairy hands, Jimmy, asked in between bites of his…