Arousing Love, a teen novel (25 page)

“I won’t.”

I lay in bed thinking about Joanna in her
room right above me. Was she awake and thinking about me too?
I
wish I could be with her. We wouldn’t do anything, we’d just hold
each other. That would be so nice, cuddling up with her in bed. We
could go to sleep in each other’s arms.
I sighed. This was
gonna be harder than I thought. I rolled over and tried not to
think about anything.

I was awoken by Joanna coming into the room.
“Good morning. Did you sleep alright?” She whispered.

“What time is it?” I whispered back.

She sat down on the edge of my bed. “It’s
seven o’clock. Did you need more sleep?”

“Nah. I didn’t get much sleep last
night.”

“Same. I was too excited.”

I rubbed my eyes and looked her over. She was
wearing a white towel robe. “Are your parents up yet?”

“No.” She smiled mischievously.

“What are you wearing under that robe?”

She stifled a laugh. “Wouldn’t you like to
know.”

I put my arms around her, then suddenly
started tickling her. She squealed and tried to push my hands
away.

“Stop, you’ll wake my parents.”

I stopped ticking her, and she grinned back
at me. She glanced towards the doorway.

“If you wanna see what I’ve got under
here
. . .
” She stood up and
untied her robe, flashing it open. I got a glimpse of a matching
pink t-shirt and shorts with love hearts on them, very cute.

“Nothing too exciting.” She giggled, retying
her robe.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you last
night. I was tempted to sneak up to your room.”

“I was kinda hoping you would, but I probably
shouldn’t say that. We’ve got to be careful now, Zach. We’re going
to be tempted more than ever.”

“I know. I don’t wanna do anything to lose
your parent’s trust.”

Joanna crouched down next to the bed and
kissed my lips. “We just have to try our hardest not to give in to
temptation.” She kissed me again then stood up. “Did you want me to
make you some breakfast? I could make some pancakes.”

“Sure. I’m gonna take a quick shower. Is that
okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll have your pancakes ready for you
when you get out.” She smiled and went off to the kitchen.

After my shower, I dressed and went to the
kitchen. Joanna’s parents were up now, and her father was reading a
newspaper at the table. Joanna was cooking pancakes for
everyone.

“Good morning.” Her mom greeted me with a
smile. “I hope you slept alright on that old sofa bed. Was it
comfortable enough for you?”

“Yeah, it was fine, thanks.”

“Joanna’s showing off her cooking skills this
morning.” Her dad teased.

Joanna laughed. “Watch out dad, or yours
might end up a little crispy.” She grinned at me and I grinned
back. She served up the pancakes, and we all ate.

“We’ve been discussing things,” Joanna’s
father indicated his wife and himself, “and we need to sit down and
talk about your future
. . .
and
since we’re all here, we may as well do it right now, over
breakfast.” He looked around at each of us, and there was an
immediate feeling of expectation in the air.

“Joanna, how do you feel about being
betrothed to Zach?”

“It’s what I want more than anything. We love
each other, and God has shown us we’re meant for each other.”

“So you feel you’re ready for this kind of
commitment?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What about you, Zach? Do you want to be
betrothed to Joanna now, or do you want to wait a while first?”

“I don’t want to wait. We’re both sure.” I
was feeling all tense and nervous. I knew this was one of those big
moments in my life.

“Well, we discussed this last night.” He
indicated his wife again. He looked at her, prompting her to
speak.

“I’m not exactly keen on the idea of you
getting married at seventeen.” Her mother’s voice was full of
strained tension. “I think it’s far too young, I think it should be
eighteen at least, and I’d prefer it if you waited until Zach has a
job and you’re in a better position to support each other.”

I glanced at her father, and he smiled
reassuringly.

“But mom, my age doesn’t—”

“Wait, I’m not finished.” Joanna’s mother
held up a hand. “I know what you’re going to say, and you don’t
need to say it. I’ve talked about this with your father, and he
thinks this is what’s best for you, so I’m going along with it.
But, I have a few conditions of my own. After you get married, I’d
like it if both of you lived here in this house until Joanna is at
least eighteen, and preferably until Zach has a fulltime job.”

“You mean after I finish college? That’s four
years from now.” I was a little shocked. I didn’t mind living here
for a while, but four years was a long time.

“Yes.” Her mother continued. “There’s a lot
of responsibility in getting married, and there’s the very real
possibility of you having a baby in that time, too.” Joanna’s
mother looked at her husband, then her daughter. “I’d feel a lot
better about it if you were living here rather than out there on
your own without any support.”

“The thing is, Mom, the whole idea of
marriage is about leaving your parents and going out on your own.
If we aren’t responsible enough to live on our own and take care of
ourselves, then we aren’t responsible enough to get married in the
first place. You can’t get married and still be taken care of by
your parents like children. We have to take responsibility for
ourselves and each other. That’s what marriage is. You’re saying
you’ll let us get married, but not let us have all the
responsibilities of adulthood until you think we’re ready.”

“Well, yes, that is what I’m saying, because
I don’t believe you’ll be ready to get married at seventeen. Zach
won’t have a job or an income. You’ll still be in high school.
You’re just not ready for marriage. This is a compromise to let you
marry before I think you’re ready.”

“Well, Joanna is right, though.” Her father
cut in. “Getting married is about leaving your parents and taking
responsibility for yourselves and each other. I have to hand over
to Zach all responsibility for Joanna. I don’t think we should put
that kind of condition on them after they’re married. It reminds me
of Jacob when he tried to leave his father-in-laws’ house. He had
to take them and escape in the night because his father-in-law
didn’t want to give up his daughters.”

“Yes, but part of his bride price was
agreeing to stay and work another seven years for Rachel after they
were married. A betrothal can have all sorts of conditions to
it.”

“His father in law tricked him into
that.”

“What exactly do you mean by being able to
support ourselves?” I brought the conversation back from its
theological sidetrack. “While I’m a student, my apartment and some
living expenses will be paid for by my scholarship, and a student
loan will pay for the rest. I can get a part time job, too. Joanna
and I could live there, and I’d be able to support her.”

“And I can work part time as well. Zach isn’t
the only one that has to support us.”

“I’d still prefer it if you lived here with
us ‘til you’re at least eighteen. You’ll still be very young, and
it would be better for both of you if you lived here. We could help
you and support you in your relationship. We’d respect your
privacy, and we’d treat you like adults.”

Joanna almost snorted. “You’d treat me like
an adult?”

I spoke up again. “It’s not really treating
us like adults to say we have to live with you until she’s old
enough. It’s still treating her like a child. I think if you’re
willing to give your daughter to me, you shouldn’t be trying to
keep hold of her like this, you need to let go. It’s like you’re
giving her to me but wanting to keep her at the same time.”

“That’s right. I feel she’s too young, and
this is a compromise. You have her as your wife and we have her as
our daughter for a little while longer until she’s old enough. I
just want to make things easier for you, so you get a good start in
life and don’t have to struggle to survive.”

“But we need our independence, Mom. We need
to learn to live on our own and take care of ourselves. We’ll get
by, and we’ll always have you to come to if we need you.”

Her father nodded. “Yes, you need your
independence, and if you choose to stay here until you’re better
able to support yourselves, that should be your decision, not
something we force on you. But I can also see why your mother feels
this way. You’re not an adult yet until you turn eighteen. We’ll
have to give our permission for you to marry while you’re legally
still a child, and we’d both feel better about it if we could see a
way to make sure you’re cared for and not thrust out into the world
prematurely to face life’s hardships.”

“That legal age thing is just an arbitrary
age the government came up with. Every country is different, in
Canada it’s only fifteen. It doesn’t really define who’s an adult
and who isn’t.”

“Well, it’s the only way we have to
differentiate an adult from a child. We don’t have a measure of
maturity we can use.”

“You can measure Joanna’s maturity, though.
You know her—”

“I do know my own daughter, Zach, a lot
better than you do.” Joanna’s mother raised her voice. “And I feel
she isn’t ready for marriage yet. That’s why I want her to live
here with us until she’s old enough. You get what you want and we
get to take care of her until she is an adult.”

“I don’t wanna be taken care of by my
parents, I want to be taken care of by my husband, and I’ll take
care of him. I want him to be responsible for me. I know Zach will
look after me, and I know God will help us through the tough times.
I don’t expect everything to be easy, but we’ll stick together
through everything. It’s not good for us to be treated like
children and cared for by my parents after we’re married. We need
to be on our own. I’m sad that you don’t trust us to take care of
ourselves. I can handle a lot more than you think. I’m not just a
child anymore, and I definitely won’t be a child when I marry Zach.
I’m a young woman, and if you gave me the chance, you’d see that
I’m a lot more capable and mature than you think.”

“We love you, Joanna.” Joanna’s mother spoke
in a calmer voice. “We just want the best for you.”

“You don’t want us to get married at
all.”

“Yes, I do, actually.”

“You do?” Joanna looked surprised.

“Yes. I like Zach very much, and I realize
you truly love each other. I just want you to be happy.” Her mom
signed. “Alright, I won’t make you have to live here after you get
married if you don’t want to, but I hope you’ll still consider it,
at least until you find your feet and get established.”

I felt relieved. I smiled at Joanna’s mother
and she gave me a resigned smile in return.

“Okay, so we won’t make that a condition of
betrothal, but this home is always available to you for as long as
you need it, and we’re happy to have you live here with us if you
choose to.” Joanna’s father looked like he’d enjoyed all this
hammering out. He smiled at me. “So you’re willing to pay the bride
price, Zach? Nothing sexual at all until the day we give her to you
as your wife?”

“Yes
. . .
but I think it would be good if we could define it more clearly,
because two people in love are always touching each other and
kissing and cuddling. We should define when it becomes sexual.”

“If we try to define it, it will leave loop
holes you can exploit. If there’s even the slightest thing sexual
about it, don’t do it.”

“I think that might be a little harsh.”
Joanna’s mother surprised us. “We should let them do the normal
romantic things a young couple do without worrying about it
breaking the rules.”

“Well how do you define normal romantic
things?”

“The thing I’d be worried about is any nudity
or touching of private areas, even through clothing. Other than
that, kissing and touching each other should be alright, as long as
it doesn’t get too heated so you lose all self control.”

“Okay,” Joanna’s father looked amused. “I
think that’s a workable definition. Do you agree with that,
Zach?”

“Yeah, it makes it clear enough.”

“Wait, I think you should define what is a
private area, because we might be cuddling, and Zach might
accidentally touch my breast or butt or something.”

We all laughed, and Joanna blushed. “Well,
it’s just that some areas might be harder to avoid when we’re doing
the normal romantic things.”

“I guess we can give them that one.” Her
father said, still laughing. “Alright, so no touching each other
under clothing in private areas, and no touching each other through
clothing in the genital area. Is that specific enough for you,
Joanna?”

Joanna nodded and smiled.

“So you agree to this as your bride price,
Zach? Do you solemnly promise to us that you won’t do anything
sexual with Joanna until we give her to you as your wife?”

I took a deep breath. “Yes, I promise.”

“And you promise to be honest with us about
whether you’ve kept your word?”

“Yes.”

“Then I agree to give my daughter to you in
marriage on the day she turns seventeen. Let’s shake on it.” He
stood and offered me his hand. I stood up and we shook hands over
the kitchen table. “Congratulations, you’re now betrothed.”

He smiled, and I smiled too, though the full
weight of his words were still sinking in.

“We’ll go out tonight and celebrate. This is
a happy occasion.” He grinned and slapped me and Joanna on the
back, then went out of the room. Joanna’s mother gave us a resigned
smile, and quietly excused herself from the table.

I looked at Joanna, my betrothed, and she
gave me the most beautiful smile.