Desperation Leads to Seriously Bad Decisions: Fandango Story Starter

“Please, for my sake, try to persuade him not to come here,” she begged. Donna was appalled to hear from Marcus that Jeff planned to follow her home to Memphis. She had been so desperate to have a husband, that she believed any man with a job and good teeth would do.

When she told her friend Marcus that she was lonely and wanted to find a husband, he suggested his friend Jeff who was also anxious to be married, and he was visiting in Memphis. Marcus assured her they were compatible, and that she would like Jeff. He arranged a date for them at a restaurant, and from the first moment she saw Jeff, she was impressed by his suits and good manners. They talked about what each wanted in a mate. Taking a huge chance, they went to the courthouse and were married after just one week of dating. Both were in their forties and thought they knew enough to know a good thing when they saw it. So, why wait?

She had no idea what it was like in Wyoming where he lived and worked but she was old-fashioned enough to believe that the woman should follow the man. He told her he worked in agricultural production, so she assumed he had a regular office job, but they didn’t discuss it too much.

Jeff picked her up at the airport, with lots of hugs and kisses. Her first clue that something was amiss was his Carhartt overalls covered in mud. The second clue was the huge distance between Jeff’s place and the nearest town. The final clue that sent her back to Memphis was the learning she was expected to learn to ride a tractor and a horse to help with the chores of a farmer who speculates in cows and hay.

She didn’t stay one night! She was a city girl! She needed Michelin-starred restaurants, gyms, and nail salons. She needed to see her next-door neighbors’ houses. Before she boarded the plane home, she arranged to meet an attorney to annul the marriage. Why didn’t he tell her he was a farmer? She is grateful to farmers for their service to the country. But she didn’t want the work or the smell.

Learn from Donna’s and Jeff’s mistakes. Desperation is a terrible excuse for making any decisions, especially those that can change your life completely.

Written for the Fandango Story Starter #166. The prompt is in bold. The Three Things Challenge #M813 prompts are horse, farmer, and tractor.

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