Eddie had plans. Most kids do. That is, they think of plans, but seldom do they come true. One boy wants to be a football star. A girl who longs for the stage and silver screen. Some just want a family, kids, and a steady job. Sometimes, that’s thrust upon them.

Sixteen and in the back of a car. A blue Chevy Eddie bought with money he’d saved from working at the Piggly Wiggly. The son of Maggie had worked there since he was fifteen. Cleaning up aisles. Stocking shelves. Giving money to his mom to keep bills paid. The rest he saved for that car. It was his dream to own it one day. Which he did for five hundred dollars. A little elbow grease here and there. A paint job. A new muffler. This was his chariot, which would soon have a baby seat in the back. Fuzzy dice were thrown away.

Seventeen years old. A young age to be parents. Eddie and his wife, Virginia, learned the old-fashioned way; trial and testing. Throwing the baby in water and seeing if the newborn girl could swim while they were drowning.

Maggie was not proud of her granddaughter. She was angry at Eddie and Virginia for being what she called irresponsible. She was angry for her son following in his dad’s footsteps. Mad at her own mistakes of youth.

As for Virginia’s parents. They shunned her, too. No one taught them how to change a diaper or run water for a bath. Why should they? The parents thought. Why should they?

Christmas was over. No more presents. No more stories of the baby Jesus around the tree. Time to grow up, her father said. My daughter. Married by a justice of the peace, Dad said to his wife. Married to a store clerk. All I can say is, good luck. And he didn’t even mean it.