As time passed during school hours my mom and Rick decided to get married. Of course, the parents on both sides forbade this and kept them apart. So my mom and Rick ran away from home, they decided to head to Rick's home country of England. They made it to England but family gave them away so the fled to Scotland. During this time, my grandparents were beside themselves their daughter was a runaway in a foreign country. So they called Interpol to look for her and Rick, it made front page news all over Europe.
Mom and Rick had found a home in Gretna green, Scotland and settled in until they could marry at 17. They decided that my mom should get pregnant so that nothing would stop their parents from letting them stay together. So she did just that, got pregnant at the age of 16 so she could marry Rick. They both found jobs and started making a life for themselves in Scotland, hoping for a future together.
One day a Scottish police officer decide to go out and burn his rubbish. He started the fire and was throwing in some of his work papers. As he was burning papers, he threw one in and the picture stared back at him. It just so happened that the two young people on the paper, were Rick and mom. It just so happened that he lived next door to them and had no clue they were runaways. He went and apprehended them immediately, he called Interpol and within the next 24 hours they were sent home.
Once home, their parents were furious at them and at each other. Blame was thrown in many directions and nothing was the way they wanted it. My very strict Catholic grandfather immediately decided to go home. He would take his pregnant daughter and his family back to the States. He went to Rick and told him "you will never see my daughter or your child ever!" he then told him, they were leaving the country. So my family packed up and came back to the states, they say that Rick was at the airport crying watching them leave.
My mom was brought home and enrolled back in high school and made to get a job. She was heartbroken and didn't know what would happen to her or her baby. She was scorned by many people and shamed for being pregnant. It was a very difficult thing to go through by herself and without her true love. She gave birth on October 9, 1968, to my sister Kimberly Pauline it was a very bittersweet day.
To be continued............
