The War--World War II--affected everyone in the United States, even though there was no fighting on U.S. soil after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. On one hand, the War played a significant role in conquering the viciousness of the Great Depression; on the other, it just as equally broke families apart and resulted in much sorrow. Leta felt great compassion for those adversely affected and for the world itself, serving as she could through her church and ladies’ auxiliary. Her husband Bob even enlisted when called to do so in 1942. And he was nearly 50 years old!
However, in spite of the world conflict, Leta was actually filled with happiness.
Her daughter Vivian and delightful grandson Don were living with her while husband and father Ed was serving the Air Force. Although she was actually a force in her own right, Vivian seemed lost without her husband. They had been married nearly six years when Ed went away, leaving Vivian, not only alone, but alone with a three-year-old son, who was quite attached to his father.
Ed’s departure provided a wonderful opportunity for Leta to reconnect with Vivian, after over a decade of a fumbling relationship. While Leta owned the blame, she also realized that circumstance put her, as a woman, in some distressing situations, particularly throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s. The most painful was having to separate from her children when Vivian was only 13. Due to a series of choices that turned out badly, she saw no alternative to leaving Vivian and her son Dale, age 10, in the care of their father and stepmother when she could no longer support them, or even herself.
Vivian accepted the situation, but it tore into the better relationship a mother and daughter should have. Even into adulthood, Vivian remained aloof.
But with Ed gone, Vivian needed her mother. The first opportunity for Leta to reconnect arose when Vivian took a job as a secretary for some income to support herself and little Don. Leta, whose own husband Bob had a terrific manufacturing job, babysat. Every morning, Vivian would drop off a sleepy little boy, and in the evening she would pick him up. Eventually, Vivian stayed on for supper. That way, she could unwind a bit from her day, and eat a good meal without having to rush home and cook.
Fortunately for their relationship, the job wasn’t working out. Vivian missed her husband and, more immediately, her little one so much that she couldn’t concentrate. At least, that’s what she said. It was hard enough, she noted, that her husband was gone and in dangerous situations. Being absent from her son all day was choking her heart. One evening after several days of Vivian’s sharing her heartache at being away from her young son, Bob made the offer. “Why don’t you and Don live here?” he asked. “With us?”
They had room. Although their house wasn’t particularly large, it was more room than needed by an older couple with no children. In fact, they rarely used the second floor at all, having their bedroom on the first. The two rooms would give both Don and Vivian bedrooms, their own bathroom (a rarity in those days) and as much privacy as Vivian wished.
Leta held her breath while Vivian considered the opportunity. Although she and Bob had discussed such a living arrangement, they had been undecided on when and how to propose it. Leta feared that if she had, her daughter would have rejected it outright. However, coming from Bob, the offer had a different air.
“Let me talk to Ed,” Vivian said at last.
Bob grabbed Leta’s knee under the table. He knew that she was prepared to say something, something that might not have come out of her mouth as delicately as it should. This knee grab was a sign to her that he would remain in charge of the negotiation. She held her tongue.
The truth was that Ed didn’t much like her. Of course, her own behavior didn’t help that. Having been raised by a morally upright, stay-at-home, wifely mother himself, he couldn’t comprehend Leta’s behavior and therefore rejected it. It didn’t help that the first time they met, she had been drinking, which made her overly affectionate. Not that Ed never had a drink, but he was full of moderation, like Vivian. While it made them a good match, it did create a perplexing dynamic between the three of them. However, Ed was incredibly sensible, and he did realize that, for better or worse, she was his wife’s mother, and it behooved him to be at least friendly.
What Leta feared was that in talking to Ed about the living situation, he would forbid it. And Vivian would agree.
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