The first time she married it was for love, or at least that’s what she believed. She was 19 years old and was more in love with the idea of men than she was with one particular man—Ralph. But she desired a man, he was available and eager, and she wanted to be married. When he proposed, she accepted. Neither one had much money, but both were employed. Of course, she quit her job when she became pregnant a few months later, but Ralph had a good job at the time. They were never rich, but no one else around them was either. Still, she managed to save out of her household allowance and through her own skills earn other income over the course of their nine-year marriage. When she divorced him, however, she spent all of her money on the process, and the sewing and cleaning jobs she took did not cover her and her children’s living expenses.
That did not matter, for during her separation, she bonded with Al. Actually, she did more than bond, she fell head over heels in love with him. This time around she was more mature, and she better understood compatibility and her own personal and sexual needs. They lived during the Great Depression, so financial difficulties were common and expected. Still, Al had a job, and they made extra income by making and selling gin to their friends and others who rejected Prohibition as the true American lifestyle. They could support themselves and her two children comfortably. Leta could not have been happier. She was living the kind of life that melded with her disposition and needs. And she smartly set aside a few dollars here and there, just in case. Alas, everything she had saved went to pay for Al’s funeral expenses. After only four years of wedded bliss, he was murdered.
Leta was devastated, Al’s killer having taken half of her own life. Already broken in spirit and hope, she very quickly went broke and relied on friends and family for financial and moral support. Still, she couldn’t go on this way, and she knew it. She had two children to support, and as a woman her options were few. When one of her neighbors and homemade alcohol clients asked her to marry him, she jumped at the chance. Maybe she didn’t really love him, but he was fun to be with and able to support them financially.
However, it was not a good marriage. They quickly realized that all they had in common was drinking, and while it may have made for fun times, living together on a day-to-day basis proved to be challenging. Besides, he was not as financially solvent as he led her to believe. And she ached all the time for Al. Ora could never live up to him—in any way. She also learned, much to her dismay, that the more Ora drank the lower his libido, and she needed someone with a libido to help her heal. They divorced after only a year. By then she had already been flirting with Leech—Ora’s drinking buddy.
Leech filled her mind with hope and her body with desire. But he was financially inept, and while their nights were filled with passion, their days were filled with arguing about expenses. But she felt stuck this time. There was no other man waiting around the corner. And while she tried to sock money away, their daily expenses always forced her to spend her reserves.
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