Love Letters From the Grave(22)

Muriel was beautifully dressed in her grandmother's wedding gown, while Charlie wore the same suit of clothes he’d sported on the day of his release. They were a handsome couple, indeed. After the ceremony, Father Hannity gave a little speech, in which he lauded Charlie as being a victim of circumstances who had been redeemed by maintaining his strong Catholic faith, and in keeping a close relationship with the church.

‘I believe God has rewarded you by arranging for you to meet and fall in love with this wonderful girl. I wish the newly-weds a long, happy and fruitful life together.’

The sentiment was shared all around the room, and the couple embarked on married life in the full knowledge and confidence that their union was somehow blessed.

The couple had accepted Muriel's mother's invitation to live with her for as long as they needed to. They agreed to stay with her until they could get a place of their own, paying half the rent and utility bills.

It was a small, two-story house, only about 1200 square feet, so it would be somewhat cramped, but they would be more than happy to make do. Upstairs, there were two bedrooms, separated by a hallway, which led to the bathroom. Downstairs, there was a modest kitchen/dining room, a small living room, and a little utility room. A door off the kitchen led down to a neat basement which contained a large coal-fueled furnace, a coal bin, and two walls of shelves which were loaded with home-canned vegetables and fruit.

The family arranged itself so that Charlie and Muriel occupied one of the upstairs bedrooms and Roger the other. Muriel's mother, Betty, would use the living room as her bedroom. They replaced the living room sofa with a convertible sofa-bed, which allowed the room to serve a dual-purpose, and for the time-being, it was a workable arrangement.

Charlie's job didn't start for a week – an intentional delay to give him time to adjust to "civilian" life.

It also allowed time for him and Muriel to adjust to being husband and wife. They were not going away, but this week-long period, in which they would be constantly together, would serve as their honeymoon. More than most newly-weds, they needed time to get used to each other, given the seventeen-year difference in their ages – and the fact that they were both virgins.

‘Are you scared, honey?’ asked Charlie gently as he viewed his bride, her hair fanned out on the pillow.

Muriel smiled. ‘Not at all. How could I be scared of the sweetest man on earth?’

‘Well, I’m a little nervous myself,’ said Charlie, reaching across the bed to take her hand.

She pulled him toward the milky skin of her shoulder. ‘Don’t be,’ she said.

And as it turned out, neither of them needed to be apprehensive or nervous on their first night in bed together. They took to each other easily and comfortably, so much so that before morning they had made love a total of four times, with only a few cat naps in between.

Leaving the bed for breakfast that morning, they both felt exceedingly happy and contented, knowing without a shadow of doubt that they were meant for each other. They were happily married. For the entire week, until Charlie had to start working at the factory, they could not get enough of each other. Each night, they made love multiple times; during the days, it seemed that they took every opportunity to reach for each other for stolen, passionate kisses, before Roger or Betty could interrupt them. During that honeymoon week, they probably made love at least two-dozen times.

The Monday after the honeymoon week, Charlie went to work. He was assigned one or more different jobs each day during his first week, starting with operating a metal lathe. Other types of equipment he operated that week were a drill press, three different punch presses, and a very complex milling machine. He’d experienced each of these machines at the prison, although the milling device there was simpler and much easier to operate. It didn’t take him long to master it, however, and he remembered what a natural he was with machinery.

By the beginning of the second week, he was assigned to the milling machine, which he operated most days for the next two years. He liked the job, and very much enjoyed working at the factory.

At home, Muriel was staying busy keeping house or reading romance and detective magazines, while Betty was away working at her job as a waitress at a nearby restaurant. Muriel and Charlie had discussed the possibility of her working, perhaps also as a waitress at a restaurant. Charlie didn't mind at all if she did, at least until they had children. Before long, Betty helped Muriel get a job at the restaurant where she worked. At first, she only worked part-time, but within a few weeks she was working full time.

‘Can you believe it, Charlie?’ Muriel had come home from her shift at the restaurant, proudly holding her first brown envelope full of wages and tips. ‘Two incomes! We’ve only been married a short time, and already we have so much money coming in.’

‘We’d better use it wisely, then, as Amos would say,’ said Charlie. ‘Do you remember Amos? He was a whizz with numbers and money matters. It was only because of the Depression that he was forced to take to stealing.’

Muriel put her envelope down on the table between them and pushed it toward Charlie. ‘What would Amos suggest we do, then?’

Charlie thought for a moment, then smiled. ‘He’d say that we should pay our way first, and save the rest for best,’ he said firmly. ‘And that’s exactly what we’ll do. How about we use your income to pay rent to your mom, and then mine can go into a bank account to save toward buying a house?’