Love Letters From the Grave(36)
‘Are you happy, my darling?’ asked George, pulling Molly in tight as she sat beside him in the Cadillac.
‘I couldn’t be happier,’ she told him.
It was true. George’s ability to bring the glittering world of movies to her feet was surpassed only by his patriotism and passion for helping the less fortunate. The perfect husband. Molly couldn’t help thinking that, after Tommy, a perfect husband was what she deserved.
She wasn’t even dreading their wedding night, and that in itself was a huge testament to George’s gentle nature. Molly held in her heart the secret wish that her honeymoon night would be perfect too. As perfect as her marriage. As perfect as George.
Chapter 11
* * *
Baubles, Bangles and Beads
* * *
You’ll glitter and gleam so; make somebody dream, so that
Someday he may buy you a ring, ringa-linga
I’ve heard that’s where it leads
Wearing baubles, bangles and beads
From Kismet, Robert Wright and George Forrest
George was very kind and loving to her in their wedding bed – everything that Tommy had failed to be - although he had a difficult time in fully consummating the marriage.
Though unsatisfied, Molly was pleased at his gentle love-making, for she knew that was what it was, and she showed a great deal of affection to George until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
They woke up early with their arms still wrapped around each other, and this time George was able to complete the marriage consummation. Afterwards, as they spent about an hour gently caressing and kissing each other, Molly attributed George’s inability to stay aroused the previous night to wedding night nerves, or perhaps the champagne they’d had during their wedding day. She had noticed with Tommy that alcohol was a dual-edged sword: sometimes it made him want sex even though he blatantly had no real desire for her, and at other times it seemed to render him incapable. For those times, with Tommy, she’d been deeply grateful, and now she was grateful again as they helped her understand what might be going on.
They arose and dressed when they smelled the aroma of biscuits, bacon and coffee wafting up from the kitchen. They spent the day relaxing and carefully packing their suitcases for their two-week honeymoon trip through Canada. That night they enjoyed each other’s company in bed, but once more George had some erection problems. Again, Molly showed nothing but kindness and understanding to George.
After a delicious and filling breakfast the next morning they departed for Niagara Falls, making one overnight stay on the way. They spent three full days in Niagara, enjoying the sight-seeing, fine restaurants, and shopping malls, then immersing themselves in the surrounding countryside and in the areas of Hamilton and Toronto. They then left for Prince Edward Island, with Molly fondly reliving her childhood memories of Anne of Green Gables, after passing through Montreal, Quebec, and Moncton with an overnight stay in each city. Next they drove to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then on to Yarmouth for the ferry ride over to Bar Harbor, Maine, where they stayed overnight in a rustic bed and breakfast inn. From there, they spent three days, with two overnight stays, driving to Molly's home arriving on Saturday night. They would then have Sunday to rest up before both going back to work on Monday.
It had been a wonderful, two-week honeymoon, marred only by George's recurring erectile dysfunction. They attempted to make love every night of their trip, but George was successful in completing the act only five of the nights.
‘That’s what you get for marrying an old man,’ George said glumly on more than one occasion.
‘Not old, just older.’ Molly kissed him gently. ‘And we’ve got all the time in the world. This is only one part of a loving, married life, and I really, really couldn’t ask for more.’
‘And what about children? It seems like that might be a problem for me.’
Molly paused. No children with her first husband, and now maybe no children with her second husband? It wasn’t really what she’d imagined - but then life had hardly worked out the way she’d imagined so far.
She reached for George’s hand. ‘How about we delay any plans for now, and then talk about it during our first year if we change our minds?’
‘I think,’ said George in a very relieved tone, ‘that I just married the most wonderful woman in the world.’
They decided that they would both continue to work at their respective work sites, with George paying all their living expenses and Molly saving all, or most, of her pay checks as additional insurance for her future, if anything should happen to George. Molly already had a considerable amount saved from her income accrued since her divorce from Tommy.
George also revealed something that Molly had come to suspect: as the only child of his parents, he inherited their entire estate once they had both passed away, and was financially very well off.
Moreover, his inheritance was well invested, with a good rate of return, and he had added to it nearly every month from his income.
‘We’re very comfortable,’ George confirmed as they totted up the household bills. ‘We can – and should – indulge ourselves with frequent nights out, travel, and motorcycle riding. Even a two-week, honeymoon style vacation every year, to different places around the world.’