Love Letters From the Grave(49)
‘You’re going to your father’s,’ he said, kissing the back of her hand.
‘And what about you?’
Charlie gave her the longest, slowest smile, that didn’t quite tally with the sadness in his eyes.
‘I’m going to ask Muriel for a divorce.’
Molly drove home in a daze. How had it come to this so quickly? True, their love had been growing for months now – Muriel was about to have her fourth baby in a week or so, for crying out loud – but suddenly she was confronted with how far they had come. It had reached a point of no return, she knew. They couldn’t carry on like this. Neither of them had intended it, and neither of them wanted to be disloyal to their spouses. But if their meetings at the cabin had told her anything, it was that neither of them had ever known love like this. It was deep and devout, and they owed it to all concerned to make a go of it, properly and decently.
So, after a restless night in her old bed back at Jesse’s, Molly called in sick to the factory, and went home to wait for George.
He looked surprised to find her there as he came through the door, but then he saw her slumped demeanor. Instantly, he put his bag down and rushed to her side.
‘You’ve been crying,’ he said, holding her hand. ‘Is it Jesse?’
The last time he’d seen her this upset was when Aunt Dolores died, so it was a typically reasonable question from her attentive and reasonable husband.
Molly shook her head slowly. ‘Dad’s fine, George. It’s … it’s us.’
‘Us?’
‘We need to part.’
‘You mean – divorce?’ George stood up quickly, moving to the fireplace where he could see Molly’s face.
He didn’t sound terribly surprised.
Molly nodded. ‘I do love you, George, but I …’
‘There’s someone else,’ he finished for her.
She nodded again, her face ablaze with shame.
Then he shocked her still more. ‘It’s Charlie, I assume?’ When she didn’t answer immediately, he went on: ‘You should give it some serious thought before taking such drastic action. Charlie’s a family man with three, nearly four children to support. I’m not sure Muriel will let him go all that easily.’ He crossed to Molly’s side and picked up her limp hand. ‘And we have a comfortable life, Molly. An exciting, comfortable life. You should think twice before giving that up, too.’
‘I know, George. Every word of that is true,’ said Molly, fighting to hold back tears. ‘And I wasn’t looking for anything else, I promise you. But with Charlie, everything is different.’
George let out a bitter laugh.
‘Oh, I’m sure everything’s very different. And I can’t say I’m entirely shocked. I always thought there was the possibility that you might ask me for a divorce because of … my sexual difficulties.’
‘George, that isn’t it at all!’ cried Molly. ‘I have always loved and respected you, been true to you. I’d never dreamed of asking for a divorce until meeting … him. And I’ve been true to my vows, George. I’ve no intention of having relations until after I’m divorced.’
‘You haven’t already?’ snapped George.
‘No, we haven’t.’
George’s face paled to a sickly grey. ‘Does everyone know? The people at the factory, are they remembering the silly old confirmed bachelor who married the beautiful girl from work? Does Muriel know?’
‘Muriel may know by now.’ Molly slipped an arm around her husband’s waist. ‘But nobody’s laughing at you, George. Least of all me. You have given me a beautiful life, and I know that it’s my own fault if I haven’t appreciated that enough. I would never allow anyone to laugh at you.’
George nodded slowly, passing a hand over his creased features.
‘I know that. And I understand, Molly. I just need … I need some time to think about it.’
‘I never meant to hurt you,’ said Molly, starting to cry again. ‘It’s the last thing I wanted.’
‘Don’t cry, old girl.’ George patted her shoulder in a familiar, comforting manner. ‘We’ll work things out.’
And Molly truly hoped, for all their sakes, that they really could.
Chapter 16
* * *
And Baby Makes Six
* * *
Pillow talk, pillow talk;
Another night of bein' alone with pillow talk
When it's all said and done,
Two heads together can be better than one
Doris Day, Pillow Talk
Charlie arrived home to find his mother-in-law pacing anxiously on the front porch. His heart plummeted as soon as he saw her, very evidently waiting for him.
He’d told Muriel that he was meeting Danny to go bowling; maybe she’d checked with Danny, somehow, and his friend hadn’t managed to cover for him convincingly enough. Given what he was planning to do, it seemed odd to hope that Muriel hadn’t found out about him and Molly, but he had wanted her to hear it from him. Directly. In the strange circumstances in which they’d found themselves, it seemed like the decent way to proceed.