Authors: Donna Mabry
The war dragged on. When it started, everyone around
us had been convinced that once the Americans got
involved, it would be over in only a few months. By
1944, we could see it was going to be a long, hard
fight.
The one war I couldn’t win was the one being carried
on in my own household. Evelyn complained about
everything.
She couldn’t have new clothes. Donna was too
much work. Gene was gone too much, working as
many overtime hours as he could get and leaving her
alone with his family. Gene gave me too much money
and didn’t give her enough. She didn’t like my
cooking, but didn’t offer to help with the meals. She
thought I was too fussy about keeping the house clean.
I had a few complaints of my own. She left a trail
of empty glasses and magazines wherever she went.
Her jackets were left hanging on the backs of chairs.
There were sometimes so many of her clothes on the
doorknob to their room she couldn’t close the door.
I bit my tongue. I gave up trying to be friends
with the girl and simply tried to stay away from her as
much as possible. I wanted to have it out with her, but
I didn’t dare. I didn’t want to know what would happen
if Gene had to choose between her and me.
I knew Gene was still so taken by Evelyn that he
would take her side. That was the way it was supposed
to be, wasn’t it? She was his wife. I loved the baby
something awful, all of us Foleys did, even Paul, but I
couldn’t help wishing that none of us had ever laid
eyes on her beautiful, pouting mother.
One morning I came out of my room just as
Evelyn started downstairs. I was several steps behind
her, and a cold, hard feeling came over me. It was all I
could do to keep myself from giving her the same push
that George’s mother had given me all those years ago.
I didn’t have it in me. The realization that I hated
someone so much I would wish them dead made me
sick to my stomach. I went back to my room to ask
God for forgiveness.
I’d been praying about the situation daily ever
since Gene married Evelyn, and it was only getting
worse. What was the use of praying, if prayers did
nothing to help? But I kept on praying about it anyway.
I was carrying a laundry basket full of clothes
from the back yard one day when I heard arguing
coming from Gene’s room. I stopped at the top of the
stairs and listened. It was Gene and Evelyn. The girl’s
voice was demanding. I could picture her, pouting,
with her bottom lip stuck out. She yelled, “Your
mother takes almost all your money, and I can’t even
have a new dress. You ought to tell her that you’re
cutting back on what you pay her.”
Gene tried to reason with her. “Mom doesn’t take
my money. I give it to her. If we’re going to live in her
house, we ought to pay our way. There’s food,
electricity, gas for the stove, and lots of other things
that have to be paid for. Besides, she’s out in the back
now taking
our
laundry in from the line.”
“Well, if we’re such a burden, we ought to get a
place of our own. I hate living here. She looks at me
like she hates me. Even Betty Sue won’t talk to me
anymore.”
“Nobody hates you, Evelyn. Maybe if you did
more to help out around the house, they would warm
up to you.”
“I’ve got a baby to take care of, and you expect
me to clean up after them? Your mother is a fanatic
anyway! Clean, clean, clean. She won’t even leave a
glass in the sink overnight.”
“That’s part of her religion, Evelyn. She’s
always believed that cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
“Well, my mother is just as religious as she is,
and you won’t see her spending her life scrubbing and
cleaning.”
There was a pause in the argument, and I could
picture Gene holding his tongue. Mrs. Mayse was far
from a good housekeeper. The few times I’d been to
her house, it was a mess. When we went over there,
Ola was usually sitting of the front porch of the Mayse
house on St. Paul, chatting with a neighbor.
The first time she invited us to come inside, her
housekeeping shocked me. Jackets and coats were
thrown one on top of another on the dining room
chairs. Schoolbooks were strewn on the table. The
table, sink and drain boards were piled high with
dishes. I could see where Evelyn got her habits. It was
just as well Gene didn’t say anything about Ola’s
housekeeping during his argument with Evelyn.
I turned away from Gene’s door and went to my
own room. I didn’t want to hear any more. I had the
feeling Evelyn wouldn’t be happy until she talked
Gene into moving out.
I read about the war in every day’s paper and listened
to it on the radio news every night. I never missed one
of President Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats.” I found it
comforting that the President of the United States
came into my living room from time to time. It was
almost as if he were talking right to me and my family.
I kept on praying for the troops, asking God to
put a guardian angel in charge of each and every one
of them.
I encouraged every member of my house to do
what they could for the war effort. George hadn’t
bought another car but was still bumming rides from
John to get to and from work. I gave some of my food
rationing stamps to Bessie to help with the expenses. I
stretched my groceries to the limit, skimping on butter
and flour and other things to make them last as long as
possible. I planned to plant another small victory
garden in the summer, even though our patch of
backyard was so small it wouldn’t yield much of a
crop. I kept a can in the icebox for extra grease, and
when it was full, I had George take it to the collection
center and turn it in. Our tin cans were flattened and
set out by the curb for pick-up. I can honestly say we
did our best.
Paul was crazy about Evelyn and hung around her
every minute he could. He joked and clowned, trying
to make her laugh. He would stuff a raw egg all the
way into his mouth, sing silly songs, make faces,
anything to get her attention. One morning, Evelyn
was in the kitchen and got up to take the milk out of
the icebox. When she went back to the table, Paul
bowed and made a big show of being a gentleman. He
pulled out her chair for her, grinned real big, and held
it. When she went to sit down, he jerked it out from
under her. Evelyn fell to the floor with a plop and sat
there with her feet sticking straight out in front of her
and her mouth open.
I could see Paul was waiting for her laugh, and
when it didn’t come, realized that he’d made a huge
mistake. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he sobbed. I hurried
over and helped Evelyn to her feet.
“Paul didn’t mean anything by it, Evelyn. He
would never try to hurt you. He was just clowning.”
Evelyn didn’t answer, just turned, glared at me,
and went upstairs. Paul went into the living room and
sat on the chair by the window, staring out at the
traffic. When Gene came in from work a few minutes
later he could sense something was wrong. He picked
Donna up out of her high chair, nuzzled her, then
looked at me. “Where’s Evelyn?” he asked.
I sighed but didn’t turn around. “She’s upstairs.”
Gene hurried upstairs and didn’t come back
down until I called to them that I had dinner on the
table. While they were eating, he put his hand over
Evelyn’s and made his announcement.
“Evelyn and I have decided to get our own place.
It’s just too hard to have two families under one roof.”
I looked down at my plate, expecting George to
make some sort of protest. He didn’t. He just kept on
eating. “If that’s what you think best,” he said
nonchalantly. “John will help. We can use his truck.”
I fought the urge to pick up the bowl of mashed
potatoes and dump it on George’s head. How would
we get by without the money Gene gave us each week?
Knowing that nothing I had to say would make a
difference, I remained silent while we ate.
Washing up later in the kitchen, I hoped that
having Evelyn out of the house would remove some of
the un-Christian feelings I had toward the girl. Maybe
it would all work out for the best.
Gene found a little apartment for them a few
miles farther out Jefferson Avenue. It was closer to his
work, but farther from his family. They moved in with
the furniture from Gene’s bedroom and some things
that Ola and Smith Mayse gave them. Evelyn was all
excited about having her own home. She looked so
happy that I felt a little better about losing my boy, who
was now 23 years old. Maybe if she were satisfied he
would be satisfied, and that’s all any mother really
wants.
Gene brought the baby over for several hours
every weekend, giving Evelyn some time to herself.
He caught the bus a block from his apartment, and it
was only a fifteen minute ride to our place. Evelyn
never came with him, and that was fine with me. We
would take turns playing with Donna, and I would fix
a special meal. It was my one perfect day. I had Gene,
Donna, and Betty Sue all with me at one time.
When Gene left he would slip me some folded
bills. At first I didn’t want to take them, but he insisted.
He knew I was having a hard time making ends meet
since he moved out. George was not one to volunteer
for overtime. I wondered if Evelyn knew he was still
giving me money. I figured not. If Evelyn had known,
she would have put a stop to it, one way or another.
On April 12
th
, 1945, President Roosevelt, passed
away, and Harry Truman was sworn in as President. I
prayed for him. I didn’t know a lot about him but had
read that his language was sometimes salty. I didn’t
like that, but decided I would wait and see how he did
before I made any judgment about him.
On May 9
th
, the Germans officially surrendered
and the war in Europe was over.
On August 6
th
, the atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima. It was horrible, and to me it was what I
envisioned as the wrath of God.
Still, the Japanese would not surrender, and on
August 9
th
, another bomb was dropped, this time on
Nagasaki.
On September 2
nd
, the Japanese gave up the
struggle, and the world was finally at peace. The men
would be coming home soon.
On September 20
th,
little Donna turned three.
Gene showed up at my house one Friday evening right
before dinner. I’d always been proud of how he took
care of himself, but he was a different person that
night. His hair wasn’t combed, he had stubble, and his
clothes looked like he’d been sleeping in them. When
he walked in the kitchen, I nearly fainted at the sight
of him.
“What’s happened? Is Donna all right?”
“I don’t know. Evelyn had Smith come get her.
They took her and her clothes and the baby. She’s left
me, Mom.”
“When?”
“Tuesday night. I kept thinking she would
change her mind and come home. Tonight, I went over
to the Mayse house and tried to talk to her, but she sent
one of her sisters out to the porch to tell me it was too
late. She wouldn’t even come out and talk to me.”
“What did you fight over, Gene?”
“That’s just it. We didn’t have any big fight, or
anything like that. We were all right one day, and the
next she wouldn’t have anything to do with me.” His
face twisted, and I thought he was going to start crying.
“I thought if I gave her what she wanted she would
come to love me like I love her, but it never happened.
Now, I guess she’s just glad to be rid of me.”
He slumped down in a chair at the kitchen table
and sobbed. A rush of anger ran all over me. If Evelyn
had been in the room, I would have choked the life out
of her. This was exactly what I’d feared the first time
Evelyn came to my house, and Gene had that lovestruck look on his face.
I patted Gene’s shoulder, but I couldn’t speak
until I made an effort to control my rage. How dare
anyone hurt a man as good as Gene! How could she be
so ungrateful? Gene rescued Evelyn when she was
desperate, pregnant, and alone. He had been a good
husband to her. He had loved her, had adored her, in
fact. To see him hurting so, I wished for a minute that
I
had
pushed her down the stairs that day.
“You didn’t fight at all before she left?”
“We argued about the money I gave you. She had
my pay stub and she knew that I didn’t spend it all on
rent and the things she wanted. She’s been after me
about it all along.”
My heart was breaking at the sight of my boy’s
pain and the thought that I may have been part of it.
“I’ll go talk to her tomorrow. Maybe I can get her to
change her mind.”
He shook his head. “It’s no use. She’s not
coming back.”
The next morning I walked the few blocks to the
Mayse house on St. Paul Street. Ola answered the
door. When she saw me, she looked sympathetic.
I tried to smile but wasn’t very successful. “Ola,
I’d like to talk to Evelyn, please.”
“Come on in. I tried to talk to her last night but
it didn’t do any good. She’s got her mind made up.”
She held open the door and waved toward the
sofa. “Sit down. I’ll get her.” I moved a pile of clothes
over enough to sit.
Ola called upstairs, “Evelyn, Mrs. Foley is here.
She wants to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to her.”
Ola’s big bosom heaved in a long sigh. “Get on
down here and listen to what she has to say! That’s the
least you can do.”
I heard Evelyn stomping her feet as she came
down the stairs. She came in and stood across the room
from me, her arms crossed and her head tilted to one
side. She gave me a stubborn look and jutted out her
bottom lip in a pout as she did so often.
I didn’t know where to begin but plunged in.
“Evelyn, please come back to Gene. He loves you so
much. He’s miserable with you and the baby gone.”
“I’m not coming home. I’m getting a divorce.”
A divorce?
She was already thinking about a
divorce?
“Isn’t there anything we can do to change
your mind? Gene said you were upset that he gave me
money. I promise, I’ll never let him give me another
penny.”
“I don’t care, it’s too late now.”
“But how will you make a living?”
“Daddy already got me a job working with him
at the Rubber Company. I’ll start Monday.”
Working full time?
“But what about Donna?”
“You don’t have to worry about her. Mama will
take care of her for me.”
I realized it was hopeless. Evelyn must have
been planning this all along. Jobs at the Rubber
Company weren’t that easy to come by, especially now
with the men coming home from the war. I thought
again about the time I’d fought the impulse to shove
Evelyn down the stairs. For the second time in one day,
I regretted doing it.
I asked, “You’ll still let us see the baby, won’t
you?”
Evelyn tilted her head as she thought it over.
“Sure, anytime you want.”
I rose to leave. “I hope you’ll change your mind
someday, Evelyn. There won’t ever be a man who
loves you more than Gene.”
Evelyn didn’t say anything, only smirked, so I
said goodbye to Ola and left.
When I got home, Gene waited at the front door.
He must have been watching for me out the window.
“What did she say? Will she come back?”
I shook my head. “She’s determined, Gene. I
don’t think she’ll be back.”
“What about the baby? Can I still see her?”
“I already asked that. She said you could see her
anytime you wanted. At least we have that. I hope she
doesn’t change her mind about it.”
“I’ll see her every minute I can.”
The next day, Gene gave up his apartment and
moved back into his room at our place. He said the
landlord wasn’t sorry to see him go since the men were
coming home, and since the demand for housing was
at an all-time high, he could raise the rent
considerably.
Gene was back in the family as if Evelyn had
never come into his life. The only difference was he
could still see his little girl. He was ordered to pay
child support, and I never once heard him complain
about it. In fact, he went way above that. He bought all
Donna’s clothes and shoes as well.
He stopped by the Mayse’s every Friday
afternoon on his way back from work and brought
Donna home with him. He returned her on Monday
mornings on his way to the factory.
Even after the divorce was final, he never lost
hope that Evelyn would agree to come back to him.
From time to time, she would let him take her to the
movies and out to dinner.
He pinned his hopes for the future on the day she
would come back.