Examining Marriages: B & D

When B was 15 she got knocked up. Her 'beau' was a Stanford grad, a photographer, and was very handsome. B looked a lot older than she was. The baby was beautiful, so beautiful that people would stop her in the store and go on and on about this child. That was 1940. A couple of years later, B was expecting again, but something went wrong with their two-year-old. Her husband, C, was restless. The second child was born and C started 'seeing' his secretary. The first child, however, was having phantom pains. It ramped up and became crippling arthritis. This little girl was in constant agony. One evening B's parents were out dancing, and who should dance past them? C and his secretary. B's dad tapped C on the shoulder, "Are you enjoying your evening?"

B moved in with her parents. She had to give her older daughter all kinds of medications at all kinds of hours. She was consumed with meeting her daughters' needs. She was working on getting her high school diploma. C had married his secretary.

B met D somehow. He was attracted to her but she thought no one would be interested in a young woman with two children, one of whom was severely disabled. B tried to set D up with other women. D wasn't interested in them. D was in love with B.

They married in late 1950. At their wedding, D gave little wedding rings to B's two little girls. He raised them as his own. Luckily for B, D loved children. He was a kid magnet, and not in a creepy way. They played golf together, played bridge together, raised her daughters and had another one of their own. They were two well-matched people. She proved herself to be not only bright but organized, efficient, and hard-working. He went into real estate, then investments. She managed his office. Evenings at their home were fun. There were all kinds of games, parties, company. They socialized, they danced, they had a full life.

All three of their girls married young. C only 'gave away' his first daughter. The second didn't even want him at her wedding. D got lung cancer, they both quit smoking cold-turkey, and D had more than one lung removed. After the third daugher's wedding, they went happily into their empty nest years. They continued with their activities. They built a home in Tahoe. At first they just vacationed there but in time they moved there. They were lucky in love, gaming, sports, horse racing. They had grandchildren. B found a lump in her breast. She had radiation and lived cancer-free another twenty years.

B and D didn't always agree. D got too serious during golf and bridge so B refused to play either of those games with him. But they presented a united front. They admired and adored each other until B died a few years ago.