‘I need to be home by five.’ Molly scanned the street anxiously, clearly worried that someone might recognise her. ‘Let’s go inside.’
He bought tickets to the early afternoon of the latest John Wayne film, “The Sea Chase”. Holding two boxes of popcorn and a bag of Bit O’Honey candy, he escorted her to a seat in the middle of the theater. The thrill of sitting beside her was acute, accompanied by the sweet pain of knowing that something so ordinary and straightforward was, for them, forbidden.
After a Movie-Tone newsreel, a Loony Tunes cartoon and previews of the upcoming movies, the main feature began. Finishing his popcorn, Charlie laid his arm along the top of her seat, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He waited for an exciting section in the film to drop his arm down to Molly’s shoulders.
At first, she acted as if she was unaware of his arm, focusing her attention on the screen. At a dramatic moment, Charlie clasped Molly’s shoulder. Instinctively, it seemed, Molly laid her head against Charlie’s shoulder and he pulled her comfortably toward him. Molly glanced up at him, red-cheeked, but made no attempt to move, and they stayed in this position until the end of the show. When the lights came on, Charlie helped her from her seat and continued holding her hand as he accompanied her to her car.
The parking lot was quiet as all the shoppers had vacated town. Charlie could feel the electricity from their joined hands surging around his body, and he knew without doubt that he had never experienced love like this before.
Molly opened the car door. ‘Thank you, Charlie,’ she said quietly, staring at his lapel. ‘I had … the most wonderful time.’
It was the sign he needed. She meant the most wonderful time she’d ever had.
He couldn’t help himself. Putting his arm around her waist, he drew her toward him and kissed her gently. He felt Molly’s body stiffen and then relax, and suddenly she was kissing him back.
It was only brief, but the powerful undercurrent of passion was something that would remain with Charlie for the rest of his life – a life that would have to, somehow, be with Molly.
For the next month or so, the letter writing continued at work. Charlie was aware that his notes were becoming longer and more ardent, inspired by the fact that Molly began to answer them more frequently, albeit with short responses.
They also carried on playing card games with George and Muriel, alternating between Molly’s home and Charlie’s. Muriel was pleased with these get-togethers – she obviously liked the other couple and enjoyed any excuse to forget that she was a young mother of nearly four children – and George seemed to be reserved but tolerant about them. It was as if Charlie and Molly could convince themselves that they were not in love with each other, as long as they had the counter-balances of their respective spouses involved.
Outside the factory or the card-games, however, they would have lunch together in a nearby café or restaurant then end with a quick kiss before returning to work, or sometimes park in a secluded street and pour out their passion for each other in snatched moments.
They stopped having lunch together in the factory lunchroom, thinking that it was best that they not be seen together too often.
Molly, in particular, was careful to ensure that their conversations were not overheard, and that they weren’t appearing too “friendly” to their co-workers.
Before too long, it became clear that they couldn’t carry on like this. They both wanted more – more time together, more intimacy, more honesty in the expression of their love – and being married to different people, no matter how wonderful they were in their own way, was not the way ahead.
Chapter 15
* * *
The Sinner
* * *
Princess, your love and kisses seem to get better all the time.
Got the radio on.
They just played ‘Remember me, I’m the one who loves you.’
It set my old ticker to pounding.
Charlie’s love letter
Molly was becoming highly suspicious, almost to the point of paranoia, that their co-workers - and perhaps even Muriel, George and her beloved father, Jesse – knew what was going on between herself and Charlie. They agreed to stop holding the card games as two couples, in case it was simply parading their feelings for each other in front of George and Muriel.