1950s: Fired - now what?
After her first weekend as a married woman, Grace returns to her job on Monday morning only to be met with a chock. Her main job of the day is to train her replacement! "My what?" she asks her boss, only to be given a surprised look. "You're married now. We assumed..."
"Well, you assumed wrong!"
But no amount of arguing changes her situation. Might be that there is no formal marriage bar at the firm, but that apparently does not mean that married women are appreciated. "How could you focus at work, while figuring out what to cook for dinner at home?" her boss explains. "Besides, you'd have to leave when you get pregnant anyway."
Back home, she tries to get her husband's support, but David just doesn't see the problem. "We really don't need the money," he just says. "You'll never want for anything, I promise. All you ever have to do is ask."
Of course, asking is the problem. Grace likes having her own money. She likes not being dependant on David for a living, of not having to ask if she sees something she likes. More importantly she never want to be the woman her mother had to be, selling off family jewelry because her father couldn't get a job when there were none to be had. The time when they were poor are long gone, but the memory of the cold drafty shed on the hills of Chestnut ridge still lingers in her memory. She wants money that is hers and hers alone.
"Perhaps this is a good thing," David suggests. "We could start a family without having to worry about your job." Grace feels like screaming at the suggestion, but without any good reason to say no, what else is there?
The next day, after vacuuming the already clean house and washing the laundry Grace sits down with nothing to do. She looks around the house before getting up and heading over to see Thomas and Betty and baby Michael. If the world is going to push her to become a mother straight away, she supposes she could get some practise and get to know her nephew a bit more in the process. And baby Michael is adorable, but she's happy to hand him back when his diaper starts smelling.
She tries to explain herself to her brother, and he understand more than many, but he can see now way out of it. "You saved some money from your salary?" he asks her, when she nods he smiles. "So hold onto it, so you can use if if it becomes necessary. And when the time is right, you'll be a great mother."
When she arrives home, so has David, and he has the best of plans (according to him). To cheer her up, he has invited all oft he neighbors over for a BBQ and pool party. "What? Today?"
"They'll be here within an hour. Don't worry about cooking, I'll man the grill." It's so not what Grace had in mind for the night, but she has to admire him for making an effort. So, she changes into a nicer dress, arranges for everything that doesn't go on a grill and prepare to meet the new neighbors.
Soon the house is filled with people, there are the Moons from next door, the Brants from across the street, Thomas and Betty of course, and David went all out and even invited Hazel and William as well as Donna, even if they're not technically from the neighborhood.
The party is a great success, but for Grace it doesn't change that she'd rather have kept her job. She invites her sister over to see what she has to say, but Hazel only shrugs. "Be happy that David loves you and wants a family. I wish..." she stops short.
"What do you wish?" Grace asks.
"Oh nothing, don't mind me." Hazel answers with a smile. The fact that her husband is refusing her children is something she still cannot talk about in the open, even with her sister. "And in the mean time, this means we can spend more time together. We can host dinners, and go fix our hair, get our nails done. Just like when we were younger."
Soon it is time for Anna's 60th birthday, and the family gather at her ranch to celebrate. It's a beautiful day in Chestnut Ridge, and everyone is in a good mood. Baby Michael is crawling around, the nectar is flowing and the food is straight off the BBQ.
For Grace it's a chance to talk to someone who might just understand her, and who might even try to help her find a solution. Anna has never not worked, she's never relied on a man for money and she does understand the wish of standing on her own two feet. But Grace was never the ranch girl, and therefore never as close to her aunt as Thomas was. While she loves her aunt dearly, the idea to talk to her about her loss of job doesn't occur to her. Instead she keeps a happy face and wishes her a happy birthday.
"Well, you assumed wrong!"
But no amount of arguing changes her situation. Might be that there is no formal marriage bar at the firm, but that apparently does not mean that married women are appreciated. "How could you focus at work, while figuring out what to cook for dinner at home?" her boss explains. "Besides, you'd have to leave when you get pregnant anyway."
Back home, she tries to get her husband's support, but David just doesn't see the problem. "We really don't need the money," he just says. "You'll never want for anything, I promise. All you ever have to do is ask."
Of course, asking is the problem. Grace likes having her own money. She likes not being dependant on David for a living, of not having to ask if she sees something she likes. More importantly she never want to be the woman her mother had to be, selling off family jewelry because her father couldn't get a job when there were none to be had. The time when they were poor are long gone, but the memory of the cold drafty shed on the hills of Chestnut ridge still lingers in her memory. She wants money that is hers and hers alone.
"Perhaps this is a good thing," David suggests. "We could start a family without having to worry about your job." Grace feels like screaming at the suggestion, but without any good reason to say no, what else is there?
The next day, after vacuuming the already clean house and washing the laundry Grace sits down with nothing to do. She looks around the house before getting up and heading over to see Thomas and Betty and baby Michael. If the world is going to push her to become a mother straight away, she supposes she could get some practise and get to know her nephew a bit more in the process. And baby Michael is adorable, but she's happy to hand him back when his diaper starts smelling.
She tries to explain herself to her brother, and he understand more than many, but he can see now way out of it. "You saved some money from your salary?" he asks her, when she nods he smiles. "So hold onto it, so you can use if if it becomes necessary. And when the time is right, you'll be a great mother."
When she arrives home, so has David, and he has the best of plans (according to him). To cheer her up, he has invited all oft he neighbors over for a BBQ and pool party. "What? Today?"
"They'll be here within an hour. Don't worry about cooking, I'll man the grill." It's so not what Grace had in mind for the night, but she has to admire him for making an effort. So, she changes into a nicer dress, arranges for everything that doesn't go on a grill and prepare to meet the new neighbors.
Soon the house is filled with people, there are the Moons from next door, the Brants from across the street, Thomas and Betty of course, and David went all out and even invited Hazel and William as well as Donna, even if they're not technically from the neighborhood.
The party is a great success, but for Grace it doesn't change that she'd rather have kept her job. She invites her sister over to see what she has to say, but Hazel only shrugs. "Be happy that David loves you and wants a family. I wish..." she stops short.
"What do you wish?" Grace asks.
"Oh nothing, don't mind me." Hazel answers with a smile. The fact that her husband is refusing her children is something she still cannot talk about in the open, even with her sister. "And in the mean time, this means we can spend more time together. We can host dinners, and go fix our hair, get our nails done. Just like when we were younger."
Soon it is time for Anna's 60th birthday, and the family gather at her ranch to celebrate. It's a beautiful day in Chestnut Ridge, and everyone is in a good mood. Baby Michael is crawling around, the nectar is flowing and the food is straight off the BBQ.
For Grace it's a chance to talk to someone who might just understand her, and who might even try to help her find a solution. Anna has never not worked, she's never relied on a man for money and she does understand the wish of standing on her own two feet. But Grace was never the ranch girl, and therefore never as close to her aunt as Thomas was. While she loves her aunt dearly, the idea to talk to her about her loss of job doesn't occur to her. Instead she keeps a happy face and wishes her a happy birthday.
Anna herself loves having family over, but she's happiest when most of the guests have left and there are only a few left to spend the night. She and Johnny have fixed up the two spare rooms to make room for everyone. In one room there are two single beds and a bed for Michael, and in the other a large double bed. "I wish I could offer you a double bed," Anna tells Thomas. "But then Michael's bed wouldn't fit."
"It's fine," Thomas assures her. "It's only for a night anyway".
After Michael is put down, they all gather downstairs to chat. When they are fewer, conversations goes more serious. To world events, the worry about Arthur fighting in Korea, and the situation in Del Sol Valley.
"Are you worried about what is going on with the HUAC hearings?" Anna asks her sister. "Any risk that you or Cora might get called to Washington?"
"Those anti-communist things in the news?" Betty asks, surprised that it might affect someone in the family. None of them are communist after all, why would they be worried?"
"I don't think we're prominent enough, not now, we haven't had any lead roles for years. We're too old. I'm more worried about the tabloids, just a rumour of 'moral deviance' can put you on the government's radar or get you blacklisted. And the studios are running scared too, adding morality clauses to all their contracts and forcing actors and actresses to get married. I'm glad I'm not young and active now."
"Do you believe there are rumors?"
"There are always rumors when two women live together for as long as Cora and I have, but I think most have decided that we're just old weird spinsters, and we intend to keep it that way."
"You could move, you know," Anna suggests. "Somewhere with less paparazzi and less Hedda Hoppers digging through your trash."
But Alice fiercely shakes her head. "The Pinnacles are our home, the one we made for ourselves. It might not be perfect, but we're not leaving."
Betty is however, a bit confused, and not really willing to accept what she has heard. Are Alice and Cora really those kind of people? But they've always seemed so nice. She resolves to speak to Thomas about it when they're back home again. He'll have a perfectly reasonable explanation she's sure.
The next morning Betty wakes up to Cora making breakfast and her husband helping with the dishes. "I didn't know you knew how the sink worked," she teases, but he just laughs. "I didn't want to leave it for aunt Anna to clean after her birthday," he just said.
"It's fine," Thomas assures her. "It's only for a night anyway".
After Michael is put down, they all gather downstairs to chat. When they are fewer, conversations goes more serious. To world events, the worry about Arthur fighting in Korea, and the situation in Del Sol Valley.
"Are you worried about what is going on with the HUAC hearings?" Anna asks her sister. "Any risk that you or Cora might get called to Washington?"
"Those anti-communist things in the news?" Betty asks, surprised that it might affect someone in the family. None of them are communist after all, why would they be worried?"
"I don't think we're prominent enough, not now, we haven't had any lead roles for years. We're too old. I'm more worried about the tabloids, just a rumour of 'moral deviance' can put you on the government's radar or get you blacklisted. And the studios are running scared too, adding morality clauses to all their contracts and forcing actors and actresses to get married. I'm glad I'm not young and active now."
"Do you believe there are rumors?"
"There are always rumors when two women live together for as long as Cora and I have, but I think most have decided that we're just old weird spinsters, and we intend to keep it that way."
"You could move, you know," Anna suggests. "Somewhere with less paparazzi and less Hedda Hoppers digging through your trash."
But Alice fiercely shakes her head. "The Pinnacles are our home, the one we made for ourselves. It might not be perfect, but we're not leaving."
Betty is however, a bit confused, and not really willing to accept what she has heard. Are Alice and Cora really those kind of people? But they've always seemed so nice. She resolves to speak to Thomas about it when they're back home again. He'll have a perfectly reasonable explanation she's sure.
The next morning Betty wakes up to Cora making breakfast and her husband helping with the dishes. "I didn't know you knew how the sink worked," she teases, but he just laughs. "I didn't want to leave it for aunt Anna to clean after her birthday," he just said.
"I could have," she says affectionately.
Breakfast is fun and lighthearted, with lots of laughter and pleasant conversation, but Betty still find it hard to get over the information she received last night. She has so many questions, but she realises that this is not the place to ask them.
She's relived when she and Thomas are finally back home, and after she's put Michael to bed, she sits her husband down to ask. "Is your aunt Alice a communist?"
Thomas looks at her. "Of course not!"
"But then why might the anti-communist hearings be a worry?" she asks.
"A lot of people in Hollywood is getting caught up in those, I suppose it affects you."
"And a..." Betty hesitates. "One of those people. Is she and Cora... I mean.. well."
"Homosexual? I-" Thomas hesitates. "I don't know. They share a house, have different bedrooms as far as I know. I know that Anna sees Cora as family and always invites her to everything. I know my mother does not. But what goes on in that house, between the two of them, I don't know. It's not something I ever wondered about."
"But they were worried."
"Two women, living together, whether there is anything there or not, I'd suppose you'd worry about the gossip. Either way, Cora has always been good to me, as have my aunt. I think I'd rather leave it at that and not speculate. I think you should too."
"Of course. I won't say a word!" In fact, she'd rather pretend it wasn't something she'd ever thought about.
The next day Thomas brings her something else to think about, as he buys a TV on his way home from work, forcing her to redo the entire living room layout to accommodate the new piece of furniture. "Now we can watch the news instead of hearing them," Thomas says excitedly. "And that show, Texaco Star Theater, that we heard your sister talk about." Betty does like the sound of that, but she thinks she liked the layout of the living room better earlier. But perhaps it's a small price to pay for a TV of your very own?
Breakfast is fun and lighthearted, with lots of laughter and pleasant conversation, but Betty still find it hard to get over the information she received last night. She has so many questions, but she realises that this is not the place to ask them.
She's relived when she and Thomas are finally back home, and after she's put Michael to bed, she sits her husband down to ask. "Is your aunt Alice a communist?"
Thomas looks at her. "Of course not!"
"But then why might the anti-communist hearings be a worry?" she asks.
"A lot of people in Hollywood is getting caught up in those, I suppose it affects you."
"And a..." Betty hesitates. "One of those people. Is she and Cora... I mean.. well."
"Homosexual? I-" Thomas hesitates. "I don't know. They share a house, have different bedrooms as far as I know. I know that Anna sees Cora as family and always invites her to everything. I know my mother does not. But what goes on in that house, between the two of them, I don't know. It's not something I ever wondered about."
"But they were worried."
"Two women, living together, whether there is anything there or not, I'd suppose you'd worry about the gossip. Either way, Cora has always been good to me, as have my aunt. I think I'd rather leave it at that and not speculate. I think you should too."
"Of course. I won't say a word!" In fact, she'd rather pretend it wasn't something she'd ever thought about.
The next day Thomas brings her something else to think about, as he buys a TV on his way home from work, forcing her to redo the entire living room layout to accommodate the new piece of furniture. "Now we can watch the news instead of hearing them," Thomas says excitedly. "And that show, Texaco Star Theater, that we heard your sister talk about." Betty does like the sound of that, but she thinks she liked the layout of the living room better earlier. But perhaps it's a small price to pay for a TV of your very own?
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