Love Is In The Air. . . .Sweet, Sweet Love. . . .#9

It seemed so different to be back home in Panaca knowing I was
now married and had left my husband in California. I missed him
and as I did not know when I would see him again, I was lonely.

I had asked Esther if I could delay coming back to work until the
blisters from the extensive sunburn I had received from our day
at the beach, were completely healed. She had someone working
for me on a temporary basis and told me to come back when the
burn was completely healed.

I used that time to look at all of our wedding gifts and catalog
them. Since I didn't know where we would be living and how
much room we would have, I was sorting them into categories of
items we would need, those I wanted to take if we had room, and
others that we would not need at this time. It was a fun task and
I was amazed and delighted at the variety of wonderful things we
received. Mom and I had so much fun doing this. Her advice on
what to take and what would not be necessary, really helped me.

I wrote George every day, but of course he could not write me
as often. I was so excited when I received my first letter. When
I looked at the envelope and saw that it was addressed to Mrs.
George Paul Wimsatt, Jr., it didn't seem real.

George didn't know yet what his assignment would be; would he
stay in San Diego, go someplace else stateside, or be deployed
to active duty. He was worried about me being alone in San
Diego not knowing anyone and not having a car. Finding us
housing with so many other service families looking, and
not knowing how long he would be there, would be a problem.
He thought the best thing for me would be to find a place for us
in Westminster where I would be near Jack and Lee.

Lee's brother had a very close friend who was a navy medic
stationed in San Diego. He had a car and commuted back and
forth. It was a long drive, which could be very lonely and
tiring, and he was happy to invite George to ride with him.

It wasn't the ideal situation, but it was the answer for us. They
would come home on Friday and go back very early Monday
morning. On George's duty weekends, he would not be able to
come home and so we were looking at some two week stretches
where we would not be together. I was not looking forward to
that, but if I was able to find a job, I would be busy during the
day and it would just be the nights that would be lonely.

Our plan was thus; George would go to Westminster on his
duty free weekends and stay with Jack and Lee. He and Lee
would look for an apartment for us and he could earn a few
extra dollars working with Jack on Saturdays.

Jack's business was installing carpet, tile, and other floor
covering. He contracted with Sears and Roebuck stores
in the area. His and George's father, George, and uncles
Bert and Charles, had also had a floor covering business
and contracts with Sears stores in the Los Angeles area.

I discussed this with Esther. She said she would start the
process to hire someone to replace me and I could train
her. In the meantime, I would be getting my personal
things ready and the household items from our gifts that
I would be taking to California. My brother David could
not fathom why me, or anyone else, would want to live
in California. He said, "Ina, that's a crazy place to live
and anyone who lives there, is nuts!" Even so, he said that
he could understand why I would want to be with George,
and so "against my better judgement, I will move you!"
We put our plan into action and hoped it would come
together in jig time

And so, I watched for his letters, and with butterflies
in my stomach, I waited. . . .

To Be Continued. . . .