A Woman of Independent Means (34 page)

As a precaution, I have decided Sam and I should come to some agreement in writing concerning the terms of the partnership we are about to undertake. He was offended when I suggested the idea, as if it implied that his intentions toward me were less than honorable. However, I quickly pointed out that in business a legal contract implies no lack of trust. The only difference as I see it is that a business contract is a short-term agreement covering a limited area of mutual interest whereas marriage is a lifetime covenant. It is my opinion that every couple contemplating marriage should be required to sign a contract before being issued a license. Then divorce would be simply a breach of contract without the bitterness that too often attends the dissolution of marriage.

Enclosed is a rough draft of the contract I have drawn up to cover all the contingencies of married life as I see them from this vantage point. Would you mind reading it and, on the basis of your experience, suggesting any revisions or additions that occur to you before I show it to Sam and ask him to sign it?

Now that we know where we will be living, Sam thinks there is nothing to stop us from being married immediately. I do not know how much longer I can deny him access to my nights as well as my days. Frankly, I am almost as eager as he is to resume married life.

Je t'embrasse,
Bess

Enc.

PROPOSED MARRIAGE CONTRACT
between
Elizabeth Alcott Steed
and
Samson Arlington Garner

 

I. Place of residence: a home to be constructed at the expense of Elizabeth Alcott Steed on property owned by Samson Arlington Garner.

II. Income: husband and wife will continue to maintain separate bank accounts.

III. Household expenses:

IV. Furnishings:

V. Automobiles: each party shall retain title to and assume financial responsibility for his/her own automobile—including costs of insurance, maintenance, and fuel—and shall replace it at his/her own discretion.

VI. Life insurance: both parties will carry a life insurance policy of equal value, naming the other as beneficiary; however the value of any additional policies naming other beneficiaries (i.e., the children of Elizabeth Steed) will be left to the discretion of the policyholder.

VII. Dependents: Elizabeth Steed will assume full financial responsibility for the needs of her two children, including clothing, medical costs, education, and social obligations. In the event of her death, these needs will become the responsibility of Samson Garner.

June 10, 1922
Honey Grove

Dear Totsie,

The architect has submitted his final set of plans and we have approved them, with perhaps more enthusiasm from me than from Sam. At least on the surface we are in agreement, however, and work is scheduled to begin immediately.

With the plans approved, I capitulated completely to Sam's insistence that we set a date for the wedding. He suggested tomorrow but I persuaded him to wait till July 4th, which will give us the long holiday weekend for a honeymoon. Besides, the idea of getting married on Independence Day appeals to my sense of irony. I am not sure where we will live until the house is ready, but I rather like having a few unanswered questions in my future.

I am glad you approve of the marriage contract. I showed it to Sam today on our way downtown to apply for our license. He read it without a word, signed it, then handed it back to me and said in a voice so devoid of emotion it sounded as if it had been recorded on another planet, “I never want to see that damn thing again as long as I live.”

I must admit I was caught off-guard by the one question you raised. I did not realize how completely the contract ignored the possibility of offspring resulting from this union—perhaps because it is a possibility I have never contemplated and Sam has never mentioned. My reproductive processes have been in such a state of rebellion since Robin's death I doubt if I could conceive now even if I had the desire—which I do not.

I love my children at the age they are now, and I have neither the energy nor the patience to shepherd a new one to this level of perception and response. And neither does Sam, though he may not realize it. Nor, frankly, would I risk his affection for my children by presenting him with one of his own. This is not a matter we have discussed, and I trust Sam will never put me in the position of opposing him outright. However, no matter how equally a man contributes to a child's conception, it is the woman who is left to bear and often to raise it alone. So the decision must finally belong to her.

Darling Totsie, how happy I am you will be standing at my side to give me courage as I commit the rest of my life to yet another man.

Je t'embrasse,
Bess

June 28, 1922
Honey Grove

Dear Lydia and Manning,

Sam and I are to be married next Friday evening in Dallas, and we hope the two of you can be there—and of course Mother Steed and Marian if they care to come.

Grace and Frank Townsend—the friends who introduced us—have graciously offered to have the wedding in their home, followed by a champagne supper. It will be a very intimate affair. So far I have only invited you, Mavis, Exa and Martin Banks, Totsie and Arthur Fineman, and Sam has asked a few associates from the office.

Of course I will not be mailing engraved wedding invitations, but I am sending announcements to all our friends. None of the usual wording seems quite appropriate since my parents are dead and this is a second marriage for each of us. So I have decided to compose my own announcement. A draft is enclosed. Please give me your candid appraisal—from the point of view of social acceptance as well as literary style. I will not place my order with the printer until I have your approval, so do let me hear from you right away.

My love,
Bess

Enc.

July 3, 1922
Dallas, Texas

Dear Mother Steed,

Lydia and Manning arrived this afternoon with Marian. We are all staying at the home of my friends Totsie and Arthur Fineman, and it is quite a gala house party. Totsie graciously offered to keep the children this weekend while Sam and I are away on our honeymoon, and I do not know who accepted her offer more eagerly—Sam and I or Drew and Eleanor.

She and Arthur have been so kind and generous to us from the day we announced our engagement. They are hosting the rehearsal dinner tonight, taking care of the children after the wedding, and then—most thoughtful of all—giving us their house for a month while they vacation in Colorado. I think they more than any of our other friends understand the mixed feelings that accompany a second marriage, and they are doing everything they can to make it easier for both of us.

I was very sad when Manning and Lydia arrived today without you, and I trust that even though we will not have your presence at our wedding tomorrow we will have your blessing. No one loved Rob as I did or mourned his passing more—not even you—so no one has the right to judge me for committing what is left of my life to another man. No one would rejoice more than Rob to see how happy his children are in the presence of the man who is about to become my husband, and if you love your grandchildren as much as you say you do, then you will rejoice with us tomorrow—even though you have chosen to do it alone.

Affectionately, as always,
Bess

July 8, 1922
Dallas

Dear Mavis,

I was so glad you could come for the wedding. Somehow, looking at you, I could almost see Papa standing beside you giving me his blessing. The reverses of fate are difficult to accept and I still find it unbelievable that I am with a husband when you are without one.

Sam and I had a lovely weekend in Galveston. He had never been there before and I had only seen the city in transit so it was an adventure for us both. Galveston shares with all seaports an air of mystery and excitement and even though it is located in Texas, it seems closer in spirit to Naples than to Dallas. I could never look at the Gulf of Mexico without imagining that Jean Laffite and his pirates were anchored out there somewhere.

We played tennis every morning before breakfast. Sam is determined to improve my backhand, though I am not sure it can be done. In return for my sincere effort to master a sport for which I clearly have no aptitude, he has agreed to submit to my tutelage in the fine arts. At this point the only place our interests meet is at the movies. Sam has always been interested in photography and he is fascinated by motion pictures from a purely technical point of view. As for me, I become so absorbed watching John Barrymore as “Beau Brummel” and Rudolph Valentino as “Monsieur Beaucaire,” I completely forget a camera is involved.

We were away only three days, but they were spent in such leisure the trip seemed much longer. Time has a different meaning in an unfamiliar setting. Each new experience seems to stretch an hour to several times its normal capacity. If I were told I had only a short time to live, I would spend the weeks left to me traveling, making each hour hold as many new sights and sounds as possible. And how much easier to leave loved ones behind when adventure is ahead. I would like to believe that the soul sets out on a journey of its own long before the body ceases to breathe so that by the time those left behind begin to mourn, our traveler has already embarked in another country.

How strangely the mind works! I started this letter by describing my honeymoon and I end it by discussing death.

Much love,
Bess