An Orphan’s Tale

Valerie Miller

Description

In this continuing story, a young woman sets down a new path after a tumultuous childhood spent in foster homes and orphanages.
Maryanne has already overcome many obstacles in her life that have included living in multiple foster homes and an orphanage. Although she has matured into womanhood, she is still living in a Catholic women’s shelter in Philadelphia. Determined to realize independence, she is diligently saving her money so she can leave her old life behind once and for all.
Maryanne is thrilled she has a new job at the Ederer Company, typing and filling out tax forms, wills, and contracts. When she is not working, she writes letters to her high school sweetheart, William Miller, who is stationed in Korea. But he is not the only one competing to win her heart. When William catches malaria and returns home sooner than expected, Maryanne decides she is going to marry him rather than her other suitor. Everything really starts to look up when Maryanne’s aunt and uncle invite her to live with them. But as life continues to place obstacles in her path, Maryanne learns that no matter what is thrown at her or in her way, the greatest miracles are always yet to come.
In this continuing story, a young woman sets down a new path after a tumultuous childhood spent in foster homes and orphanages.

Sujets

• Historical
• Philadelphia
• Philadelphie
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: iUniverse
• Date de parution: 26 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781663209924
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

An Orphan’s Tale
Part Two: Finding Home
VALERIE MILLER


AN ORPHAN’S TALE PART TWO: FINDING HOME
 
Copyright © 2021 Valerie Miller.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
 
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Certain characters in this work are historical figures, and certain events portrayed did take place. However, this is a work of fiction. All of the other characters, names, and events as well as all places, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6632-0991-7 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6632-0992-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021903278
 
 
 
iUniverse rev. date: 02/21/2023
Contents
Adulthood
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Family Life
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Later Years of Family Life
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Part 3
Adulthood

As I wrote in the first book of this memoir, graduating from high school in 1953 was a huge accomplishment for me and a step toward independence. I finally started a real job, which was the first time I received an income on my own. I was still living in the Catholic women’s shelter, but I was determined to save as much money as I could to find my own place and get out of that life forever.
Chapter 1

Over the years, I had seen so many girls leave the shelter when they were put in foster homes or grew old enough to get out on their own. Now it was my turn. I longed for the day when I didn’t have to wake up and do chores, follow the rules, and listen to the nuns berate and scorn me.
I had a job. A real job. I couldn’t be more excited to work for the Ederer Company, typing and filing tax forms, wills, and contracts; and writing up bills. My Aunt Agnes’s best friend worked for Ederer, so she put a good word in to my boss. I was very grateful for the opportunity and quickly gained experience, learning a lot about responsibility, promptness, and time management. Whenever my boss handed me a new project to complete, I made sure I handled the task as best I could.
I quickly made many friends at work and could see a brighter future already. My life with men was a bit complicated. I continued to write to my high school sweetheart, William Miller, who was stationed in the service in Korea, but I still kept seeing Ben Dubs here at home. I wasn’t sure where all of it was going to go, but I just kept on keeping on.
Dubs and I got along for the most part. Together on weekends when I didn’t have to work, he took me out to the movies, we went dancing, or we enjoyed fancy dinners in the city. I didn’t complain; I had a nice time whenever I was with him. We could talk about anything.
At the end of one night, Dubs dropped me off at the shelter. He pulled up out front, said goodbye, and then drew me in for a kiss, but I was still figuring out how I felt about him. He was nice, but I couldn’t stop thinking about William. I just knew he was the one. After I got out of the car and opened the door of the shelter, Dubs sped off down the street. I waved to him despite my thoughts of William, and my mixed emotions.
I reached the bedroom, which was getting less and less crowded as girls were moving out, leaving for new families or significant others, or just making enough money to live on their own. I pondered the future of the shelter and whether it would financially collapse without enough women living there.
I opened the chest I kept at the foot of the bed, a gift from Dubs I filled with keepsakes. On one side of the chest, next to my jewelry box, was a stack of letters from William in Korea I had carefully saved. I pulled the letters out, took off the rubber bands wrapped around them, and read every one. William sounded so wise as he asked me questions about my life. What was I looking forward to? What were my goals? What were my dreams, desires, even my plans for the coming weekend and week? William seemed interested in me.
I, of course, asked questions when I wrote to him, mirroring the same ones he had asked me. What was he up to every day? What did he like? What didn’t he like? And everything in between. Even though he was far away and I really didn’t know him too well, having only met him through my brother, Jimmy, I felt something I knew I didn’t feel with Ben Dubs. That made me think. Would I have to pick between the two?
William had mentioned that he met some really nice people over in Korea. He had met one woman whom he described as very caring. She had been helping him get accustomed to the culture, and I didn’t think anything of it. Later, when William got back home, I learned that he had almost started dating her. I was unaware of this fact, though, and William was unaware of me seeing Dubs as we continued to write each other as often as possible. William told me he was going to be back around Christmas, so I had only a few more months before I would probably be faced with making a decision.
As autumn approached, work settled down at Ederer not only for me but also for the company. I was able to leave earlier, which I liked, as the days grew shorter. Aside from the darkening days, I enjoyed the fall. The weather was just right: not too hot and not too cold. Even more exciting was my nineteenth birthday on the first of October.
Some of the girls at the shelter put together a little celebration for me. They hung streamers around the room and decorated my dresser and the wall around the bed. They chipped in to buy a cake from the bakery around the corner and bought me a small gift.
Dubs took off from work and planned the whole day together for us. He took me into the city to go exploring, then to dinner and a movie. Dubs said he wanted to go to the observation deck of the highest building in town to get a picture-perfect angle of the two of us. I protested that I was afraid of heights but went along for the adventure. I couldn’t wait for the experience to be over.
Once we reached the top of the building, Dubs exclaimed, “Let’s look over here! Maybe this will look great in the picture. What do you think?”
I remained silent, because just being that high off the ground made me anxious.
“Maryanne, come on. Enjoy the view.”
Dubs held my free hand, the hand that wasn’t white-knuckling the rail, and kept trying to pull me.
“Here! Right here! Excuse me. Would you mind taking our picture?” Dubs asked a tourist who was standing closest to him. He handed his camera to the man, who looked at it like it was a foreign object.
“Just press that little red button on the top. Thanks!” Dubs said. I grabbed his arm in a tight grip, afraid to let go. The man took our picture, with only Dubs smiling and me looking like a deer in headlights. I wanted to get back down on the ground fast. Once the picture was taken, I moved so quickly that I left Dubs behind. I reached the first floor and had to wait an extra five minutes for him.
The rest of the day was much calmer fortunately. Dubs and I walked around Center City, Philadelphia. We walked by City Hall and then up and down Broad Street. The dinner hour was approaching, and we strolled along Broad Street. We reached our destination, a fancy restaurant right on the corner of Broad and Race Streets. Dubs ordered the steak, and I ordered the liver and onions, one of my favorite dishes. I just had a fondness for that meal, maybe because it was what we ate in the shelter. Dubs never asked why I liked it, but it always made him turn his nose up.
When the waiter came over with the bill, Dubs grabbed it immediately. I always offered to pay, at least for my portion, but he objected every time. Once he paid, we left and were off to a movie. The movie lasted a couple of hours. When we left the theater, night had fallen over the city. He drove me back to the shelter and stopped his car at the front door. He pecked me on the lips. I thanked him and waved as he pulled away from the curb.
I laid down on my bed, and just before I fell asleep, I couldn’t help thinking of William. Only eighty-five more days until Christmas was my final thought before I was out cold.

On my next date with Dubs, we went to an annual Halloween party hosted by one of his friends. I really wasn’t in the mood to go to the party, but since I had nothing else better to do on Halloween, I ended up saying yes when he asked me.
“You’ll be fine. Trust me. And besides, I’ll be there the whole time with you,” Dubs assured me as we prepared to enter the house. “Just stay close to me, and you will be A-OK.”
When Dubs knocked, he didn’t wait for a reply. He turned the knob and pushed the door open. “Hey, hey, everyone!” he shouted.
“Dubs, I …” I trailed off as he entered the house first. I was standing behind him when I saw William. He was here . But how ? I didn’t know for sure, but I d