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22 Beverly Hills Gothic
Above and below
My beloved Uncle Abe, 1922.
A TERRIBLE DIVORCE
When I was about twelve my mother had another “nervous breakdown,” and this time my father simply moved out and filed for divorce. In the beginning during his visitng days, usually Sunday, I asked him to walk up and down our street, as if we were taking a stroll, so the neighbors wouldn’t think he had left us. I was heartbroken.
My Uncle Abe was living with us while attending UCLA and was wonderful to me. He was like a big brother, and, when he wasn’t teasing me, he was a great fun. He introduced me to classical music and taught me how to type. His positive attitude about life had a great influence on me. He was my hero, and for many years I was determined to marry him “when I grew up.”
Things went from bad to worse. My mother was a wreck and criticized me constantly, trying to make me feel guilty. She had discovered that my father had a girlfriend, a young woman from Arkansas named Hallie Rogers, who worked at the Orange Julius stand near my father’s shop. My mother drove to her house. Hallie showed her a diamond ring and said she was engaged to my father. My mom asked, “How can you
be engaged to a married man?” She said Hallie just laughed and closed the door, as my mother pleaded for her to give him up.
When my mother was “manic” she had lots of energy and lots of nerve, but it didn’t do any good. The divorce case went on for years as my mother kept fighting it. She was crushed, saying she loved and needed my father and wanted him back. I was too young to comprehend it all, but now I understand she couldn’t help the illness that ruined her life. I felt so sorry for her as she became bitter and carried an ongoing
hatred for the woman who became my stepmother.