that Bruce and Dorcass had prepared our wedding reception. They lived in a modest but nicely decorated home on Markland Road in Happy Valley, not far from the church. Although there were few photos and well wishes, I felt a lot of gratitude for our reception. I didn’t or hadn’t taken part in any of the preparations; my in-laws did a nice job of trying to make it look somewhat like a wedding reception. Nice white tablecloths draped a large table with a beautiful vase of artificial flowers accompanying our three-tiered wedding cake. Thanks to Dorcass’s artistic and creative abilities she had done a beautiful job. I was very pleased with it. There were several bowls of salads, a few plates of cold cuts, and a pot of rabbit stew. Smack in the middle of the table was a tower of white baker’s bread. Reverend Payne even came to celebrate with us, as he was a personal friend of Keith’s parents. I recall posing for a few flashing cameras. We did get a few pictures that I now cherish. It was not a wedding feast that will go down in the record books, but I felt we did the right thing under the circumstances. We were now married. We did what was expected of us, plain and simple.
I have no idea how much anything cost. Keith had sixty-five cents in the bank when we got married and had to borrow five dollars from his brother Graham to pay the minister. I hadn’t any money because I had spent it on the seamstress to let the seams out of my dress and to pay for my roses.
After the reception we went to Keith’s parents’ house just around the corner from our reception location. We were to spend our wedding night in Keith’s bedroom. I didn’t even know what his bedroom looked like because out of respect for his parents we never went there. Mr. Penny, being a lay reader, a catechist, and an active member of the church, had to be respected at all cost.
Mr. Penny was like a god to me, but I felt no connection with Keith’s mom. They were so old! Mr. Penny had snow white hair, and even though I sensed he was a kind and caring man, I was still afraid of him. To think I had to go to their home on our wedding night was terrifying! I was shaking in my new shoes and wedding gown as we entered his bedroom. Where was I going? What was I doing here? What was happening to me? I was like a rag doll at the end of a little girl’s hand, being dragged into nothingness. Did I know what I was doing? Did I really want this? However, here I was. I will never forget what unfolded in front of me as we opened Keith’s bedroom door.
The house itself was still under construction, so there was no paint on the walls and there weren’t any curtains to the window yet. The floor was plywood. There was a single bed up against the wall, on the right side of the room. I almost tripped over this god-awful contraption on the floor! I didn’t know what it was! It had a bunch of different length glass tubes sticking up from it, with tangled wires everywhere. It was scary looking. We sat on the bed for a moment and I must have been in some kind of trance or something, as I kept staring at it. Finally I asked Keith.
“Whass that ting on de floor?”
“That’s my radio,” he replied. “I’m fixin’ it.”
“Where’s de case?”
“I took the case off cause it needs a couple new tubes.”
Well, that explained what it was. He didn’t even have a nightstand to put it on. We had nothing else to do but to go to bed. As we undressed, rather shyly, I draped my wedding dress over an old chair. I didn’t know what to think. Did I even think at all? I was numb. We got into bed and embraced without saying a word. I was fearful of the future, but didn’t know what to do about it. We just needed to get through this night.
“Do ya love me?” I asked him, as he fumbled around my big belly.
“Yeh,” he mumbled.
I don’t know if Keith loved me or not. He never told me. He couldn’t utter those three little words, but I did love him and showed him in every way possible. Our wedding night was spent with the two of us awkwardly trying to make love in a squeaky single bed with an old, battered, case-less radio crackling on the floor, with its dusty tubes sticking up like tiny beacons in a lighthouse. With his parents in the next room, and my baby kicking inside me!
Chapter 7
Our First Home
In the week that followed our wedding night, I was worried and scared of what was going to happen to me. Here I was, a new bride, soon to be a new mother, crammed in with my in-laws in a tiny bedroom without any space to call my own, and without any support. All I was getting from Mrs. Penny was advice on how to live my life. She talked down to me and made me feel very insecure. I figured things would change when she saw how well I could keep a house. After all, I’d been doing it since I was eleven years old.
I really didn’t know what Keith was up to in the first weeks following our wedding, but I would soon find out. Things happened so rapidly that it’s hard to get the details straight. I was not happy living with his parents. During this time Keith worked with a man on the military base whose name was Carl. One day Carl heard that Keith had recently married and asked Keith if he would be interested in buying his house. He was having trouble selling it.
“I have no money to buy your house,” Keith said.
“I don’t need the money right away. If I can sell it I’d move to the United States. I don’t trust anybody to pay me the required price,” he said. “And no one around here has enough money to pay for it. You seem like a nice, solid young man, Keith. How would you like to buy my house?”
“How much you want for it?” Keith asked.
“I want $1,800 and you could pay for the house on the instalment plan.”
At that stage of my life and during that time in Labrador, wives were treated like children, and I was no exception. I didn’t have a voice and anything Keith decided to do would have to be all right. I just accepted it as so! He came home from work one day and shocked me into reality.
“I bought a house today,” he said.
“Whaa? A house? Where?”
“On Grand Street, just down around the corner from here.”
“Oh Keith, I’m so happy! When can we move in?”
“Right away, because the owner is leaving tomorrow for the United States.”
A deal was reached. We would be the proud owners of our own little house — wow!
It was decided that we would pay him a certain amount per month. It would come with all the furniture, a generator for electricity, and Keith’s brother Graham gave us a yellow 1957 Ford pick-up truck. We were overwhelmed with gratitude! We moved into our little house on Grand Street just one week after we were married. I was elated. Our very own little house! I was so happy, and I couldn’t believe my luck; especially when I realized we were moving next door to my Aunt Winnie! I felt a little more secure, and that I was going to be alright. I might not feel so alone anymore.
In my own home, I could care for my baby my way, without my mother-in-law peeking over my shoulder. I could now cook my own meals, and be free from criticism. I wouldn’t have to worry about Keith’s parents following my every move and making me feel inadequate.
The house was sixteen by twenty-two feet, with three rooms: a bedroom, a tiny kitchen, and a living room. There was no bathroom, no running water, and no furnace. There was just a small wood and oil stove that didn’t work well. There wasn’t a water and sewer system on Grand Street yet. We did have electricity, but we didn’t have appliances. Nevertheless, I was pleased that we had our own space. There were
