Jean and Jim Johnson were both products of parochial, conservative small towns in the Midwest. In those areas, right was right, wrong was wrong -- and nothing was in between. Of course, actions frequently differ from religious and moral beliefs, but both Jean and Jim were closer to the regional ideal than most. This was particularly true of Jean. Her father, a widower, was a hard worker during the week, a lay preacher on Sunday in a church that was close to being a cult. They railed against gays and lesbians, fornicators and adulterers, trashy women in tight sweaters and short skirts, pointy headed liberals who were undermining the moral structure of the United States, etc., etc. Virtually from birth she was conditioned to accept the church's views on morality, views engrained by winters spent in weekday sessions as well as Sunday school, by summers spent in church camp, by harangues at the dinner table and, if, after all this, a heretical thought was uttered, they were enforced by "don't spare the rod and spoil the child" spankings.
By the time she graduated from high school, she had absorbed and accepted all of these views. Her personal beliefs and behavior conformed and she was a "good girl," and not very popular, particularly with the boys. Thus, at graduation, not only was she a virgin, not only had she never been felt or fondled, she had never even been kissed -- talk about not being with the times! She went away to college (almost over her father's dead body -- "Why should a girl go to college? She should learn housekeeping, get married and take care of her husband") on a scholarship and, by her senior year, had been kissed, twice, and, had her breasts squeezed through her sweater, once. The latter experience was exciting at the time, but caused her considerable self-criticism and internal moral condemnation afterwards. It was, however, the first chink in her moral armor.
There were other breaches in the dogma created in her "growing up" period, although some might say that the true growing up occurred during her college years. She discovered that some "trashy" girls (i.e. those who wore short skirts and tight sweaters) were actually very nice people dressed in what most other students considered to be "normal" clothing. Gays and lesbians frequently were amazingly like everyone else except for a different sexual orientation -- and it wasn't catching! She even discovered that some of the most respectable girls "put out" on occasion. These and many other "revelations" undercut much of the indoctrination she had received during her early youth, and she became much less censorious in her evaluations of others. Nonetheless, her own behavior changed little. She still wore her skirts longer and her sweaters looser that was modish. She showered when she knew no other girls would be present and she stayed fully dressed when lounging around the room if anyone else might come in. On the few dates she had (rarely a second one), she was unapproachable for any act that might even be slightly questionable -- except for the two kisses and one fondling which were aberrations.
Much of this changed when, during her senior year, she met Jim. They came from the same background and, while he had a somewhat less restrictive view of moral behavior, he was not as aggressive as most "predatory' males (which means most men). Thus, he didn't frighten her off or cause her to be excessively wary of his intentions. On his part, he felt comfortable with her because her standards were similar to those he had known at home. In addition, he was in pre-med and had a very heavy course load which suppressed his libido so that he was satisfied with a slower developing romance. Still, by the end of the year, he had managed to undermine her standards to the degree that she had been explored quite thoroughly, and satisfactorily, by his hands and, finally, by his eyes -- but only when it was very clear that marriage was their mutual goal.
The wedding, a small affair, took place that summer and, with a short, mundane honeymoon in the conservative, safe, choice of Niagara Falls, they moved to where Jim was to begin medical school. He, fortunately, had received a generous scholarship and grant which they assumed, with Jean getting a job, would be more than enough to live on. However, they immediately found out two difficult pieces of information. First, living expenses, even in a small city, were far greater that in a small college town in the Midwest. Second, there was no great demand for liberal arts graduates who had no specific experience of any kind. They found themselves living, temporarily, they hoped, in a cheap, rundown motel on the edge of town. Jim started classes while Jean desperately looked for work. Ironically, when she finally found something to apply for, it was what her father had insisted that she learn to do -- housekeeping.
The advertisement merely said that a woman needed a housekeeper-companion, salary dependent on experience and compatibility. Jean had no professional experience, but she had maintained the family home (with the tutelage of an aunt), taken a few college courses in home economics, and, frankly, she was desperate. Even a cheap motel with meals out every day was quickly depleting their meager finances. However, even that job possibility appeared to be doomed. The interview went well; the potential employer and Jean conversed freely and seemed compatible. The friendly atmosphere made it pretty obvious that they were mutually satisfied with each other and that it was merely a question of details before Jean finally had a job. The job entailed house cleaning, some cooking and acting as a maid on occasion. It also required her to be available to keep the woman, Mrs. R. J. Simmons, company when her husband was out of town. As she explained, "My husband is the executive vice-president of a franchise leasing company. Part of his duties is to travel around the country, checking on franchise stores, helping new operators get started, etc. He's out of town two or three nights a week and sometimes gone for one or two weeks when a new store opens. I don't like being alone in this big house when he's gone." That's when the critical blow came. "Therefore, I need a live-in maid-housekeeper. We have a very nice, large room with its own bath and.....Why, what's wrong, dear?"
This last question came about because of the stricken look on Jean's face as she saw what had seemed the answer to their problem vanish. "Oh, Mrs. Simmons! I thought that you knew that I'm married! My husband is in the medical school and...." she broke into tears. Then, sobbing, "We've just been married and we moved here, we don't have much money, we don't have a place to live.... and I can't live here!" Composing herself, she continued, "I'm sorry, this is not your problem. I guess you'll have to get someone else."
"My heavens, I must be blind. I didn't even notice your wedding ring. I'm really sorry, dear. I think that it would have worked out perfectly." They both got up and headed for the door, Jean almost crying after thinking that she had what seemed like the perfect solution to their money problems. Returning to the drab motel room, she did cry and prepared to see if something like McDonald's might have an opening.
Back at the Simmons house that evening, however, a conversation went on that she would have found quite interesting in several ways. Mrs. Simmons, speaking to her husband, said, "I really thought that I had a replacement for Judy this afternoon. She seemed very nice and is quite pretty, perfect for what we wanted. Unfortunately, she turned out to be married, which meant that she couldn't live here. That made it impossible, but, heaven knows when a better girl will come alone -- she seemed perfect."
