Haunted by the Past Ch. 02

Dawn was the one on whom they could all rely to cheer them up when they felt sad or depressed. She almost always had an optimistic outlook on life; and she was the ultimate organizer. Whenever they'd talk about doing something, she was the one who made all the arrangements. She was a "take-charge" kind of woman. That aspect of her personality came in very handy when Lynda's husband walked out on her a year later. Diana had provided the emotional and financial support, but Dawn had been the one who helped Lynda get her life organized again.

They had all gone out the night Lynda's divorce was final in early April of 1954 to celebrate.

Diana realized her and Lynda's joke had become reality. She'd looked at Lynda. "Hey...I've got my support group now!"

Diana and Lynda had busted out laughing again. Dawn and Barbara had looked at them in confusion and asked what was so funny. Diana had to explain to them about her past, her distrust of men and how she had been attempting to solve her "problem." And how she and Lynda had joked about it over the years.

All of the women had looked at each other silently for several moments as they thought about their own situations. Their faces were pretty grim.

How long will it take to find a man that will love me for who I am? A man I can trust—who won't leave me even when the sex is fantastic? A man I can love as much as, or more than, one I've already lost? A man who excites me and makes me dream only about him?

They didn't even realize at the time that they all wanted the same things in a man.

Dawn and Barbara had been shocked at Diana's revelation. They tried to give her all the usual reassurances and that she shouldn't be debasing herself with men like that...she deserved better!

Her friends were all terrific women. If they felt she deserved better, then maybe they were right. Maybe it was just bad luck.

Maybe one day a man really will love me—just for who I am...

The next week after that Friday night was when Diana had found out that her boss was going to be producing one of John Wayne's movies. She also learned that he was coming to the studio that next Friday for a meeting and that her boss was assigning her to give him a tour of the lot. She had told Lynda of her excitement at meeting him, but she never told her what had happened that weekend...

She had said that Mr. Wayne was a very honorable and kind man, and that he'd been flattered that she was attracted to him and that he'd also found her very attractive. But he'd turned her down gently; he was already seeing another woman. The only part she told Lynda that was completely true was that Mr. Wayne had also told her she deserved better and made her promise to find a man who was worthy of her.

She'd also said that she never wanted to talk about it again...

Diana's mind drifted back to the present...

It had taken almost exactly two years after her affair with the big man for Charles to find her. They were two months into their marriage and their new life together. It was June 1956, and their life seemed to be headed toward that bright future she had imagined on the plane ride back from Vegas. She managed to forget about that gnawing sense of foreboding...

Most of the time...