The Well Kept Secret

After my Mom passed away, I found out she had kept a secret from her children virtually all of our lives. When I found out what the secret was, I could not understand why she worked so hard to keep that secret.

The Well Kept Secret

 

When I was about 15 tears old, we lived at 13 Stark Street in Phillips Texas. My Dads Aunt Thelma had been staying with us about three or four days and I had moved out of the house into my Dads camper trailer in the front yard because Thelma snored so loud that I could not sleep in the house. One night my brother Craig and I were watching TV in the den and my Mother, Dad, Aunt Thelma, and my sister Jerryldine were in the living room area talking. I glanced over and saw my Mother grab my sister Jerryldine by the hand and take her out of the room. My Mother came back and was giving Aunt Thelma a severe scolding. I knew she was upset, but the TV show was good so I just shrugged it off. When I got out of school the next day, Aunt Thelma was gone. I was happy I could move back into my room since the freight train loud snoring was gone.

 

Well it looks like I did a little too much talking tonight. My name should be Thelma “Talker ” instead of just Thelma.

 

It’s OK Mom, your secret is safe with me. I won’t breathe a word.

 

My Dad passed away on Christmas Eve of the year 2000, and my Mom passed away in February, 2001. After we laid my Mom to rest, our families were talking while we were going through their stuff and Jerryldine told me what my Aunt Thelma had said that night that upset our Mom so much. She was talking about my Dad when he was in Texas Tech College, and had said…”Have you ever heard from your ex wife since you dropped out of school?” Their well kept secret was that my Dad had gotten married while he was at school in Lubbock and they were apparently incompatible and divorced in a few months.

 

 

My Dad dropped out of school and went to work at the Borger Refinery in Phillips, Texas.  Sometime after that he had met my Mom and eventually married her.

 

 

I told my sister that I was unaware that Dad had been previously married. I don’t think my brother Craig was aware of it either. We discussed it for a while and none of us could figure out why my Mom worked so hard to keep the secret. None of us really cared. I don’t think my Mom ever talked to Thelma much after that night she visited us and let her secret slip.

 

We just didn’t want our children to think we approved of divorce so we decided to keep the secret.

Thanks for reading The Well Kept Secret,
Bill