The "Wife"

  While growing up in Yonkers, Margaret Anna Moroh had been a popular girl. She was in the Glee Club and cheerleading squad while in high school, and was always helping out with local community functions. After high school, she got a job in a local nightclub as a cocktail waitress. On Saturday nights there would be many servicemen in the club and the owner - Moe Silverstein - asked if she'd be willing to raise money by charging the men for "a dance". Margaret agreed and quickly became the most sought-after girl in the club. She thrived on the attention and paid little mind to the ugly rumors that the other girls were spreading about her. One night, a skinny little crooner made his way to the microphone, but could scarcely be heard over the drunken clatter of the servicemen. Margaret hushed the men and then heard the tender warblings of Johnny Stella D'Oro for the first time.  She felt as if he were singing to her right then, and he actually was, as he noticed her seemingly being the only person paying any attention.  They spoke after the show, with only a few interruptions from her "customers", and later on he walked her home.
  They became quite attached quickly and Johnny was ready to meet her father and request her hand. Johhny was not bothered by the Margaret's claim that her father was "a little strange... sometimes", and claimed to have been eager to meet the man.
  Francis X. Moroh was much older than his daughter, and seldom got out of his chair in the living room, taking his meals on the arms of the chair, and usually not using any silverware. Margaret's mother - Sheryl - was generally sickly and bed-ridden, so Margaret and her sister, Mary Ellen, did most of the chores. On most nights, Francis' dinner behavior was relatively "normal", but on each Friday, the night when they would not eat meat, he insisted on having cake for dinner. He was annoyed by the Catholic ritual of meatless Fridays, and since adulthood, would eat cake for dinner as his "revenge". For the past several years, one cake was no longer enough, and his daughters toiled over two different cakes each Friday, though he seldom finished either one.
  To Margaret's chagrin, Johnny decided that he would meet Francis that Friday. In spite of her hints at choosing another night, Johnny stood firm on the Friday plan. Crazy Old Cake Man

The evening came and Johnny walked down the street, listening to the sounds of cars and people in the neighborhood. He got to her apartment and she let him in, introducing him to her sister. He was eager to meet her father and said so. Mary Ellen covered her mouth and walked away as Margaret led him to the living room. Johnny walked towards the man in the chair and shook his hand. They spoke for a few minutes before Johnny asked for the father's blessing. Francis stared at Johnny and said "Okay", though it is likely that he hadn't heard or made sense of most of what Johnny was speaking about. Francis asked if his guest was staying for dinner, but Johnny had a gig and had to leave. Margaret walked him to the door to say goodbye and thanked him for not saying anything about the cakes. Johnny blanky gazed at her and said "What cakes?"
At that time, Johnny was beamingly infatuated with Margaret and would write short reflections of her in his notebooks.

"...I feel so alive with her...she smells so beautiful - like a new haircut...for some strange reason, every day is a birthday party with her..."

Within a few weeks, they were married. The wedding ceremony was performed by Father Bernard Coyne at St. Mary's Church. The reception was held at Johnny's aunt's house out on Long Island, where Father Coyne burst into a drunken tirade about Protestants, premarital sex and the flouridation of the drinking water. All, he proclaimed, were plots of "the divil ". By the time the priest Wedding Day

had broken a punch bowl, people were scurrying for the doors. The newlyweds had hurried outside for their only photograph, with Johnny's aunt and cousin. The notebooks were not clear about how much this ceremony had affected Johnny, but after the marriage, Johnny's entries about Margaret became shorter and less frequent; after a few weeks, he referred to her merely as "the wife". His continued neglect troubled the young woman, yet she went on to raise their large family. Johnny's thoughtless disregard would someday come back to haunt him.

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