Crypt 33 by Adela Gregory Read Free Book Online Page A

attached to miniature remote-controlled target planes. Though earning twenty dollars a week, she quickly became bored. Norma Jeane requested a transfer to the Dope Room, where liquid plastic called “dope” was sprayed over cloth, which was then used on the fuselage of the target plane. She worked harder in her new position and was awarded a certificate for excellence. Being shy and untalkative had not helped her make many friends in the plant. Her quietness made her suspect, and now, with the award under her belt, she stirred up resentment among the other employees. But Norma did not seem to care. Disregarding the whispers, Norma Jeane felt proud of the achievement and continued with her good work.
    Early in 1945 the Allies poured east across the Rhine River, and Jim Dougherty was home on his first leave.
    Jim and Norma Jeane made a beeline for privacy from his parents’ home and checked into the La Fonda Hotel in the Valley. Eager to spend time with her husband, Norma Jeane took a leave of absence from her job. The couple spent entire days and nights in their room ordering their meals from room service. Being apart almost a year had made them ravenous for each other. They made continuous love the first week. Norma Jeane took off additional days from work, her leave extended to three weeks. It was pure enjoyment for her. No work and all play—Daddy was home and she had missed him. She told him about her accomplishments at the plant, and that made Jim uneasy. He cringed when she told him of her dreams of being a great movie star one day. He reminded her that so many talented women were jobless and she should appreciate having steady work. He didn’t approve of her aspirations; he wanted a wife and a mother for his children.
    Norma Jeane bottled up her desires after his initial reaction. But when he left for the Pacific, she began paying frequent visits to her Aunt Ana Lower in Culver City. Ana always encouraged Norma’s ambition.
    Norma Jeane went into action in other ways, too. The local bars served to keep Mrs. Dougherty occupied during the days and nights that her husband was gone. Sometimes she drank too much. Other times a tall, attractive, dark-haired man would invite her out to dinner and then to his apartment for more drinks. The perfect outlet for her anger over Jim’s recent “desertion” was to show her faraway husband that she was beautiful and desirable enough to keep a man interested. With her husband conveniently overseas, Norma Jeane was lonely and aching for love. She unbuttoned her cotton short-sleeved blouse and revealed her lacy brassiere. Her date, a bit drunk from one too many beers, asked her to remove all her clothing. It was easier than she thought it would be; he had already paid for a charming dinner. But the best part of the evening was the expression on his face as Norma Jeane revealed her body to him. The astonishment on the stranger’s face as he perused the most magnificent nude body he’d ever seen sent exciting chills up and down Norma Jeane’s spine. Attention from a man was what she was looking for. It seemed like an eternity since her husband had touched her. She missed the lovemaking. Bridging the lonely gap was the right thing to do. Pleasure and comfort were happy bedfellows, and Norma Jeane indulged herself. When the stranger was satiated he asked if she needed taxi money home, generously offering ten times the necessary fare.
    The next time the sad, lonely feelings surfaced, Mrs. Dougherty returned to the bars. Anger over her husband’s absence increased daily as time passed slowly, but fantasizing about her next interlude both stimulated and comforted her. Subsequent visits reinforced her struggling sense of worthiness. There was always a willing participant. The next might be more generous... maybe older, perhaps married. And there were always rewards. A thank-you and some extra spending money were expected and appreciated. But then