There would be no cleaning up this can of worms, now that it’d been opened. Vivian had had to tell Charlotte first, before she sent the details for the story to Harry Sweeney at The Daily Record. She hadn’t wanted to surprise her daughter any more than necessary.

The timing wasn’t the best, though. If she’d had a full day to herself, to relax and prepare, it would’ve been better. But life was life, she’d had to work at the switchboard, and she’d been too tired to dress it up any better. What was the point? she thought. It’s like putting a blond wig on Edward G. Robinson.

“Your father and I have to get divorced and then remarried because he had a wife he forgot to tell me about.”

She’d waited for Charlotte’s reaction, preparing herself for hysterics and tears, probably a little blame, since everything god-awful seemed to be Vivian’s fault. But poor Charlotte must’ve just been in shock. She went as white as a sheet, and then the white turned a little green and Vivian helped her into the upstairs bathroom. Mother sat with daughter on the cold tiled floor. She stroked Charlotte’s hair as she hung over the toilet, vomiting partially digested seven-layer bars into the bowl. Well, six-layer bars, since Vivian had taken out the chocolate bits.

“Me, too, honey,” she whispered softly over Charlotte’s bent head. “Me, too.”

Vivian wanted off the emotional roller coaster. It had passed the point of Too Much. In addition to the whole mess with Edward, she’d heard Pearl say that one of those Siamese twins, the ones they separated in Chicago in December, had died. Only lived thirty-four days after being separated from his sibling. She’d broken down and wept right there in front of the switchboard. Forehead to forearm, jerking with sobs. Dorothy patting her shoulder. It just went to show that everything in the world was terrible.

Wooster Daily Record

Saturday, January 31, 1953

Daltons Wed Again to Make Sure Knot Is Legally Tied, by Harry Sweeney

The Edward Daltons of Wooster went to the altar a second time today just to make sure that the knot which was tied 16 years ago was done so legally.

Twenty-nine years ago Edward Dalton was a 17-year-old delegate to a Christian Endeavor convention. On a dare he and one of the other delegates were married. When the two returned to their native city of Syracuse, N.Y., and told their respective parents, there was quite a fuss. The marriage was annulled, forthwith, or at least everyone thought it had been annulled.

Dalton came to Wooster and attended Wooster College. He served in the army from here. He made Wooster his home, settled down, and married a local girl. They have raised a fine daughter, who currently attends Wooster High School.

The first Mrs. Dalton also quickly got over the Christian Endeavor experience, and she, too, wed another person. They had a youngster. Everything would have gone O.K. if her husband hadn’t sought to divorce her. In looking into the records he discovered to the amazement of everyone that the first marriage had never been legally annulled.