The Bait

Where and how Ann spent the earlier part of her adult life, I don't know. History is mystery in that respect. And the following is one child's memory, a child who was always trying to understand, but without the platform to ask any questions:
Something had happened in Ann's life where she felt she must insure her future. In those days, that meant a man. She used to visit the Fogarty family, down the road from my grandmother's house. Maybe a connection with Judge Brannigan, her relative, I don't know. Anyway, she found out about Matt, the single man up the road. So she arranged to stay with the Fogarty family for a time. During that time, she would be on the watch for Matt's schedule, and arrrange to be on the roadside when he would drive by. I think she might have asked him for a ride a time or two. So eventually they fell into some sort of relationship, though I doubt it meant then what it means now. It seems they also had a strained relationship; Nanny was still alive. I recall Agnes saying Matt was again more drawn to that Helen woman, but now he had Ann to deal with. I know Matt later told my mother that the only reason he married Ann was that she had threatened to kill herself if he didn't. I seem to recall she was going to throw herself into traffic. There was so very little of that he may have thought she meant him. At any rate, my grandmother died in November 1950, and they got married about a year later. It was a small wedding. I think my parents and Dorothy might have gone. I didn't go, probably because I had to work in Sara's store every single day from age 11 on. Sara's store was open 7 days a week, from 10 to 10 and she said she HAD to go home to eat, so I had to stay. During the time between my grandmother's death and the wedding, Dorothy frequently stayed over for the weekend to keep Helen company, and because she was a sweet girl, and they loved her. After the wedding, Matt, in his male oblivion, and because Ann had let him believe anything until she got the marriage license, thought the 2 women living in the house would work out. He reasoned that they could keep each other company. And that's a tale for another day. Stay tuned.