The house on Babcock Street had been owned by Geoffrey’s father — Alan’s grandfather. Geoffrey had been paying Jeanne alimony and child support since the divorce, and his father had covered certain other expenses — use of his car, Liz’s wages as housekeeper, and the house itself, since Jeanne paid no rent. In 1970, Geoffrey told us that since we had been living together for 2 years we were in a de facto common-law marriage, and that under Massachusetts law at the time that entitled him to stop paying alimony. He also told us he wanted us to leave the house.
Tag Archives: Sherborn
Life in Sherborn
We enjoyed living in the house on Maple Street. The Shell station was considerably closer than the Texaco had been, which made the long hours more manageable. Jana and Milan married and took the master bedroom. I married Jeanne, which made my mother very happy. When I went to the immigration office in Boston to obtain my citizenship it was the first time I had ever been treated pleasantly there — the employees were kind and welcoming, as opposed to every previous experience I had in that building.
Separating from Jeanne
At some point I told Jeanne that I wanted to have my own family. She did not want more children. Together with everything else that had happened over those years, we decided to separate. I moved out and rented a room in a house in Weston, not far from the station. We stayed in touch and the parting was without bitterness.
Passing the Station to Jana and Milan
At the station I was paying Milan good wages, and Jana helped part time with the bookkeeping, for which I also paid her. I covered my mother’s health insurance as well. Milan was an excellent mechanic and a reliable worker, but he had no interest in the headaches that came with running a business. He was strictly 8AM to 5PM.