Book Entry (out of order) 1972 Accused of Bigamy

1972

Accused of Bigamy

         

           I received a phone call from a woman one morning asking to speak to Larry Reed.  I told her he wasn't home and asked if I might be able to help her.  I could tell she was irritated as her voice no longer sounded friendly but had taken on a defensive tone.  She proceeded to tell me I was not legally married to Larry Reed because she was his wife.

          She went on to say she and Larry had been married for three years and had two children.  She lived in Nevada.  Her husband had left her and their kids a few months earlier and she was trying to find him.  I assured her we had been married for four years and our husbands were different men named Larry.  When she began to argue I quietly hung up the phone.

          Over a period of a week I got five or six more calls from the same woman.  With each call her anger grew and her language got uglier and uglier.  The last time she called I hung up as soon as I recognized her voice on the phone.

          A few days after her last phone call we received a registered letter from the woman demanding we meet to discuss a payment plan between her and Larry for child support and other expenses.  I don't think I'd ever had to sign for a letter before and to be honest it kind of frightened me.  When Larry came home for lunch I showed him the letter.  We laughed about it but he could tell it had upset me.

          Larry said this had gone on long enough and called the Sheriff to report her harassment.  Within a couple of hours a Merced Sheriff called saying he was coming to our house to speak with us.  When he showed up, of course he was in a Sheriff's car with "Sheriff" plastered on both sides.  He parked right in front of our house.  I was sure all the neighbors were wondering what was going on in our house. 

          The Sheriff began asking questions.  He wanted to see Larry's birth certificate.  We didn't know where it was.  He wanted to see our marriage license.  We didn't know where it was.  He wanted to see any proof  of our marriage.  We didn't know where we could find proof!.  We had just moved.  I didn't know where any of our "official" papers were.  Finally I had a brilliant idea.  I asked the Sheriff if a news article from the Modesto Bee showing our wedding photo with the date on the paper would help.  He was satisfied with that and after a short time, he left.

          A few days later Larry received a call from the Sheriff.  He said he had talked to the woman who had been calling us.  She was indeed married to a Larry Reed.  Her husband was born on January 6, 1948 the same as mine.  Their anniversary was June 22, the same as ours, but a different year.  Then he proceeded to physically describe the other Larry Reed.  He was 6'2" with red hair and freckles.  It is 2014 as I am writing this memory.  Larry just read it and said to be sure to add when the Sheriff called he made it a point to say, "Mr. Reed I just wanted to assure you that you only have one wife!"  At that point the Sheriff and Larry both had a good laugh.

          I felt sorry for the woman.  I was living my dream life with the man I loved and our first baby in a home where I felt secure.  She had two kids, was being evicted, and was searching for her runaway husband.