Barbara Thorpe

BARBARA THORPE: HER STEPSON’S MISDEEDS ARE DESTROYING HER MARRIAGE

Adam and Barbara cannot reconcile their differences over Roger.

By Leo Ries
Soap Opera Serials, September 1977.

It had been unusually quiet in Barbara Thorpe’s house. Barbara was extremely aware of the change. She was used to bustling around taking care of her husband’s needs. In the last few days, however, she had not done a thing for her mate. He had taken off, leaving her to her own devices.

Barbara and Adam Thorpe had enjoyed a moderately successful marriage. They had experienced certain difficulties, but they’d appeared to be as contented as many couples in Springfield. A respectable man like Adam would not be expected to leave his family on a whim. It would take a pretty serious matter for him to pack his bags and break up the family unit.

The question of the children loomed very large in the Thorpes' marriage. Ever since Barbara and Adam had tied the knot, their respective offspring had posed a threat to their relationship. A lot depended on whether Adam could accept Barbara’s kids, and just as much was at stake in Barbara’s reactions to Adam’s son. Barbara knew that Adam had decided to leave her because of her failure to get along with his son Roger. Adam had admitted as much to her when he explained that he would henceforth be living at the Athletic Club instead of at home. Barbara felt hurt and unjustly maligned. She thought she had no reason to blame herself for her coldness toward Roger. As far as she was concerned, Roger was a menace to society. He might be the apple of his father’s eye, but she regarded him as a conniving and unscrupulous pervert.

Although Barbara had a slightly hysterical temperament, her criticism of Roger was not entirely without justification. Roger might not be the devil incarnate, but he had done a good job missing up several lives. It took all of Barbara’s willpower to be polite to Roger when he came to her door a few days after Adam’s departure. She wanted to shut the door in his face, but when he planted his foot on the threshold there was nothing she could do but hear him out. Roger claimed he wanted to tell her how sorry her was to learn that Adam had left her.

“I never thought—“ he began lamely.

“That I can believe,” was Barbara’s quick facetious reply. She was quick to insult Roger because she was so mad at him. Not only had he been the ultimate cause of her marital problems; he had incurred her wrath for causing trouble in her daughter Holly’s marriage.

“Barbara, just tell me what I can do for you,” Roger said next.

Without hesitation Barbara answered, “You can stay away from Holly and Christina.” Barbara was still convinced that Holly would be married to community pillar Dr. Ed Bauer if not for Roger. Roger had carried on a romance with Holly while she was married to Ed. Holly gave birth to Roger’s child, a little girl named Christina. Learning eventually that Christina was not his child, Ed had decided to end his marriage to Holly.

Try as he would, Roger could not understand why Barbara held him solely responsible for the break-up of Holly’s marriage. Holly’s marriage had not been happy. Both Holly and Ed openly conceded as much, and they had never hidden this fact from Barbara. Yet Barbara had never accepted their decision to divorce. She was convinced Holly and ed could have lived happily ever after if Roger had not interfered.

Roger urged Barbara to look on the bright side. Her little granddaughter, he pointed out, “is part of both you and Adam.” He urged Barbara to reconcile with Adam. Roger told of the emotional trauma Adam was going through. Barbara’s rigid attitude, he said, was forcing Adam to choose between his wife and his son.

Since Roger was putting her on the spot, Barbara had to come up with an explanation for her continued hostility toward him. Adam wanted her to believe that Roger had changed since the days when he was involved with Holly. Roger had married and created a thriving restaurant business. He had, of late, experienced some personal difficulties, but Adam felt they were not his fault.

Adam had been kind and understanding the night Roger came to tell him about the problem he faced. He said he would have to go to court to testify about his romantic liaison with Rita Stapleton, a young nurse who was being tried for murder. Since Roger’s testimony would clear Rita, Adam was proud his son decided to step forward and tell what he knew. Barbara saw the situation in a different light. She thought Roger’s court appearance merely proved once again that he was a slimy gigolo, always eager to jump into bed with the ladies.

Barbara had no particular fondness for Rita Stapleton. Rita was considering marriage to ed Bauer and the time of her trial, and Barbara thought of Ed as Holly’s man. Nevertheless, if she had to make a choice, Barbara’s sympathies certainly leaned more toward Rita than to the stepson she so greatly despised.

In hopes of obtaining another opinion on her family situation, Barbara approached Ed while he was making his rounds at Cedars Hospital. “Adam says Roger’s court appearance was his finest hour,” she declared. Ed maintained that Adam was probably right, and he told Barbara she shouldn’t let the trial cause dissension in her life. He seemed subtly critical of Barbara, but at the same time the implications of his words were favorable to his cause.

Indeed, Barbara’s dream was about to come true, and entirely without her influence. She had attempted in vain to get Ed and Holly back together. Now Rita Stapleton’s trial, which she thought so distasteful, had provided the stimulus for such a reconciliation to take place. Although Rita had been cleared of all charges, Ed was disillusioned with her and had decided to end their relationship. He turned, instead, to Holly, whom he believed had matured considerably since their marriage ended. Ed made up his mind to spend more time with Holly in order to be more of a father to Christina. His attitude toward Christina had also undergone a change. Instead of feeling bitter about Christina’s parentage, he wished to accept her as his daughter, which she was legally, in all events.

At the same time that Ed was seeking out Holly’s company, Roger also paid her a visit. He told Holly he wanted to be closer to Christina. Roger needed someone to love. His wife Peggy had gone to live in Boise, Idaho, because she was upset about Roger’s revelations at Rita’s trial. Even though Roger’s romance with Rita had occurred before he married Peggy, she had felt hurt and betrayed. Without her, Roger was miserable, but he hoped Christina would help fill the void in his life. Holly squelched this plan immediately. She wanted Ed—not Roger—to be Christina’s father. As long as Ed showed some interest in the child, she would not let Roger intrude.

Barbara warned Holly to be on her guard with Roger, for she feared Roger would try to seduce Holly again. “It isn’t only Christina he has eyes for,” she opined. Holly tried to calm her. She knew Roger wasn’t the ogre Barbara believed him to be. She pitied him, but to Barbara’s relief she seemed to have no romantic interest in him.

As Holly explained, she felt sorry for Roger because he had lost the respect of the community as a result of his testimony at Rita’s trial. Roger and Rita were now in the same boat: They were publicly in disgrace because they had bared their lives for all to hear. Although the story of their assignation in a Texas motel certainly wasn’t morally uplifting, it was hardly evidence of true moral degeneracy. The real problem was town gossip. In a small town, people could be very unforgiving about any hint of immorality, but they nevertheless had a good time talking about it.

A sensitive, thoughtful girl, Rita apologized to Adam for bringing his family into this local scandal. She assured Adam she had done all she could to keep Roger’s name out of the trial. Adam insisted he was glad Roger had come to her aid. He believed Roger had done the right thing. If he had to lose Barbara because of Roger’s courageous behavior, he was willing to pay the price.

Adam and Roger may have lost a lot, but they still have their self-respect. All Barbara has is her prejudice.