They were eager to see what his bride was like. ' old girl must have something special orwoody never would have married her.' 94 They were in for a big disappointment. Peggy was dull and graceless, she had no personality, and she dressed badly. Dowdy was the word that came to people's minds. Woody's friends were baffled. ' on earth does he see in her? He could have married anyone.' One of the first invitations was from Mimi Carson. She had been devastated by the news of Woody's marriage, but she was too proud to reveal it. When her closest friend had tried to console her by saying, ' it, Mimi! You'll get over him," Mimi had replied, ''ll live with it, but I'll never get over him." Woody tried hard to make a success of the marriage. He knew he had made a mistake, and he did not want to punish Peggy for it. He tried desperately to be a good husband. The problem was that Peggy had nothing in common with him or with any of his friends. The only person Peggy seemed comfortable with was her brother, and she and Hoop spoke on the telephone every day. ' miss him,' Peggy complained to Woody. ' you like to have him come down and stay with us for a few days?" can't." And she looked at her husband and said spitefully, ''s got a job.' At parties, Woody attempted to bring Peggy into the conversations, but it was quickly apparent that she 95 had nothing to contribute. She sat in corners, tonguetied, nervously licking her lips, obviously uncomfortable. Woody's friends were aware that even though he was staying at the Stanford villa, he was estranged from his father and that he was living off the small annuity that his-mother had left him. His passion was polo and he rode the ponies owned by friends. In the world of polo, players are ranked by goals, with ten goals being the best.
Woody was nine goals, and he had ridden with Mariano Aguerre from Buenos Aires, Wicky el Effendi from Texas, Andres Diniz from Brazil, and dozens of other top goals. There were only about twelve ten-goal players in the world, and Woody's driving ambition was to be the thirteenth. ' know why, don't you?' one of his friends remarked. ' father was ten goals.' Because Mimi Carson knew that Woody could not afford to buy his own polo ponies, she purchased a string for him to play. When friends asked why, she said, ' want to make him happy in any way I [email protected] When, newcomers asked what Woody did for a living, people just shrugged. In reality, he was living a secondhand life, making money playing skins at golf, betting on polo matches, borrowing other people's polo ponies and racing yachts, and on occasion, other people's wives. 96 The marriage with Peggy was deteriorating rapidly, but Woody refused to admit it.
"Peggy,'he would say,'when we go to parties, please try to join in the conversation." should I? Your friends all think they're too good for me.", they're not,' Woody assured her. Once a week, the Hobe Sound Literary Circle met at the country club for a discussion of the latest books, followed by a luncheon. On this particular day, as the ladies were dining, the steward approached Mrs. Pelletier. '. Woodrow Stanford is outside. She would like to join you.' A hush fell over the table. ' her in,' Mrs. Pelletier said. A'moment later, Peggy walked into the dining room. She had washed her hair and pressed her best dress. She stood there, nervously looking at the group. Mrs. Pelletier gave her a nod, then said pleasantly, '. Stanford.' Peggy smiled eagerly, ', ma'am." won't need you. We already have a waitress." And Mrs. Pelletier turned back to her lunch. When Woody heard the story, he was furious. ' dare she do that to yoiu!'He took her in his arms.
"Next time, ask me before you do a thing like that, Peggy. You have to be invited to that. luncheon.' 97 11 didn't know,' she said sullenly.
"It's all right. Tonight we're having dinner at the Blakes', and I want "I won't go!" we've accepted their invitation." go." don't want to go without you."'m not going.' Woody went alone, and after that, he began going to every party without Peggy. He would come home at all hours, and Peggy was sure he had been with other women. The accident changed everything. It happened during a polo match. Woody was playing the number one position, and a member of the opposing team, trying to stroke the ball in close quarters, accidently hit the legs of the pony that Woody was riding. The pony went down and rolled on top of him. In the pile-up that followed, a second pony kickedwoody. At the emergency room of the hospital, the doctors diagnosed a broken leg, three fractured ribs, and a punctured lung. Over the next two weeks, there were three separate operations, and Woody was in excruciating pain. The doctors gave him morphine to ease it. Peggy came to visit him every day.
Hoop flew in from New York to console his sister. Ifis physical pain was unbearable, and the only relief Woody had was from the drugs the doctors kept prescribing for him. It was shortly after Woody got home that he seemed to change. He began to have violent mood swings. One minute he was his usual ebullient self, *nd the next minute he would go into a sudden rage or a deep depression. At dinner, laughing and tellingjokes, Woody would suddenly become angry and abusive toward Peggy and storm out. In the middle of a sentence he would drift off into a deep reverie.
He became forgetful. He would make dates and not show up; he would invite people to his home and not be there when they arrived. Everyone was concerned about him. Soon, he became abusive to Peggy in public.
Bringing a cup of coffee to a friend one morning,,Peggy spilled some and Woody sneered, ' a waitress, always a waitress.' Peggy also began to show signs of physical abuse, and when people asked her what happened, she would make excuses. ' bumped into, a door' or ' fell down,' and she would make light of it. The community was outraged. Now it was Peggy they were feeling sorry for. But when Woody's erratic behavior offended someone, Peggy would defend her husband. ' is under a lot of stress,', Peggy would insist. ' isn't himself.' She would not allow anyone to say anything against him. 98 99 It was Dr. Tichner who finally brought it out into the open. He asked Peggy to come see him in his office one day. She was nervous. ' something wrong, doctor?' He studied her a moment. She had a bruise on her cheek, and her eye was swollen. ', are you aware that Woody is doing drugst . Her eyes flashed with indignation. '! I don't believe it!' She stood up. ' won't listen to this!" down, Peggy. It's about time you faced the truth. It's becoming obvious to everyone else. Surely you've noticed his behavior. One minute he's on top of the world, talking about how wonderful everything is, and the next minute he's suicidal.' Peggy sat there, watching him, her face pale. ''s addicted.' Her lips tightened.