WWII ended, she returned to Nashville to continue her work at the Nashville Community Playhouse, paint, and recover from her war experiences. In 1946, she moved to Denver, Colorado, to study for her master's degree in fine arts and theater arts at the University of Denver. She worked as a teaching assistant and began a theater arts department for the Denver Art Museum. Involvement with the Beat Generation In March 1947, Carolyn met Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg. Allen stayed in her residence hotel apartment for two weeks before finding an apartment of his own, and Jack accompanied her to rehearsals at the university. In the evenings, Carolyn, Neal, and Jack frequented Denver's clubs to dance and hear music. During this period, Carolyn and Neal began their love affair, though at the time he was still married to his first wife, Lu Anne Henderson. In August 1947, Carolyn was shocked to find Lu Anne, Neal, and Allen naked in bed together. She decided her brief romance with Neal was over and departed for Hollywood on the promise of a job as costume designer for Western Costume Company. While waiting for the job to open, Carolyn moved north to San Francisco, staying initially with an older married sister before finding temporary work and an apartment of her own. In a 2008 interview with literary magazine Notes from the Underground, Cassady stated, "As far as I'm concerned, the Beat Generation was something made up by the media and Allen Ginsberg." She went on to say that Jack Kerouac could not stand the public image that was created for him. Marriage to Neal Cassady When the job as costume designer finally came through, she declined because she was pregnant. Neal worked at various jobs, finally becoming a brakeman for the Southern Pacific Railroad. On September 7, 1948, Carolyn gave birth to a daughter, Cathleen Joanne, the first of their three children. She expected life to settle down, but that December, Neal spent their savings on a new maroon Hudson and made a trip with his friend Al Hinkle and Lu Anne to connect with Kerouac in North Carolina. Although Neal did make provisions for Carolyn and baby Cathy's care, she considered Neal's sudden departure desertion and told him not to return. The story was immortalized in Kerouac's On the Road. Believing the marriage was finished, Carolyn moved with her infant daughter