“A story that is shared is never forgotten”
Did you miss part one? See below to catch up:
Valentines Day 2018 – Part One
3 days after the Ball, when the girl became officially “single” (she really couldn’t date a guy who didn’t like to dance after all), the boy asked her to be his girlfriend. The date was January 3rd of 1970.
After graduation she would be heading to college to earn a degree in Administration – this had been known since her Junior year. But his opportunities for furthering education were more limited. Not having earned a scholarship or having money for college, he decided to start working right away. After a few months of looking, he found a job as chauffeur to the family of an American diplomat who worked at the American Embassy. This job was a big deal and he appreciated the connections that got him there.
The seasons changed and before they knew it, 2 years had passed. They had enjoyed a wonderful relationship full of laughter and friendship every single day of that time…the boy who had been known to be a bit of a “Casanova” in the years past, was no longer. This girl was different and this surprised everyone including himself. Ever since he met this beautiful girl, he had known in his heart he would marry her and the time had come for him to ask.
He spoke to his father and oldest sister first (his mom had passed away when he was very young and his oldest sister had become a mother figure to all her younger siblings), and they were thrilled! They adored the girl and were excited for her to join the family! They agreed to accompany him to speak with the girl’s family. The boy put on his best suit and as he buttoned his shirt, his hands started to tremble with nerves. The walk across the street towards her house seemed like a lifetime. The three of them stood quietly in the doorway as the boy took a deep breath and rung the doorbell.
Circa 1972
It was the girl’s father who opened the door. He was a distinguished and elegant gentleman to say the least. He was the kind of man who commanded the room as soon as he walked in. The epitome of tall, dark and handsome – he was almost regal. He put off an air of importance…which is why everyone called him “Don Luis” as soon as they met him, even without knowing exactly why. Don Luis was a self-made man, having come from nothing…literally the poorest of circumstances. He had studied harder than anyone in his family or friends and had become a Pharmacist, who now owned his own pharmacy store. A self-made man….but if you were lucky enough to know him personally, you would have known he also had the kindest of hearts.
Don Luis welcomed the boy and his family inside as the girl’s mother served the appetizers she had prepared for the visit. She was quite the opposite from her husband. She was a beautiful, short woman of Chinese and Peruvian descent. Her skin was so fair and smooth, especially when she stood next to her husband, it looked like porcelain. Her kind eyes would make you feel so comfortable and welcomed, you knew you had a confidant in her from the moment you met her… she was the perfect image of a “mom” and over the past two years of him dating the girl, the boy had grown to love her as his own.
As they all sat down in the living room, the boy started to speak but was swiftly interrupted by Don Luis. He said that he knew why the boy was there and what he was about to ask…and he said his answer would have to be “No”.
He liked the boy, and he knew he made his daughter happy but he asked the boy one question: “how he would provide for his family without a formal education? No career? No way to support his daughter and their new family once they had kids?” Don Luis had worked very hard to build a good life for himself and his family and he did not want his daughter to start her life with someone who could not provide for her. Don Luis told the boy he would not give his blessing for his daughter’s hand in marriage….BUT (thankfully there was a but!) he would be more than happy to give his blessing if the boy could make a professional of himself.
For the boy and the girl, the truth hurt, but they knew Don Luis was right. Neither of them had a way to afford a home and much less a family…. where would they live? She was still in school and he was only making enough money to pay for his car and the dates they went on together. It was time for some big choices.
The boy took his disappointment and turned it into fuel. He decided to make a life changing decision and ask his boss for help. The American diplomat had come to really like his wife’s chauffeur and helped him get a Visa to study in the United States, where the opportunities were more abundant and achievable. The year was 1972.
They both knew a long distance relationship would be one of the toughest things they would go through but being who she was, the girl showed him all the support and encouragement she could…and it gave the boy the strength and hope he needed…so off to he went.
He started first by renting a little room in a friend of friend’s house…then finding random jobs until he landed one at Sears in the assembly department. He would work during the day and go to school in the evenings. First was school to learn English and eventually college to get his degree as an electrical engineer. It was tough. He would write a letter to his love back home and wait impatiently for her response. They wrote each other so many letters, most of the time, every single day. Those letters made their time apart more bearable….in the days of no internet or cell phones and with long distance calls costing an arm and a leg, those letters were everything. He even wrote Don Luis a few times, to update him on his progress and achievements in the states…
Time in school kept them busy, so busy that the months quickly became years…and soon, almost 3 and a half years had passed. The letters still came but with his studies getting harder in this last year, they now came with larger gaps in between. He had promised her he would return for her as soon as he could but the neighborhood “chismosas” (gossipers) were already starting to talk. The boy had always been a charmer… and he was making a life for himself in an American college filled with beautiful girls…”why would he come back?” they whispered. The girl tried to brush them all off but after a while, her heart started to doubt too. When you hear a lie often enough, sometimes you start to believe it’s true.
Maybe it had been too long? He was almost done with his studies but he hadn’t even mentioned coming back, and there was the issue of not actually having a ring on her finger. He hadn’t been able to afford one before he left and once he did, he wanted to give her the one he bought in person… but that hadn’t happened yet either…Maybe he had changed his mind and didn’t know how to tell her? Maybe he was just waiting to find the right time to break it off with her…
So she decided to write one more letter. This would be her final one, giving him the freedom she thought he wanted and breaking up with him.
To be concluded….
