Helen: “Mom,
how did you and Dad meet and fall in love?”
Me: “Through
Ms. Shelley.”
Helen: “Yes,
Mom I know that is how you met.
But how did you fall in love?
And do not leave out any details.”
Me: “Alright.”
I lie.
“So, Ms. Shelley had been telling me I needed to meet your
Daddy forever.”
Helen: "Why
Mom? Why had Ms. Shelley been
telling you that? Did she think
Daddy was handsome and that you would want to kiss him and be romantic?"
Lauren: “Helen
that is embarrassing! Stop talking about kissing and romance.”
Helen: “Lauren!!! I am trying to find out all the details!”
Me: “Because
Daddy and I are both strange. That
is why Ms. Shelley wanted us to meet.”
Helen: “Mom,
seriously.”
Me: “Helen,
seriously Ms. Shelley had once told me that she had never met anyone who
thought about things in an odd way like I did until she met your Dad. So maybe she did not foresee
kissing but she did think we would be friends.
So, one day I went over to Mr. Mike and Ms. Shelley’s
apartment and sitting on the couch was your Dad.”
Helen: “Was he
the most handsome man you had ever seen?
Was it love at first sight?”
Me: “Hmmm, it
was kind of dark. He was being
cool and aloof.”
Helen: “What is
aloof?”
Me: “It is what
guys do when they want you to feel like it doesn’t’ matter if you are there or
not.”
Helen: “Dad!!!!!”
John:
Shrugs.
Me: “After
that, the four of us started doing things together. Mr. Mike and Ms. Shelley were married and John and I were
just two friends doing things with them.
Your Dad was very nice to me.
I was looking for a job and I lived an hour away from Dallas, he
traveled a lot and would let me stay in his apartment when he was traveling and
I would interview for jobs.”
Helen: “That is
not a good plan. How do you
fall in love inviting someone to stay with you when you are not there?”
Me: “Remember
the word Helen? Aloof.”
Helen: “I see.”
Me: “He was
also very nice when he was in town.
We would go to concerts and dinner. Daddy would pay for me because I didn’t have any money. I felt terrible. He would always tell me I could take
him to Ruth Chris once I got a job. …John, we could go to Ruth Chris for our
anniversary.”
John: “eh.”
Me: (I look at
Helen) “Aloof.” (Helen nods
her head up and down eyes closed.
She gets the picture now)
Me: “This went
on for awhile and all of a sudden Ms. Shelley had to travel for a few
months. Our fabulous foursome
would have to halt for several months.
Suddenly I realized this was terrible. I would not see your Dad unless I took drastic measures.”
Helen: “Did you
tell him you loved him and that he should stop being aloof?”
Me: “No. I called him. I was never good at taking the first step but I called with
the revolutionary idea that he and I could go out just the two of us. To my surprise he seemed enthusiastic
about the idea. Daddy liked
Eastern art so I saw there was a Japanese art exhibit going on so we went to
it. There were like 400 Japanese
screens, after about the first 10 they all look alike. We had the audio tape and Daddy kept
adding his own dialog which was so much more entertaining than anything the guy
on the tape was saying. ‘It was
during the Ming dynasty that silk screen printing was revolutionized by artists
painting fat samurai hiding in the bushes taking a leak, you can tell this is
what is going on because of these swooshy brush strokes that seem to be flying
out of the bushes.’
Helen and Lauren:
giggles “Did Daddy really
say that?”
Me: “Oh that
was almost twenty years ago. I
don’t remember exactly, I just know he was being very witty and making what
could have been a totally boring date into a really good time. After the museum, we had lunch at
Café Express on McKinney Avenue.
The weather was perfect big beautiful blue skies. It was September or October so warm, but
not too warm. We ate outside, my
favorite and Daddy told me a story he had written. It was at that moment I realized I was smitten; a funny,
witty, smart tall guy with a great voice, my weakness. We were there for a long time, neither
of us wanted the day to end. Daddy
took me to a new apartment being built by a lake where he thought he might
live. We stood in the living room
that was only in the framing stage, so it was chili. The sun was starting to set…and then…..”
John: “Nothing
happened. We went home.”
Helen: “Daddy!!!!! You kissed!”
Lauren: “Daddy
kissed Mommy!”
Helen: “You
kissed, fell in love and got married.”
Me: “Exactly.”
We all look around at each other. Happy, satisfied…
Helen: So Mom,
how did Daddy propose? I want all
the details.
