Reva & Marcy
This is a photo of my mom and dad dancing at my sister's wedding, June 18, 1970. They always loved to dance and I often found them in each other's arms in the living room of our Bronx apartment with my dad singing love songs to her.
35 years ago today, January 15, 1979, my mom passed away, my dad had died almost 2 years earlier. That day Mark & I saw a very clear stair shaped cloud and we both imagined Mommy climbing those stairs to meet Daddy at the top... and I know that this picture was re-enacted that day and many times since.
They often told me how they met during WW2 at a train station in Charleston, South Carolina, and while I've heard different versions of their first meeting from other family members, the story Mommy & Daddy told me was always so romantic.
Their life together (nearly 32-years of marriage before death separated them - temporarily) was always filled with romance. Daddy was always singing love songs with Mommy either dancing in his arms or serenading her with his guitar. His favorite songs were Begin the Beguine and Spanish Harlem; he sang in both English and Spanish.
I hope that I honored my parents with the short story The Meeting, a fictionalized account of their love affair. The Meeting is one of the short stories in my collection The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero
I hope that I honored my parents with the short story The Meeting, a fictionalized account of their love affair. The Meeting is one of the short stories in my collection The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero
excerpt from The Meeting
It felt good to
stretch his legs as he stepped down from the train onto the platform. He
watched as two women tearfully hugged each other and found himself unable to
stop staring at the woman left on the platform. She was beautiful.
He lit his cigarette
and took a drag. Then he walked over to the woman.
Jeannette was aware of
the soldier‘s stare and tried not to let it affect her. He was a handsome man,
but it just wasn‘t polite to be scrutinized so thoroughly like that. He came
even closer and she tried to look in the other direction.
“Hello.”
She could tell by the
nasal quality of his accent that he was a northern boy. Maybe this was how they
acted up there but he was being awfully forward. She was raised to be polite
and couldn‘t ignore his speaking to her. “Good morning sir.” She hoped he would go away.
“I‘ve been riding this
train all morning – transporting a prisoner.” He motioned proudly to the M.P.
sash on his arm.
She glanced quickly at
his armband and realized he was probably trying to impress her. Jeannette gave
him a polite half-smile and turned her head. She was trying to watch to see
where her friend got a seat, but he wasn‘t making it easy.
“Well imagine how I
felt when I stepped onto the platform and saw this gorgeous woman standing
there.”
The Many Faces of Chelle Cordero is a single author collection of short stories featuring Introduction, Pussycat Tails, Holiday Happiness, Not Alone, I Swear That Raccoon Just Knocked on the Door, Stormy Weather, A Mother’s Love, More Than a Friend, The Meeting, The Vacation and a special bonus section.
