JHC to MI 4-1-35

So this is a little story about this girl

Who fell in loved with a boy.

They met during the depression when they both worked at Taylor Brother’s department store.

He, a business manager.

She, his secretary.

Instantly they were drawn to one another. They fell in love over commonalities: the same hometown, the same interest in business. She adored and respected him, he appreciated and esteemed her. She always wanted him to make him proud; he was kinder and more jovial because of her.

To keep a proper office relationship, they would finish work and go home their separate ways. Once he made it home he would quickly drive to her house, pick her up, and take her to the hot springs to teach her how to swim. They spent their summer sneaking up to the hot springs and falling in love.

In April they were married. They quit their jobs, honeymooned in Europe for a month, moved back to the states, and opened up an ice cream parlor. A few years later they had a little girl and after another few years, a little boy.

They moved to the foothills of the nearby mountains to a spot that overlooked the valley and built their dream house with a little pool where they could swim.

She was happy. He was happy. In fact, all of them were happy.

I never knew him and I only knew them through their stories. After his death, my Dad, her son, moved into the house in the foothills with the pool and she built a smaller house next door. I spent hours at her house eating wheat thins and tea cookies. We ate birthday dinners at her house and had fashion shows in her living room. I collected yarrow from her front yard and acorns from her back yard. Every time I left her house I felt like I could do anything because she told me I could.

Six years after she passed away I met there was a boy who was so sweet to me. We fell in love over our common interests: laughter, adventure. He adored me and I admired him. We snuck off to secret corners of NYC and fell in love.

This same boy gave me the ring that my grandmother used to wear

and every time I look down at my hand I feel on top of the world all over again.