Chapter
2 : The beginning without an end
In
my adulthood, my problems with food, or at least the lack there of, had already
gotten much better. I went through some difficulties, just as I still do,
but nothing compared to when I was a child. I had already become an
English teacher and taught in various schools, but one in particular was
something special. It's a school located downtown where I grew up and
it’s a place where young-adult students liked to meet up as well as meet other
students. I had multiple interesting semesters of teaching there and I
had excellent relationships with my students.
It
was in front of this school that Xadu (Andre), one of my favorite students at
that time and one of my best friends even today, introduced me to his best
friend, Alexsander. Yes, Alexander is eight years younger than me, and
no, at this time we did not begin to date. Alexsander has never been one
of my students; he studied in a different city. Besides, I never had a
relationship with a student, but, from that point forward we were always
friends. I have always had a great friendship with that group. We laughed a
lot, went out together, hung out at each others’ houses, played the guitar and
sang together, but we never imagined that our group of friends would help
create the happiest marriage in the world!
About
five years after we were introduced, Alexsander and I suddenly fell in love. No
one knows how to explain it. Not even we have been able to. If you asked who
made the first move... You'd find out that neither one of us knows who started
to like whom first, however, we believe we fell in love together. Some things
only God knows.
We
always talked about everything in our lives, aside from the difference in our
ages, I have never learned so much with a person like I have learned with him.
Everything he has taught me as a person will always be with me. To tell
you the truth, I believe we learned from each other. He learned to persevere
and go after his objectives. Also, to have maturity and establish goals. To
value the little that we have and to thank God for everything that He has given
us. No matter how much, there is always something to be thankful for. I learned
to love those around me more. To forgive and to be more patient with others. I
learned that forgiving is a lot more important than revenge and that it isn't
necessary to have resentment and grief over things in the past. I learned what
it means to have tolerance. I learned that those who I judge to be wrong
are, in all actuality, people that need me to learn that when you get tangled
up in deciding who is right and who is wrong you end up pushing people away. I
learned to smile and what it means to burst into fits of laughter - the kind
that hurt your stomach and make it so you can't breathe. I learned to love and
to be loved.
When
I introduced him to my dad it was very strange. Yes, I say strange because this
is a good way to describe the relationship of my father with the world. He
never talks to people; always keeping to himself while looking into the
distance. One person who used to come around our house sedulously
thought, for three months straight, that he was mute, but never had the courage
to ask me. They thought it would upset me to bring up that subject because I
had never said anything. (neither had my dad!).
The
sister of one of my sister in-laws thought he was blind because anytime he
spoke it was very little and when he spoke he always looked away; directing his
attention to the ceiling and the walls. One day, she was alone in the living
room with him and considered making faces at him, certain that he wouldn't see,
but she began to sympathize with him and thought about how he got around so
well alone without hitting the furniture inside the house. When she discovered
he wasn't blind and told us about it, we almost died from laughter.
My
father never engaged himself with any of my friends. When me or my sister
would bring a boyfriend home, or even my brothers with their girlfriends, he
was very limited in shaking hands and made faint sounds that we could
understand as "how you doing?" Well, when my dad looked at Alexsander
and said "Hey, nice to meet you. So it’s you who will give me a
grandson?" - he smiled real big and repeated out loud: "ah, so it is
you who will give me a grandson. That's wonderful!" - Just imagine us
standing there with our mouths wide open.
We
always thought my dad was a bit sensitive, but Alex didn't have any idea and
sat there without knowing what to say. Four months after, I came
strolling into the house and announced:
-
Dad, we have a surprise for you!
His
response, before I could say anything:
-
Woah, I’m having a grandson!!!!
That
really was his response.
