How Denise and Mushroom Met

June 2^nd 1948 was the day my parents were married in the Land of Enchantment. 25 years later my brothers and I hosted my parents’ anniversary party. I had returned from my first tour of duty in Viet Nam, from my circumnavigation of the globe. I can attest that the world is indeed a sphere. I had been away from home, away from my only son, for 12 months. I had requested a transfer to a ship on the west coast. My request was denied. I, then, requested a swap, in which I would trade places with another sailor, and we would pay for the move. Although our request was not denied, it wasn’t approved until my ship “acquired” a Chicano, to replace me. I was the only Hispanic on board at the time.

My younger brothers and I had invited all our parents’ local friends and neighbors to the celebration at my parents’ house. I manned the bar on our backyard deck. Eda Bea, a neighbor whose daughter, Holly, was my sister, Mary’s best friend, walked up to the bar and asked for a Tequila Sunrise.

We chatted for a bit about the girls, her sons, my brothers, and my parents, and then she asked me if I knew Denise. I told her I didn’t. “Oh, I’m sure you do,” she said. “You’ve been over at the house to pick up Mary so often and Denise has been over to your house to pick up Holly.”

Whereas what she said was true. I had been to her house often, but I didn’t recall ever meeting her older daughter, Denise. Eda Bea talked about Long Beach City College and told me that Denise had gone there while I was attending.

“Certainly, since you two were in choir at the same time, must have run into each other,” she said trying to figure out how it was possible for me not to know Denise.

I shook my head. “I was in Men’s Chorus when Denise was in Choir. Although Men’s Chorus and Choir sang together often, I don’t remember Denise.”

She sipped the remainder of her Tequila Sunrise. “Don’t go away,” she said. “I’ll bring Denise over and you will see that you recognize her.” She handed me her empty glass and left.

It wasn’t long before she returned with a young woman, who I had never seen before. Denise wore a tiny blue mini skirt, showing off her beautiful long legs. She had long brown hair and dazzling blue eyes. I beamed a smile to her as I held out my hand to shake hers. Eda Bea stared at both of us, with her eyebrows arching toward each other. “You’ve never met him, either?” she asked her daughter. “How is that possible? Well, I’ll leave you two alone to get to know each other.”

After the party died down a bit and I probably talked too much, I invited Denise for a walk in the park. I wanted to hold her hand, but I didn’t want to appear too bold. As we walked by the pond, I reached out and took her hand. She held onto mine. My heart danced. We continued walking under the trees until we were almost to Willow Street. We stopped under a smooth-barked tree. I stood on my toes and kissed her. And then we kissed some more.
We walked back to the house hand in hand.