Unraveling a 47 year old death
The summer month that I turned sixteen, the love of my life was killed in a car crash
The summer month that I turned sixteen, the love of my life was killed in a car crash.
I had never known anyone who had died. The news was the worst possible news that I could have heard. I was a tall, gawky introvert and not close to anyone, including my family. The death had a profound effect on me and the rest of my life.
What made it so tough was that the love of my life didn’t quite know he was yet. But he was going to be. This was to be our summer together. I just knew it. We went to different schools, so our meetings were very chance. Our houses were kitty corner to each other and we often caught each other looking at and possibly for each other from across our yards.
Many Spring nights I would sit on the stoop of my front porch with my old and portly dog. Waiting, hoping and dreaming. One night he walked by and up my front walk. We sat so close together that our arms nearly touch. We spoke in soft voices. We talked of getting together in the summer when school was out. It felt like he knew all about me, how patient I was and how dedicated I was to loving him.
So a week later when my mom picked me up from high school and told me he had been killed, a new space, an immense hole settled into my…
