My grade 2 teacher, Mrs. Montero* was married to an overseas contract worker. They had 3 kids, all of them are girls. The oldest, Farah, was my classmate from grade 1 to 4th year high school. I’ve always thought they were wealthy. After all, they were among the very few people with concrete houses in our small town.
I used to play with Farah when we were young and I can still remember how overwhelmed I was with their collection of toys. They had the coolest toys in town, a pair of telephone, a small organ, various stuff toys, rubix cube and tile puzzles. The 3 sisters were dressed fashionably, complete with accessories and scents. I was AWED..
I was already in college when I got the whole picture. Mr. Montero worked abroad to support their daughter’s education from grade school to college. He was normally gone for 5 years with 2 months vacation between contracts. When their youngest daughter had finished her Bachelor’s degree, Mr. and Mrs. Montero concluded that it was time for the former to come home for good. I can imagine how happy they were with the idea of finally being together, together in the real sense of the word.
So, I was shocked and saddened when I learned that Mrs. Montero passed away about 2 years after her husband’s return.
I can’t help counting the time Mr. and Mrs. Montero lived together. I can’t help but feel that it was short. And the more I think of that, the more thankful I am for the number of years I already spent with my husband..
*not real name
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