My new co-worker. Young and beautiful. I didn't say a word to you for a month at the thrift store we worked at because I was too scared to even introduce myself. I thought perhaps you were cool and conceited. You were a beautiful Hispanic woman. I might say something stupid. But finally, one day I said hello and we introduced ourselves. Right away I knew you were special. Once I got to know you, I tried learning some Spanish to impress you.
"Yo soy un hombre hermoso," I said suggesting that I was a beautiful man.
You laughed and said, "Yes you are! It took a lot of confidence for you to say that! Good for you."
One day I said, "Te extrañé mucho." I was trying to tell you I had missed you very much. I must have said it correctly because you smiled and put your hand to your heart and said you had missed me as well.
Estoy cansado y triste means I am tired and sad. "Why are you sad?" you wondered. I may have said life was hard or something to that effect and you nodded knowingly.
I told you my mother sometimes made meatballs for Christmas dinner. You told me your mother made a meatball soup called albondigas. We bonded over meatballs! I asked you about mole sauce and you were impressed when I said I thought it had chocolate in it. I asked you and Edwin about menudo. Edwin liked it a lot, but you didn't.
One day I asked, "Have you ever had chile relleno?" You laughed and said your mother made it all the time and that it was one of your favorites. You mentioned tamales and I mentioned them being steamed in corn husks which I think impressed you. I'd seen it on a TV show one time. But the only tamales I really knew about came in a can which I didn't mention. Your mother had made tamales and pozole for Thanksgiving. I even asked if your mother had ever used nopales (cactus) in her cooking. You said, "I can tell you have been doing your research."
"Do you like hot wings?" I asked one day.
You laughed and said, "Of course. I'm Mexican. I love spicy food. It wouldn't be right if I didn't. It's like a rule. If you're Mexican, you have to love spicy food."
The only hot wings I'd ever had were "mild" and even those were too hot for me. You even like to snack on Flamin' Hot Cheetos. I told you we couldn't be together. We could never eat the same food.
At least I didn't say something like, "You're Mexican so you must like tacos and tequila."
You're not like the others of your generation. You don't care about smartphones or social media. You'd rather read a book or play a board game. You like to hang out with your dogs.
One day at work I handed you a handheld Space Invaders game and you started playing it right away. I was impressed you were somehow familiar with this arcade game from the late 1970s.
You assigned me "homework" to complete. I watched a bunch of Disney movies and other animated movies just so I could tell you what I thought of them. But you also knew who Clint Eastwood and John Wayne were which impressed me. I told you that in one John Wayne film (i.e. The Alamo), that a Mexican woman went by the name of Flaca. "It means skinny, right?" I asked. John Wayne's character thought it was funny that a curvaceous woman had grown up being called skinny.
I was surprised when you mentioned loving martial arts films with Jackie Chan and Jet Li. You didn't just mention kung fu or karate. You specifically mentioned the art of Wing Chun and even mentioned Wing Chun master Ip Man. Who are you? I too have seen all of the Ip Man movies.
I'm not sure you were all that impressed with my wrestling background. I tried not to brag about being a champion.
You like elephants and Winnie-the-Pooh. One day I found a tiny elephant with a magnet on the back. I brought it up front where you were cashiering and handed it to you and saw your face light up. Another day I found a book called Your Pet Elephant that someone had donated. I brought it to you while you were cashiering once again. You leafed through it right away. You said you'd hang onto it a while. You brought it back to donations later that day before going home. You were sad to part with the book. Why do you like elephants? I guess I should ask.
Elephant traits include patience, wisdom, strength, loyalty, and strong familial bonds. They can also be a symbol of good luck.
When I told you I liked chipmunks you thought it was amusing. I like watching chipmunks run around.
I've learned they represent a balance between thinking, action, instincts and mere luck, which is something every living creature needs to survive. Saying that, we could also see chipmunks as symbols of survival.
Chipmunks know life requires tactics and organization. It seems as if they just randomly do things; however, chipmunks are pretty organized and thoughtful of their future.
They do not want to come into a situation where they lack basic resources for survival; that is why they carefully store lots of food before winter comes.
I do think I'm an observant person who is fond of planning and preparation. But I also like to have fun.
I wonder if you have heard the 1975 song "Paloma Blanca."
Una paloma blanca
I'm just a bird in the sky
Una paloma blanca
Over the mountains I fly
No one can take my freedom away
I wonder if you've heard the song "Vaya Con Dios."
Now the hacienda's dark, the town is sleeping
Now the time has come to part, the time for weeping
Vaya con Dios, my darling
Vaya con Dios, my love
Now the village mission bells are softly ringing
If you listen with your heart you'll hear them singing
Vaya con dios, my darling
Vaya con dios, my love
Wherever you may be, I'll be beside you
Although you're many million dreams away
Each night I'll say a prayer, a prayer to guide you
To hasten every lonely hour of every lonely day
Now the dawn is breaking through a gray tomorrow
But the memories we share are there to borrow
Vaya con dios, my darling
Vaya con dios, my love
Vaya con dios, my darling
Vaya con dios, my love
One day my hair was messed up from the wind. How was I going to look guapo I wondered. You asked me who I wanted to look guapo (handsome) for.
"Does cariño mean sweetheart?" I asked one day. You laughed and said, "Yes."
You didn't ask me why I wanted to know. I guess you already knew why I was asking. But don't fall for me. Find a nice, young man who will share an amazing life with you that you deserve.
