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English 121045                                                                                                                                                             Draft 2    

 

Those Spanish Eyes

 

Mr. John is my neighbor next door. He is a tall, with an average build, with a dark hair and green eyes. He has a receding hairline with a beauty mark on the right side of his face, next to his nose. Mr. John is a wonderful and helpful person, and whenever I ask for help he is there for me. We can spend hours talking about our past, and I learn a lot from his stories. He is a carpenter, but he still often helps me with my homework. His wife Mrs. Maria John is from Argentina, and she has the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen. They have been married for thirty years, and their love burns like fire. Their love is an inspiration to everyone, because they have been together for such a long time and devoted to each other. The secret of for their relationship is happiness with each others company.

 

One day I came home from school with lots of homework to do and I asked Mr. John if he could help me with my homework, Mr. John did not even hesitate in helping me doing my homework. While Mr. John was discussing, he also shared a few stories about his life on how he met his wife Mrs. John.

 

He told me, “I went on a business trip to Buenos Aires back in 1976. As soon as I got there, I went to a coffee shop to eat a little. That was when he saw a waitress approaching. It was Ms. Maria. “I lost my voice. The only thing I could do was to stare at her, because she looked like an angel. At that time she was about 25 years old. Ms. Maria was trim with long brown curly hair with some highlights that matched her beautiful brown eyes. I suddenly fell in love with her; it was love at first sight. When I finally got my voice back I asked for a coffee, and for the first time I heard her voice.”

She asked, “How would you like your coffee Sir?”

“With cream, without sugar, please.” I replied.”

She didn’t pay attention to me at first, but I insisted on talking to her. I tried to initiate conversation. I asked, “Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you are?”

Her answer was different. “Do you need anything else, Sir?”

“Yes, I would be glad to know your name, and also I would like to have the opportunity to get to know you better. May I take you to dinner?” I asked.

“No I’m you can’t have my name, and no, I cannot go out with you,” she said.

I soon asked if she was married. “No, I’m not” she said.

I was so relieved to know that she was single and that she could be my wife. When I tried to continue our conversation, someone from inside the kitchen called for Maria. Then she answered, and at that moment I got to know her name. What a pretty name I thought.

 

“I spent four hours at this place waiting for another opportunity to talk to her, but at twelve o’clock P.M. I saw Maria leaving the place. After she went outside I ran after her to talk to her. She was a bit scared, because I was a stranger.”

I said, “Please could we talk? I have something to say.”

She replied, “Yes, but it has to be in the place that I work.”

I said, “Okay, that’s fine with me.”

Maria was very nervous and began to talk, “Listen Sir, I’m a very honest person. I don’t really have time to talk, so could you just get to the point.”

“Calm down”, I said.

“What I have to say will change our lives forever.”

She gave me a look that I never forgot. She was very nervous. I continued to talk.

“I want you to know that for sure you’re the woman that will make me the happiest man in this world. Maria, would you marry me, and live with me in U.S.A?” I knew that I had only three weeks to convince her to accept me.

She asked me, “Are you crazy? You just met me. How could you ask me to marry you? You know what, I have to go.” When she tried to leave I asked her, “Please give me a chance to show you that I’m a good man and that I want to make you happy.” I continued talking. “I’ll be in Buenos Aires for three weeks; could we go out for dinner please? It would be a good opportunity to get to know one another.”

“You know something, you are crazy, but I like you.” she replied.

“Does that mean yes. Can we go out tonight?” I asked.

She replied, “No, I have a trip today, and I could be late for the bus. I’ll be out of town for three days. When I get back we can talk, okay?”

“So it means yes, you will give me a chance to know you?” I asked

She said, “Yes. It means yes.”

I wasn’t happy about her trip. I was afraid that I might lose her, but there’s nothing I could do. Afterwards I asked Maria if I could take her home. She said that it wasn’t necessary because she had a car. Then she said good-bye and left.

 

Mr. John told me that those three days were the longest days of his life. “Mr. John, someone is knocking on the door.” I said.  “Mari, could you open it for me please.” He asked me. “Yes.” It was Ms. Carmen; she was the woman that cleans Mr. John’s house. “Hello, good evening. I am sorry, but I forgot my keys. Did you saw it Mr. John?” Mr. John replied, “Yes it is over the counter-top.” “Thank God, I was afraid that I might left it at the supermarket this evening. Thank you so much, I have to go now,” and she left.

 

“Now where were we, Mari?” he asked. “You were saying that those days were the longest days of your life.” “Oh! Yes, so I couldn’t work as I usually did during my trips to Buenos Aires. It seems that time had stopped for me. She didn’t call me at for the past three days. I was very restless because I didn’t know how to communicate with her; I didn’t have the hotel’s telephone number. I was afraid that I would never see her again. After those three days Maria finally called me, and we planned to get together that night. We went to an Italian restaurant. It was beautiful place. We had dinner and talked about our lives. It was a wonderful night.”

“We see each other every day. The more I knew about her, the more I was falling in love. Then three weeks had almost passed. My trip back to the US was getting closer, and closer. Two nights before my trip, I asked Maria if she had decided to come with me. She was quiet; it made me very nervous. Then she asked me, “Can you please not see me tomorrow? I would like to be by myself, I want to think about it.” I replied, “Yes; but please think with your heart. Then I said bye and left.

I returned to the coffee shop on the day that I was supposed to leave, but when I got there I didn’t see her. Then I asked another waitress about Ms. Maria and she said that Maria no longer works here. She left her job earlier on that same day. I was desperate, because I didn’t have Maria’s address. I made an attempt to get her address from her coworkers, but it was in vain no one would give it to me. I sat down on chair for a minute to think of what I should do, because I felt lonely. After a while I left the coffee shop, but when I crossed the street I saw my angel waiting for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so glanced again to make sure that it was her. Maria was smiling at me, and said that she had decided to come with me. She also said that she believed that I was a good man, and that I would make her happy. My heart began to beat fast, and I thought that I was going to have a heart attack. I was so excited, and the only thing I wanted to do was to hug her and not let her go for any reason.”

“I asked her if I could meet her parents. Maria said that her father died when she was twenty years old, and she had to leave school to take care of her mother. Unfortunately, her mother died five years after her father’s death. Maria’s mother was sad without her father’s presence. Maria said that her mother wanted to die to be with her father. After her mother’s death, she had to take care of herself, and she told me that life had been very difficult for her. Then I asked her to not talk about her sadness, and I promised her that only happiness would be part of her life from now on.”

Last month, January 2006, they celebrated thirty years of happiness just as he had promised her at Argentina in 1976. Nowadays, it is very rare to meet a couple that has together for so many years, because for many people time can change personality and the couple’s perception with each other, However, Mr. and Mrs. John are still in love and happy together with each other.

What I have learned from them is that when there is love, problems are easier to solve. They never had a fight, and they all talk about happiness with each other’s company. I learned that it is important to keep happiness in our hearts, good thoughts in our minds, and re-live the happy moments we share. Only in this way we can have strength to get through anything in life.

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