Katherine Remembers

Oh it was so long ago, now, in the time before television. It was a more genteel time. Women used to do the housework and read to the children. Their husbands went off to save the world, and their wives stayed home pushing the merry-go-rounds. I remember we had a flower garden in the front yard. There were roses, lavender and lilacs of course. My favourite was the Violets. The blue reminded me Little Joey’s eyes when he was born. Blue as the heavens above. It was so sad when the Doctor told me he was blind. I prayed so hard that his sight might return. It never did of course. He had a tough go of it really. When he took his own life I didn’t cry not at first. I knew he was going to our saviour And he would have eyes that could see forever. Later on I cried myself to sleep every night. I dreamed of him in heaven watching out for us. Oh its funny what sticks in your memory. It was sunny day in November your father Jack Walter Came through the front gate as bold as brass with a dozen lilacs in his hands. He marched up to me and said ”Katherine would you like to go to the pictures?” Well of course I said maybe I would have to think about it, You shouldn’t say yes that quick he might get the wrong idea. I told him to come back later I would have my decision then. Of course I was going to say yes. In fact I danced around my bedroom as happy as a butterfly in the garden. We saw that movie with Greta Garbot in it. Although I hasten to add that Jack had his hands all over me. He didn’t care about the picture much at all. Oh time just sailed by like a yacht on the high seas. A couple of months later he asked me to marry him 9 months after that little Joey was born. About that time Jack enlisted and went off to war. Well didn’t he look handsome in his army uniform. I remember waving goodbye at the wharf. I could help crying my eyes out. We wrote to each other every other week. After two years I got a letter from him. He was not well .He caught some tropical disease and was being shipped home. He wasn’t the same after that. He started drinking. he said he let his mates down by getting sick. He would drink himself stupid all hours of day and night. In the spring the lilacs would bloom and the garden was Awash with purples and blues. It was heavenly. Its funny how the garden stays warm beautiful even if the world grows ugly and cold.