Memory Lane

My mother was declining. It was gradual, but I could see it happening, and it broke my heart. She was more frail and walked slowly. This was concerning, but her mind was working more slowly, too. She was forgetting things and I was worried she was missing some of her medications.

One day, while I was visiting her and we were walking from the living room to the kitchen for a cup of tea Mother stopped in front of a small framed picture of her as a young woman.

She tapped the glass on the picture with her finger and said, “I remember this,” nodding her head.

“Well, tell me about it,” I said and took the picture down and brought it with us to the small table in the kitchen.

“I was on vacation in Venice with your grandparents,” she said, “and I met a very attractive boy there.”

“Mom! I never heard this story before. I want to hear more.”

My mother just smiled, meaning lets have that tea first. I set down our cups and she took a sip and began.

“Well, your grandparents wanted to visit St. Mark’s Basilica, and I didn’t want to go. I wanted to explore. I wanted to see Doge’s Palace. Since it was close by, I convinced them to meet me there after they went to the church. And that is where I met Arnaldo. He was standing there, as if waiting for me. We looked at each other and, I don’t know, it sounds crazy but, somehow he was familiar to me. I could tell he felt it, too. I spoke almost no Italian and he spoke almost no English, but we talked to each other and went on a tour. You know, I can’t remember anything about the palace. Isn’t that funny?” she laughed and I squeezed her hand. “Arnaldo and I spent as much time together as we could, but my parents weren’t crazy about me running around with a strange boy and it didn’t matter anyway because eventually we had to leave. But I never felt so connected to someone I had just met before. We even shared a kiss the night before I had to leave, and it was all so magical – the city, the beauty, the water and the lights, and Arnaldo. It was so romantic. Probably the most romantic time in my life.”

“Did you write to him?” I asked.

“No, we knew there was no future. But if things had been different, who knows what could have happened? But I came home and met your father and got to have you for my beautiful daughter, and none of that would have happened if I had stayed in Venice, now would it? Everything happens just as it should. But it is a good memory.”

“Did Dad know about this picture? About how you met Arnaldo in Venice?”

“Oh yes, he did know. But he was never jealous. Your father just thought of that time as a step in my journey that brought me to him. And he was right,” Mom smiled at me, a gleam in her eyes. “But, oh, that Arnaldo…”

Image Credit; Karsten Winegeart @ Unsplash

Copyright ©2025 Lisa Paul. All rights reserved.

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What do you see # 311- October 20, 2025