Once a King, Always a King by Reymundo Sanchez

Author:Reymundo Sanchez
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Published: 2003-10-25T04:00:00+00:00

TWO WEEKS PASSED. I had pretty much forgotten about meeting Marilyn. Then, one day one of the clerks at the front desk at UIC came back to tell me that a woman was asking for me. I didn’t think anything of it. Many people asked for me at the front desk. Normally it was about an incorrect transcript they had received or something regarding university business. This time, however, I went to the front desk and found Marilyn sitting in the waiting area, waiting for me.

“Hi,” she said when she saw me. She had a big smile on her face that made me feel warm. “I came by to thank you and to give you this. I tried to just drop it off but that guy asked me to wait while he went to get you.” Marilyn handed me an envelope and motioned toward one of my coworkers. I opened the envelope in front of her and took out a thank-you card. I smiled, thanked her, and told her that she shouldn’t have gone to the trouble. “It was a nice thing you did,” Marilyn said. “I wanted you to know that.”

I didn’t know what to say. I was so taken aback by the thank-you card that I just stood there, staring at Marilyn, speechless. Marilyn broke the silence to say that she had to get going, and that I better get back to work. Without thinking I asked Marilyn to have lunch with me. At first she said she couldn’t, but I insisted until she agreed. I went to my desk, got my jacket, and told my supervisor that I was going to lunch.

Marilyn and I walked to an Italian restaurant half a block away, around the corner from where I worked. On the way there I expressed my surprise that she had come to see me. Marilyn didn’t say much, but she didn’t seem uncomfortable with the idea of having lunch with me. She had a big smile on her face, and once inside the restaurant she took it upon herself to order—a cheese pizza for us to share.

After we sat down and got comfortable, I found to my surprise that Marilyn was somewhat talkative. She began telling me about the problems she had had getting her diploma and the experiences she had with the university that had led to our meeting. First, due to her teacher not turning in grades on time, there was no record of her having completed her coursework. Then, when the grades were finally received, many of them were wrong, including hers. And finally, there had been the little problem with the initial diploma not giving her credit for having completed her degree with honors.

I sat there, watching her, paying more attention to how Marilyn expressed herself than to what she said. She made very little eye contact with me; instead, she positioned her silverware many different ways as she talked. Marilyn didn’t seem at all irritated by the ordeal with the university; in fact, she explained it as a comical experience.

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