Mrs. Gloria, A Special Visit

Mrs.Gloria, or simply Gloria, as I remember everybody called her, was a neighbor who used to visit us in Sabana de la Mar. I have to admit that we received visits every day in my house. I guess it was due to my friendly and talkative dad, and because our guests were treated so well.

Gloria was a regular one. At 6 pm she liked to watch a soap opera and our dining room was her TV room. Gloria was a tall lady with black hair and a wrinkled face. I don't know her age, but she looked old, like my grandma. Gloria tended to talk about her youth. Her life in Santo Domingo, where she lived and got married. The story always ended with tears because of her daughter’s death. She was a dancer and lived in the United States. One day, after a show, a guy stabbed and killed her. No one was arrested for that, and Gloria was waiting for justice.

Gloria had a sweet, and slow voice. She talked, making frequent pauses, as if she needed to think a lot about what to say. The problem was that she didn't care about the other people that were watching TV, too. She talked and made the others get mad because of her constant interruptions. She didn't wait until commercials to talk and I remember my mom saying she didn't want her to visit us at this time, but never asked her to stop coming. Maybe out of respect. Another reason was that Gloria liked to smoke tobacco. It smelled too much and none of us felt comfortable while she was smoking.

I always remember Gloria. She died more than 20 years ago. I moved to Santo Domingo when I finished high school and during my vacation time, I always stopped at Gloria’s house to say hello. She always gave me a nice and candid smile. Despite her smoking and the stories during TV time, she was a good person and a woman who carried a lot of sorrow in her soul. I think, like me, the rest of my family enjoyed her visits too.

~

Ogalis Hernandez - Dominican Republic