Prologue
New York, 2018
“To begin, Mr. O’Dell, how long were you and Mrs. O’Dell together?” The interviewer flipped open her medium-sized notepad. Her voice was really angelic and soft. She passed up some crinkled papers and neatly folded them onto the backside. They were probably already used from another interview not so long before mine.
I cleared my throat, and with a hoarse tone, I responded. “My-- From what I can recollect, about fifty-six beautiful years.” My eyes fell to her hand as she quickly jotted that down in her notepad.
“Now, is that how long you’ve started seeing each other until now?” The young lady adjusted her glasses accordingly, then fell back into her previous position as she waited for my answer. I nodded my head.
“Yes ma’am.”
She jotted that down just as quickly as my answer before, but then she focused on her paper. Wrinkles formed on her forehead. In the room were two chairs with a table in between both of them. On the walls were olden day pictures with bookshelves every few frames. Lamps were placed in every corner, and a cameraman sat next to the lady. Time went on slowly for a bit, then as soon as the lady perked her head upwards, it quickened.
“Okay, Mr. O’Dell. I ask you to tell me exactly what happened from those days in 1962 to recently.” The lady gently shoved a box of tissue my way, almost as if she knew this was going to be an emotional experience. It definitely would be. “If you need a break, we can provide that for you. Just try your best.”
I reached for a tissue and cleared my runny nose. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll try my very best.”
