Back in the mid 50's, when my mother reunited with her father in Montreal, my grandfather made arrangements for her to share a room with another young lady. My mom was probably 21 or so. My mom's new roommate would turn out to be Aunt Janice.
The story: My mother was picked up at the airport by her father. They went back to his place where he cooked for her. She assumed she would be staying with him but he said no, he found her a place to live with a young lady similar in age but in the meantime since everything was so new - he reserved a hotel room for her to stay a week while she got acclimated. On her second night in the hotel, there was a knock on the door. She couldn't imagine who it could be considering she didn't know anyone there and when she opened the door, it was Aunt Janice with my ex-mother-in law, Barbara. My mom and Barbara knew each other when they were 15 and attended school together in China. When they finished school, they parted ways and lost touch. As it were, Barbara relocated to Montreal with her father. At the time - the Chinese community was small and everyone knew everyone else. Barbara knew Janice and when Janice told her that she was getting a new room mate and said my mother's name, Barbara exclaimed "I know her!" Aunt Janice upon meeting my mother at the hotel, told her to pack up and to start staying with her that night. And thus a life-long friendship began.
The "girls" spent a lot of time together the following months but things started to change soon after. Aunt Janice moved to NYC. My mother moved to Toronto and Barbara was engaged and would eventually settled in NYC also. Aunt Janice met someone in NY and became engaged and a big wedding was set. My mother was to be a bridesmaid. When she arrived in NY to attend the festivities, Aunt Janice's fiance had a friend pick her up at the airport. That friend was my father. He was instantly smitten. The rest is, as they say, history.
I have lots of "aunts" or "aunties" but Aunt Janice was pretty special in my eyes. She was younger than the other ladies and she was also very trendy and stylish. She spoke English. She was fashionable and beautiful. I will always remember seeing her one night when she came to NY for a visit. She must have been in her late 40's at the time. She wore leather pants! A friend of my mother's wore leather pants! And she looked fabulous! Need I say more?
She didn't visit NY much. She divided her time between Florida and Montreal where her mother still lives (she turned 100 this year). And my mother didn't have regular communication with her. Maybe once or twice a year and it would be decades between visits.
So it was with wide-eyed disbelief and wonder when the weekend after my father passed away and we were all numbed with grief, that the very first person to call the house was....Aunt Janice. No one knew of my father's passing. It had only been about a day or so. My mother hadn't wanted to make any calls or announcements. It was merely by chance that Aunt Janice called to say she was in town. Just down the street. It had been years and years since they had seen each other. When I picked up the phone and asked who was calling and she answered "Janice" - I felt as if I had been given a gift. I didn't know how to comfort my mom and felt she needed to speak to a contemporary. My mother gave her the news and Aunt Janice immediately came to the house. It seemed apropos. It started and ended with Aunt Janice. I am so sure my dad somehow had a hand in this!
I will miss you. Rest in peace, Aunt Janice. (Jan. 1939- Feb. 2012)
 |
| Aunt Janice's wedding day to Diamond Lee |
 |
| 4 Generations Daughter, Jannie - Granddaughter, Jeanette, Mother & Janice |
1 comment:
I'm so sad about Aunt Janice's passing ... you found terrific photos of her. xo
Post a Comment