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CHAPTER 26. Coming Home to Colorado
- University Press of Mississippi
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Coming Home to Colorado CHAPTER 26 { 301 } COMING HOME TO COLORADO Isaw Hedy and Leo waiting for me as the Greyhound bus pulled into the depot. My stepfather Leo wore a new blue suit and had tears streaming down his face when he saw me step off the bus. Leo always carried his emotions on his sleeve, and today was no exception. I was his son in every way but blood. Leo had always been there for me when I needed him. Nothing had changed. I hoped he knew how much I loved him. “Dear Wolfgang,” he muttered in a tear-choked voice, hurrying toward me to give me a hug, “so good to have you home again.” Hedy, too, was dressed for the occasion, wearing an expensive new suit. She had excellent taste in clothing. Shoes, purse, gloves, hat, all complemented her suit; everything fit together as if designed that way. I knew it wasn’t. Instead, she carefully collected each item until the whole ensemble gave the impression of a designer fantasy. Hedy was a fashion artist with a special knack for matching colors, fabrics, shapes, and textures into a coherent whole. She was a stickler for accessories. “Always buy the best accessories you can afford,” she once lectured me, “even if the dress comes from Penneys.” I didn’t know where the little German farm girl, my mother, acquired her tastes. I loved her for who she was, for the many sacrifices she had made for Ingrid and me, for the stubborn woman she could be. Yet, she was a skilled compromiser when it counted, never losing sight of the greater goal she aimed to achieve. But there was no compromising when it came to her clothes. I hugged Hedy, gave her a smooch on the cheek, then grabbed my duffel bag off the station floor and slung it over my shoulder. I took the backseat in their new, white and blue, Chevrolet Impala. After seven years, my parents finally had the resources to buy a new car. “How do you like it?” Leo asked. “Looks great,” I said. Leo was pleased with my response. He took the long way home, south toward Cherry Creek Reservoir. Near the reservoir he pulled over to the side of the road, a lonely stretch where all I could see was prairie grass and gopher holes. I had no idea why he was stopping. All three of us got out of the car. A slight breeze came off the mountains , behind us to the west. I turned around, and stretched out before me was the breathtaking array of Colorado’s snow-capped Front Range, [3.238.195.81] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 22:19 GMT) { 302 } COMING HOME TO COLORADO rising majestically into a clear blue Colorado sky. To the left I glimpsed Pikes Peak rising above Colorado Springs; on the far right, Longs Peak. In between lay a jagged array of snow-covered mountains. The sun reflected off the heavy snow pack, dazzling my eyes, the way I remembered the scene back in February 1951. Now I knew why Hedy and Leo had chosen to come this way. Turning toward Leo I saw this foolish grin on his face. “Welcome home, Wolfgang,” he said softly. This time the tears came to my eyes. “How did you know, Leo?” “We knew,” he answered, smiling broadly, unable to contain how pleased he was that he and Hedy had done just the right thing for my homecoming. Leo knew how much I loved the mountains, loved everything about Colorado, my home. Not only had Hedy and Leo turned in their used 1951 Chevrolet for a new car; they also had moved from their simple frame house on Wheeling Street to a newer, all-brick house with a basement on Salem Street, just a few blocks south. In only seven years Hedy and Leo had attained a level of prosperity they would have found hard to believe had they taken the time to look back. Hedy never looked back. I admired both of them for all they’d achieved in such a short time—the once poor boy from Derby, the equally poor girl from Louisfelde. “This is not my dream house, Wolfgang,” Hedy said as she opened the front door, “but it’s an improvement over Wheeling Street. It has much more space and a nice patio and garden out back. Come and look.” She hustled me out the back...