Love in the time of Converse
I remember Desiree was the first girl I ever loved, the first girl I ever wanted to marry.
I remember I was going to be 4 and she was 7.
I remember she lived next door to us at 123 South Second, and her mother’s name was Cookie and her brother was Rene, so they were Desiree and Rene.
I remember Desiree was a beautiful. She was the color of cafe con leche, but with maybe not so much milk. She had black hair and big brown eyes and even at 4 I knew I wanted to marry her.
I remember what I liked most about Desiree was that she let me sit on her lap when we played house. She would let me sit on her lap and kiss her soft, soft cheek.
I remember they moved away and we never saw them again.
I remember the girl who did move in there used to stomp on your feet if you got new sneakers, Converse or Pro Keds. If she found out you got new sneakers she would find you and stomp on your bright, clean new sneakers so that they didn’t look so new anymore and also so that your feet hurt the whole rest of the day.