“With this kiss, I die!”
They were six, performing a dumbed down version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for a room full of their parents. She was Juliet, and he in all of his front toothless glory was Romeo. They had practiced and practiced, but had never actually kissed in any of the practices. Mrs. Monroe has glossed over the fact when they had asked.
But now it was unavoidable.
“Miss Monroe,” Wally Siegelman called out off stage, breaking his character of Romeo and looking for the teacher. “Am I really supposed to kiss Rosie or can it be all pretend like?”
The audience of our parents broke out into a rumble of laughter. She laughed with them, even though Juliet was supposed to be in a death like sleep. Wally was and always would be a one of a kind.
He didn’t kiss her that performance or any of the others that followed. He just made it really convincing as he leaned forward just enough and blew a raspberry in her ear.
Every single night the audience laughed, and Shakespeare rolled in his grave.