Story #26 ~ The Atlantic (Teresa & Guglielmo)
03 May, 2025
"I crossed the Atlantic ocean three times by ship. The first time, I left Belgium with my friend Tony to work in Edmonton. The rooms on the ship were small and we had bunk beds. In Edmonton, we met 3 guys who had travelled there from England. After a couple of years, I travelled back to Belgium, by ship and that is when I met Teresa and we got married. Once, after dinner, on one of these ships, I didn't feel well and thought I was going to throw up. We were in the game room and I couldn't hold it back. After throwing up, I got up and nobody was in the room anymore! I took the ship a 3rd time, alone, for Canada, but not having enough money to return to Alberta, I had to stop in Montreal. The Brits I had met in Edmonton now lived in Montreal and we reconnected. We’ve been friends ever since and celebrated events together, including Teresa’s 21st birthday, once she was in Montreal. I even baptized one of their daughters.
I was staying in a rented room and often looked at a photo of Teresa and I. Looking at that photo, I took a pencil and started drawing a portrait of the two of us. It was a pastime that I always liked. Even today, on my grandchildren's birthdays, I draw greeting cards for them. I also liked to add color to black and white photos....I had these special color pens made for photographs. I prepared for Teresa’s arrival and waited for her to receive her papers so that she could come and live in Canada with me. I didn't know, however, that my mom was then seriously ill and Teresa didn't want to leave her alone. So Teresa told me that she still hadn't received her papers not to worry me about my mother’s condition. After a while, I no longer believed her and told her: “You forgot about me and are making excuses. Maybe you have second thoughts and you don't want to come here anymore. " A close family friend then convinced her to go. If something were to happen to my mother, my father and my brothers would be left alone and then Teresa would have to take care of them. She would then never leave for Canada. So she convinced her to requests her papers to come to Canada. Fortunately, my mother recovered.
When Teresa arrived in Montreal, 5 months later, everything was ready for us to finally start our lives together. "
~ Guglielmo
I was staying in a rented room and often looked at a photo of Teresa and I. Looking at that photo, I took a pencil and started drawing a portrait of the two of us. It was a pastime that I always liked. Even today, on my grandchildren's birthdays, I draw greeting cards for them. I also liked to add color to black and white photos....I had these special color pens made for photographs. I prepared for Teresa’s arrival and waited for her to receive her papers so that she could come and live in Canada with me. I didn't know, however, that my mom was then seriously ill and Teresa didn't want to leave her alone. So Teresa told me that she still hadn't received her papers not to worry me about my mother’s condition. After a while, I no longer believed her and told her: “You forgot about me and are making excuses. Maybe you have second thoughts and you don't want to come here anymore. " A close family friend then convinced her to go. If something were to happen to my mother, my father and my brothers would be left alone and then Teresa would have to take care of them. She would then never leave for Canada. So she convinced her to requests her papers to come to Canada. Fortunately, my mother recovered.
When Teresa arrived in Montreal, 5 months later, everything was ready for us to finally start our lives together. "
~ Guglielmo
