My Memoirs - Citizen of the World

one that was shown in the James Bond movies that I loved so
much. The experts used to say that it was the only front-wheel
drive European car. It drove very low to the ground. To this day, I
wish I had brought it with me to the U.S. It would have been a
beautiful antique by now.
The Birth of Our First Child, Angela Maria
I always dreamed of having children. 1 knew that children could
fulfill my marriage and move me to dedicate myself to a steady,
married life. Right away, Deodete and I tried for a baby. Deodete
became pregnant two months after we were married but,
unfortunately, we lost the child. We were devastated. It happened
one afternoon when she was not feeling well. We had season
tickets for the theater, so I convinced her to go out so that she
might enjoy a movie that we were both looking forward to see.
At the end of the movie, on our way home, she was still feeling
terrible. When we got home, she lost the baby. I felt guilty, but
Deodete, as usual, insisted that it was destiny and that it wasn't my
fault. But I couldn’t help my feelings, and I started to cry.
Sometime later, she became pregnant again, and on September 2,
1963 Angela Maria was born at the Hospital of Santo Espírito.
We were elated with our first baby, and a celebration was in order.
And what a party it was! We invited our entire family and friends
to her Baptism, which took place at the Church of Conceição. She
was baptized by Father José Garcia who is now a Monsignor and
Pastor of the Igreja de São José in Ponta Delgada. It was the
parish of my mother’s family and it was where I had my First
Communion.
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