I always thought my life would be filled with bliss. That idea left pretty quickly the evening my boyfriend, William, left me. I met him at work in May of 1922, almost three years ago when I was 20 years old. Back then I had just started working as a clerk for a dentist office, and when he came in I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. He looked so handsome in his black trousers and long overcoat I immediately thought he must be a swell guy. There aren’t that many handsome guys here in this small town of Iowa, so when he asked me on a date I felt like the luckiest girl.

After he dumped me, one year later, I was heartbroken. I couldn’t see the fun in doing anything. My best friend, Mary, took me to a speakeasy because she thought it would keep my mind off him. It worked. I had such a good time that I didn’t want to leave. I met so many swell guys by going to speakeasies I actually started to feel special again. I even started to date some of them just for the fun of it. I didn’t care what anyone thought about me. I drank, I smoked, I danced, I wore short dresses and covered my face with make-up, but I was content with how I was, and I didn’t want to change just because people looked down on me.

But little did I know when I was making my routine visit to the neighborhood speakeasy that my life would dramatically change. When I arrived I couldn’t believe my eyes. William was there. Out of all the speakeasies, why there? I immediately left and practically ran to a different one. Lucky for me I know where all of the speakeasies are. I had to travel into a different town, but it was worth it. I spent so long forgetting him, yet in one second every memory came back. I drank hard that night. I wanted to completely erase him out of my mind. But in doing so, I drank too much and ended up passing out. I don’t remember when I did pass out, but I do remember waking up to what I thought was an angel. He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I thought I was dreaming at first, but I knew I wasn’t because my dreams are not this magical. “Don’t try to get up,” he told me. “You hit your head when you passed out and by moving too quickly you could give yourself a headache.” I don’t normally do what someone tells me to, but I listened and obeyed. He was a complete stranger, and yet I trusted him. “My name is Charles,” I heard him say. “What’s yours?” Dorothy, I replied. He told me I was still inside the speakeasy and that he had been watching over me since his brother owns the place. He drove me home, made sure I was alright, and gave me his telephone number.
The next thing I remember I was waking up from what seemed like twenty hours of sleep. I felt good again, no headache or anything. I ended up calling Charles and we met up for coffee at the café down the street from where I lived. I was practically breathless when I saw him coming towards me. His suit was flawless and he was, without a doubt, the most handsome man I had ever laid my eyes on. We instantly had a connection and I knew he was the one for me.
I cleaned up my appearance, I quit going to speakeasies every other night, and most importantly, I started to love again. I was happy all the time just knowing Charles and I would be together forever and I actually looked forward to the future. I truly believed that I was luckiest girl in the world, and I still am.