Rendezvous

by Mama Baer

Dedicated to Mr. Dixon, best 5th grade teacher in my book.

Standing behind Mr. Dixon's lectern with fresh chickenpox scars, I peer at classmates and detect small differences since I last saw them. Ten days on the couch at home left me longing for reconnection and behind in my studies.

Rather than impose an exam on unstudied fifth-grade words, my genius teacher invites me to fill in for him and read the spelling list aloud to test takers.

Things are fine until word seven.

"Ren-dez-vous," I enunciate phonetically.

Laughter erupts.

My friends get a freebie, Mr. Dixon correctly pronounces the word, and I wish for a rendezvous with my couch.

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I returned from my chickenpox leave of absence on the day of the weekly spelling test. Mr. Dixon's gesture was sincere. He could not have anticipated the outcome would, for me, have lasting effects about which I would write a flash story fifty years later. On the bright side, I have never forgotten how to spell nor pronounce the word "rendezvous!"

Pronunciation guide: ronÃ?Â·dayÃ?Â·voo

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Rendezvous

by Mama Baer

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