Carl Levine (CL) and Chloe E.W. Levine (CEWL)

CL: After my first wife left me, I was alone and miserable and looking for some place to go. I felt shy and socially awkward. But, once I went to a contra dance, I was actually dancing six nights a week. There’s probably nowhere where I’m less shy than at a dance…

And I met your mom through the dance world…

I remember, Chloe, when you were two years old. And you –

CEWL: [Laughs]

CL: You lined, you lined up your stuffed animals so they’d be ready to dance. 

CEWL: Is that true?

CL: At home. 

CEWL: Ok.

CL: I remember this distinctly. And I remember your going to your first ball, when you were eight or nine.

CEWL: There is a picture of us… And you and Mom are like posing so beautifully in your finery. And I would not stop moving.

CL: You did half the dance and then went to sleep on a blanket in the back of the room.

CEWL: You know, when I was in school, I didn’t go to dances. But, this fall, I had just graduated college… I’d just gotten out of a pretty serious relationship. I did not have a job.

But, this dance that happens twice a month… I was like, ’You know what? This is a thing that I can put on my calendar.’ It felt like that was the important first step in being able to figure everything else out.

CL: I’m most concerned that you be happy and fulfilled, but I’m also happy that I was able to give you something that helped do those things. 

I love dancing with you, Chloe… Maybe especially because you’re my daughter, but also because you’re such a marvelous and beautiful dancer.

CEWL: I have such a sense memory of what dancing with you is. It feels like if I were to ask you, ‘What are your memories of drinking a morning coffee?’ It’s just like a thing that you do so many times, it just sort of is.

CL: You’re one of my favorite partners.

CEWL: You are also one of my favorite partners.