In Our Words: How They Met Jacques had opened an appliance store with a friend after losing his job in 1937. In late 1942 José’s mother, Rachel, went to Jacques’s appliance store to buy a refrigerator. She met Jacques and in the ensuing conversation they realized that both families had strong connections to Mexico. José and Josy met at the Feldmark home on December 13, 1942, after Jacques extended an invitation for the two families to meet. When José had to leave early, he borrowed some sheet music from Josy as a pretext to return to see her. Although she was not home when he brought the music back, he did call her the next day to invite her on a date. Shortly thereafter, Josy requested José’s help preparing for a mathematics exam. The result was an A in both the exam and the course. Jose had been required to retake a test to prove his proficiency in English since he had missed the target score by one point. Josy worked with him for weeks and his score improved by only two points, but it was enough to qualify him for admission to the College of Pharmacy and Science. They continued to date until José left for the army.