Life Lesson #150
Once upon a time there was a charming , handsome young man who happened to work with an average, slightly insecure woman. The woman thought this man had the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen. When she watched the man work, as she often did, she was impressed by the intensity of those eyes. But when she watched as he played, she was captivated by the way they sparkled. And she couldn't help but fall in love with him.
As luck would have it,(although the woman didn't believe in luck)the young man found himself suddenly cast adrift in the sea of single living. Fortunatly for him, there was no shortage of sympathetic souls to console him. As is the custom of the male species, the young man immediately was drawn to an even younger female. Unfortunatly, as is the custom for the female species, the younger woman was drawn to partying. Alas, the young man was left with a longing he couldn't realize with the young woman.
The average, slightly insecure woman, herself in a similar situation, saw a kindred soul in need of a kind word and a warm meal. Ever the Good Samaritan, she offered both to the young man in the form of a cute card and some leftover lasagna. Here is where our story begins.
The average, slightly insecure woman remembered a time when she and the handsome young man shared a birthday dinner on a warm May evening a few years back. Her birthday was approaching - maybe the handsome young man would remember too and be inclined to share this happy coincidence (although the woman didn't believe in coincidence either). Mustering up all the courage she had, the woman tried to nudge the man's memory by suggesting maybe sharing a birthday drink. He turned her down flat. Good thing for the sake of this story the woman was accustomed to rejection.
Never one to let life get her down (did I just write that?), the woman forged on. The handsome young man, for his part, was blissfully unaware of just how intensely he had piqued the woman's interest. They chatted at work, they chatted on line, but the woman was afraid to let the young man know her attraction to him was growing.
Maybe it was Divine Providence (which the woman DID believe in), maybe it was a growing desire on the young man's part, or maybe it was just Tina telling him "what the hell- what have you got to lose?", but one day the young man finally asked the woman for a real date. After a few delays (who "forgets" they had a ski trip planned?) a date was set. Saturday, February 12, 2005. But, as you will see asour story unfolds, plans are always changing. Friday finds the woman still hard at work when the phone rings. The young man is calling. Is he eager to see her or just very drunk and frisky? You dear reader will have to decide for yourself as I frankly have no clue. They meet, have dinner, share dessert. He invites the woman to see his house. Not exactly sure where this all will lead, the woman agrees.
Sitting on the edge of a chair in the plain, nearly empty, house, the woman stared at the young man on the floor. He was, without a doubt, the most gorgeous thing she had ever seen. There was a pause in the conversation she doesn't remember having. The woman rose to set her glass in the kitchen. The young man reached up his hand to her. She took it and he pulled her down to him. She drew even closer and gently kissed his lips. Slowly, softly they kissed. The young man leaned forward laying the woman down on her back. He pushed his legs between hers and she marveled at how strong he felt. She wasn't ready though. The woman, for all her years, felt someting stir in her that she never felt before and she was frightened by it.
Saturday came. Another dinner, another shared dessert and a conversation she did remember. The woman didn't want the evening to end. She invited the young man to her home. She was unsure about everything except her desire for him. What did he think of her....what would happen tomorrow.....would there even be a tomorrow? The woman pushed aside all those questions and led the young man to her bed. If this was going to be her only chance she wanted to take it. She wanted to lose herself in those clear blue eyes looking back at her so intently.
We will skip all the details here because this is not some dime store novel. They always end with the boy getting the girl and this is a true story after all. Anyway, the woman stayed awake the whole night...and many nights after....just watching the young man sleep. She lightly traced the outline of his body, the small knot on his left rib cage, his poor deformed right ear, with her fingertips. It was an exciting time, as it always is when you first discover each other. Every day holds a new promise, a new hope, a new experience. And the young man always lived life to the fullest. This caused the woman to see life in a different way and she thought she loved the young man even more because of it.
A trip was planned. Niagra Falls. The woman was perplexed. She had never imagined the young man would be interested in her but yet here he still was and he wanted to spend a whole weekend with her- so far from home. It was too soon.....what if he decided after one day that it was a mistake?.....what if he saw in her what other's saw in her and dismiss her as undesireable? (after all, she was insecure for a reason). The weather was awful, It was cold and the rain sliced sideways relentlessly. The falls were shrouded in a thick fog. An omen maybe? But no, they actually had a good time...and for the first time he refered to himself as the woman's boyfriend. They held hands and she pulled him back everytime he crossed the street in traffic. The young man even found a church for her.
Spring turned to Summer and if the woman thought she loved the young man before, she was about to know for sure. The young man introduced her to his love - the river. And the woman fell in love with it too. Being with him there only deepened her love for him. Watching his passion and joy come alive filled her heart with emotion she never thought possible. But to her the river meant even more. To her it became a symbol of how their lives touched. Calm on the surface but with a strong current underneath. The water always pushing, always moving, always worthy of respect. On the water they were a team.
And the young man always pushed the woman. To imagine more, to achieve more, to love more, to live more. But , like the river, he sometimes turned on the woman....abruptly changing courses, leaving a path of destruction in the aftermath of a flood of tears. Giving life and taking it away. And what could the woman do but try to weather the storms and pray for the sun to shine again. Like the river, the young man was used to getting his own way and who could tame the wind?
That wind carried the man and woman to many places : east, west, north and south. So many adventures, so many memories...as big as the ocean they last left. Through it all the woman loved the young man with all her heart. And even though the young man knew not the words, he knew the sentiment....and the woman heard the words he dare not speak, even to himself.
But, alas, fate is not always kind and one day the handsome young man decided his paradise lie beyond the realm of the average, slightly insecure woman. Only he lacked the courage to face the woman and the one that accompanies her. So one cold winter night amidst the colored Christmas tree lights and red shiny bulbs, the woman had to hear the handsome young man say "don't be a stranger" before he hung up the phone for the last time.
So, as luck would have it (though the woman still didn't believe in luck), the young man found himself suddenly cast adrift in the sea of single living. As is the custom of the male species, he will find that the only thing that matters is the very thing he left behind. Wait you say, isn't this where the story began? I warned you that this is no dime store novel. No happily ever after here. No boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets the girl back again ending. However, one handsome young man's ending is a not so average, not so insecure woman's beginning...and she's holding the courage he lacks. That my dear readers is called poetic justice.
Don't be a stranger now.
