Part IV Kiss and Tell?

Well, if this were a Harlequin Romance there would be a lot of clothes ripping and sweaty bodies about now but hey, we’re talking about two people who didn’t get up the nerve to speak for almost 50 years and it took a year of emails to finally meet and another 9 months for a first kiss so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Oh, the passion was real and my head was swirling but caution is my middle name. We ended up sitting on the porch for a while holding hands and absorbing the fact that an unexpected spark had definitely been ignited. I was still trying to absorb this sudden change in our relationship and frankly I was a little out of practice in the romance department. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted a romantic relationship but my fluttering heart seemed to have a mind of its own. By the time we parted that night I was sure of only one thing, I couldn’t wait until we were together again.

I didn’t have to wait long as the next day was the first of many days together. We went to football games, basketball games and baseball games and did I mention I’m not a sports fan? What we will do for love! Our relationship grew from friendship and was definitely worth the wait and just as they say love comes when you least expect it. One evening I was trying to teach Ron how to dance. He admittedly had two left feet but was such a willing student. We rolled back the rug in his den and we started out with the Texas two-step graduating to the Cotton Eyed Joe. We were laughing and having so much fun as he counted out every beat. I asked him where he was when I needed a date to our high school senior prom? Suddenly stopped and looked at me with such a serious look I thought I must have stomped on his foot. He said, “Didn’t you go to the prom”?

Surprised by his sudden change in mood I replied, “No, my boyfriend and I broke up a week before the prom and I missed it.”

Ron’s face remained solemn as he responded, “If I had known I would have asked you to the prom.”

It was so sweet and so sincere I found myself crying. Here I was, fifty-two years old and crying about a missed opportunity some 35 years earlier. But, somehow I couldn’t imagine that prom being any more wonderful than this moment, this first dance.

Then as unexpectedly as that first kiss Ron looked in my eyes and said, “I love you.”



Now, this is where I will end our story out of respect to this shy, quiet and private man that I love. He has changed my life in ways I cannot describe. He has held my hand through difficult times and I have never felt alone. Now it is my turn to hold his.