Meeting 'That Guy'

Two days after my husband of 22 years left our home, I had the freedom to go out to dinner with some friends. I was still in shock about my marriage, I don't think that the entire reality had actually sunk in. The group of friends was a group I really enjoyed being around so I was happy to be able to go. We had dinner at a place on the lake, and when dinner was over we decided to go to another place nearby that had a live band. At the second spot, we danced, played pool, listened and sang along with the music, it's a great group of friends I met when I joined a jeep club. Hence, the reason we were all wearing jeep t-shirts, hats, etc. Some point during all of this, someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I had a jeep. I answered 'yes' and turned back to my friends. A second tap on the shoulder. "So do I" said the shoulder tapping guy. I had little interest in being hit on, until I looked closer as we talked more. I was looking at one of the best looking guys I'd ever seen. He made me feel so comfortable, and by the time I noticed his looks, I was already impressed with his personality." I remember saying 'good night' to my friends, but I stayed, talking to my new friend until the place closed.

We were inseparable. It was summer time. We spent time at the lake, weekends at the beach, weekend trips away from our town. The only time we weren't together was for work. My young adult kids liked him. My dog loved him. His friends liked and accepted me. Soon my daughter and I practically lived with him, since we were at or near his house more than home. We had no issues that I had taken for granted with my ex-husband.

We were eating at a pizzeria on a beautiful, sunny afternoon, watching the people walk by, when an elderly lady, assisted by her elderly daughter, walked directly to our table. She said "I can see the love. What you have is true, deep, honest love. Cherish it, never let go." Another afternoon we were at a different outdoor cafe, when a young woman asked if we were newlyweds. We denied it, but she insisted she take pictures of us, so that we will always remember that love.

I'm still not clear what happened to a love such as ours. We both had longer work hours, which meant only time in the evenings, and our cafe's were bars at night. We drank too much, too often. Soon it was all about the nightlife. We lost the glow. I stayed at my house more. There was never any big break up, just a gradual thing until I realized he was pulling away on purpose. He met someone else but would never truly admit it. So I dated others, until weeks went by without seeing each other and I realized our perfect romance was indeed over. It was hard to let go of a love I never imagined or expected, and we continued to talk almost daily for the following year. I'm still not surprised, only happy, when years later I get a message from him out of the blue, the latest near Christmas, was "Do you miss me? I miss you."

I have learned, sometimes the hard way, to take from every experience, good or bad, a life lesson, or an understanding of 'why'. I met that handsome devil for several reasons. I learned of a type of love I was not aware was possible, and know I do not want to settle for less. I learned to guard my heart. And from the timing of that relationship, I know that God put him in my life to distract me from the loss of my marriage, to see there is something better for me and not try to convince my husband to change his mind.