Happy Valentine's Day mes amies! I am joining Karen at My Desert Cottage for her romantic "Share Your Love Story" linky party.
So here's mine.....
Once upon a time there was a "girl" and a "boy" who lived miles and miles apart and grew up in different states but... fate would put them on the path to their destiny: each other.
"The girl" lived happily in Maine until it was time to go off to college where she boarded a plane and flew to NJ to begin her studies. In the meantime, "the boy" started school as well but stayed at home while studying at a University in Boston. "The boy" played college baseball and “fell in love” (or so he thought) and "the girl" concentrated on school and she too “fell in love” (or so she thought) with a boy she knew from home. They had gone to high school together but had never gone out together. Their paths crossed once again and so they started dating. It wasn't long before he had to move as he was being stationed on the West Coast to begin his career in the navy. He proposed to "the girl" and she accepted....(although her heart didn’t quite feel the joy she thought it would). Months passed and she began to plan her future:
graduation...a wedding... and a move to the West Coast. All the while "the boy” in Boston continued his studies, played baseball and....as time passed...began nursing a broken heart. The one he thought he loved did something that made him lose his trust in her forever.
In the meantime...."the girl" went through the motions of planning what she hoped would be a promising future but her heart felt heavy and when she looked ahead....it didn’t look so bright. And, because her heart had never betrayed her before, she soon realized why it felt so heavy: she could not marry someone that had caused her to lose her trust in him forever.
So... she broke off her engagement and began to make NEW plans: applying to a graduate school in Boston.
In the meantime, her sister was living in a small apartment near Boston and knew “the boy” whom she thought would be "perfect" for "the girl" and so she told her all about him but "the girl" was still too broken-hearted to be interested and so her heart wouldn't "listen." The sister even introduced "the boy” to her parents while he was visiting their hometown in Maine on business and "the girl’s" mother and father both felt that he too was "perfect" for their “girl.” The mother even wrote to "the girl" in NJ telling her all about “the boy” but, "the girl" was still too broken-hearted to "listen" and so she continued to concentrate on her studies and graduating from college. In time, her heart began to feel lighter and she knew she had made the right decision not to marry and so she graduated from college and moved to Boston where she settled into a small apartment that she shared with her sister (the one who knew “the boy”).
Soon after, “the boy” called and offered to help the sister and "the girl” purchase some oriental rugs for their new home. He imported them from Europe for his business and so, one night, "the boy" came to their small apartment to pick them up and bring them to his warehouse where they could have a look. "The boy” liked "the girl" right away...he was nervous and tongue-tied but "the girl" just chuckled to herself. She knew that THIS was “the boy” that her parents and sister thought was "perfect" for her... but her heart still wouldn't "listen." (She wasn’t ready yet and she didn’t want to be).
Time passed but "the boy” could not forget about "the girl” and so he called her one night and asked her if she would like to spend some time with him. She only said "yes" because he had been so nice to her and the sister in helping them purchase rugs for their small apartment. She felt bad about that because her heart still was NOT “listening.” So "the girl" and "the boy" went out and, without meaning to, "the girl" had a wonderful time with "the boy." He made her laugh and she felt light-hearted with him.
The very next day, "the girl" had a meeting with the Director of the graduate program where she had applied. She was very nervous. She wanted to be accepted there and she needed a graduate assistantship to help her pay the tuition. She arrived early and was told that the Director had a family emergency so he would not be able to see her. But.....they told "the girl".... one of the other professors would conduct the interview and give her a tour. Now... this "professor" wasn't just ANY professor, he was the "Founder" of the program. Now "the girl" was even more nervous! But... the professor was sweet and fatherly and the interview went well. She enjoyed the tour and having lunch with him. He was easy to talk to and made her feel relaxed. "The girl" went back to her small apartment and smiled. Her heart felt light and her future was looking bright.
In the meantime, the professor went back to his home and family and did something he had never done before..... he told his “boy” that he had interviewed a “girl” that very morning whom he thought was just “perfect” for him. Now mind you, he had interviewed a lot of students before...most of them girls..but he had never tried to convince either of his sons to meet one of them....ever! But he had a feeling about this “girl” and so they began to discuss her and the interview. It wasn’t long before "the boy” felt like he might know this “girl”...and when he asked his father, the professor, what her name was...he realized that "the girl” his father spoke about was the very same “girl” that he spent laughing with just the day before. And "the boy" smiled because his heart felt light and his future was looking bright.
Seven months later, "the boy" proposed to "the girl" and, because her heart was finally "listening", she accepted. And her heart felt the joy that she always hoped it would. They began to plan their future together...filled with promise, love and trust.
Fifteen months later, "the girl" and "the boy" drove the miles and miles up to Maine where they got married in "the girl's" hometown church. "The girl's" mother and father were there as well as "the boy’s" mother and father. They were all smiling because they always knew... that "the girl" and "the boy" were just “perfect” for each other.
Epilogue: "The girl" and "the boy" have been happily wed for 23 years now. They have a “not-so-little-boy” of their own who’s away at college. "The girl” knows another “not-so-little-girl” whom she thinks is just “perfect” for her “not-so-little-boy.” Hmmmm.....maybe she should write him a letter telling him all about her.
To be continued...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The letter "the girl" received from her mother telling her ALL about "the boy."
"The girl" receiving her Graduate Diploma from "the boy's" father.
"The Girl &The Boy" on their wedding day with their smiling parents in the background....
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"One Day of Days"
"One day of days shines clear through my memory...
The day when first, my love, you came to me.
When face scanned face at last,
and meeting eyes held one another long,
nor knew surprise.
Thy soul had called to mine in spirit speech.
But, ah...the day when seeking hands met too...
and in warm human fashion...
I knew you."
~Kate Whiting Patch~
1889
**Happy Valentine's Day mes amies!**
Avec Amour,
