didn’t feel disposed of like the crumpled, used tissue I thought I’d be. I had Alex and that was what mattered.
One summer night, to celebrate our “thirteen years of friendship,” Alex invited me to dinner at a quiet Italian restaurant in the city. Afterwards, we cruised around town with the car’s top down. I laughed happily at the sheer joy of the evening, loving the freedom of wind tumbling my hair and the comfort of Alex beside me.
On a whim, he parked the car near the harbor.
“I know it’s getting late,” he said. “But it’s too beautiful for the night to end.”
“It is gorgeous out tonight,” I agreed, taking his hand as I climbed from the car. We strolled along serenely, oblivious to the world, until Alex stopped suddenly.
“What is it?”
“Look,” he pointed. “We’re right beneath the CN Tower.”
The massive grand structure—landmarking Toronto’s skyline—was directly in front of us. I had lived with the majestic view of this building all my life, but I had never seen her towering frame silhouetted against a blazing moon. Judging by the look in Alex’s glowing face, he hadn’t either.
Then, all at once, I realized it wasn’t the tower but me he was looking at.
“Alex,” I began shyly, not knowing how to respond to this new feeling. “Do you find it . . . odd . . . that I didn’t notice the tallest freestanding structure in the world? Especially since we’re standing right beneath it?”
“No, actually . . . not odd at all,” he drew me closer. “Because when I’m with you, the world seems to disappear.”
The moment his lips touched mine, breathless yearning and passion laced the deepest love I could ever imagine and poured from his heart to mine. It only took one kiss to change my life. One kiss to see what had been right before my eyes, right beside me all along.
“Julia,” he whispered. “I am so in love with you!”
“I love you, too, Alex. So much. And I think maybe I always have.”
“Well,” he smiled. “I need to clarify one thing, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Remember the promise I made a few years ago . . . to dance at your wedding?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I lied.” He broke into a big grin. “I should have told you I plan to dance at our wedding.”
Sylvia Suriano
Never Say Never
D o not be too timid and squeamish about your reactions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“How would you like to accompany me to England for a week of sightseeing?” I stared at the e-mail in disbelief. It was from Mel, the widower I had been dating for six months.
I immediately replied, “Thank you for your generous offer, but I must respectfully decline. As much as I enjoy your company, I would not be comfortable traveling with a man I wasn’t married to. Besides, I don’t have a passport.”
My dear husband of fifty-one years had died three years earlier. I learned to ease my grief by reading, writing, attending church functions and visiting my children and grandchildren. But as time passed, I missed belonging to a partnership.
Then friends invited me to a party where I met Mel. He was attractive, intelligent and had an engaging personality. To my surprise, he called two weeks later and invited me to join him for dinner.
I discovered being part of a couple again opened new vistas. Soon we were receiving invitations to parties and meeting each other’s friends. After being in a desert of loneliness, I enjoyed the social oasis of dinners, concerts and theater.
We talked freely about our deceased spouses and how lucky we were to have found true love with them. Because we didn’t think it was possible to find that level of love more than once in a lifetime, we both admitted our decisions to never marry again and decided to enjoy the companionship we found in each other.
Consequently, I was shocked at the invitation to travel together and questioned Mel’s motives. Certain my response
One summer night, to celebrate our “thirteen years of friendship,” Alex invited me to dinner at a quiet Italian restaurant in the city. Afterwards, we cruised around town with the car’s top down. I laughed happily at the sheer joy of the evening, loving the freedom of wind tumbling my hair and the comfort of Alex beside me.
On a whim, he parked the car near the harbor.
“I know it’s getting late,” he said. “But it’s too beautiful for the night to end.”
“It is gorgeous out tonight,” I agreed, taking his hand as I climbed from the car. We strolled along serenely, oblivious to the world, until Alex stopped suddenly.
“What is it?”
“Look,” he pointed. “We’re right beneath the CN Tower.”
The massive grand structure—landmarking Toronto’s skyline—was directly in front of us. I had lived with the majestic view of this building all my life, but I had never seen her towering frame silhouetted against a blazing moon. Judging by the look in Alex’s glowing face, he hadn’t either.
Then, all at once, I realized it wasn’t the tower but me he was looking at.
“Alex,” I began shyly, not knowing how to respond to this new feeling. “Do you find it . . . odd . . . that I didn’t notice the tallest freestanding structure in the world? Especially since we’re standing right beneath it?”
“No, actually . . . not odd at all,” he drew me closer. “Because when I’m with you, the world seems to disappear.”
The moment his lips touched mine, breathless yearning and passion laced the deepest love I could ever imagine and poured from his heart to mine. It only took one kiss to change my life. One kiss to see what had been right before my eyes, right beside me all along.
“Julia,” he whispered. “I am so in love with you!”
“I love you, too, Alex. So much. And I think maybe I always have.”
“Well,” he smiled. “I need to clarify one thing, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Remember the promise I made a few years ago . . . to dance at your wedding?”
“Uh-huh.”
“I lied.” He broke into a big grin. “I should have told you I plan to dance at our wedding.”
Sylvia Suriano
Never Say Never
D o not be too timid and squeamish about your reactions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“How would you like to accompany me to England for a week of sightseeing?” I stared at the e-mail in disbelief. It was from Mel, the widower I had been dating for six months.
I immediately replied, “Thank you for your generous offer, but I must respectfully decline. As much as I enjoy your company, I would not be comfortable traveling with a man I wasn’t married to. Besides, I don’t have a passport.”
My dear husband of fifty-one years had died three years earlier. I learned to ease my grief by reading, writing, attending church functions and visiting my children and grandchildren. But as time passed, I missed belonging to a partnership.
Then friends invited me to a party where I met Mel. He was attractive, intelligent and had an engaging personality. To my surprise, he called two weeks later and invited me to join him for dinner.
I discovered being part of a couple again opened new vistas. Soon we were receiving invitations to parties and meeting each other’s friends. After being in a desert of loneliness, I enjoyed the social oasis of dinners, concerts and theater.
We talked freely about our deceased spouses and how lucky we were to have found true love with them. Because we didn’t think it was possible to find that level of love more than once in a lifetime, we both admitted our decisions to never marry again and decided to enjoy the companionship we found in each other.
Consequently, I was shocked at the invitation to travel together and questioned Mel’s motives. Certain my response
Similar Books
