Love Story...How It Began...

***POTENTIAL ADULT CONTENT***


Picture a young, beautiful woman just 23 years of age. Having left a bad marriage and moving out of state she finds herself managing the breakfast shift of a fast food restaurant.

Being accustomed to working long hours, she was not surprised when her boss approached her with a proposition. “Our supervisor has mandated that we now have a hostess during lunch hours to refill drinks and assist the customers in any way. He wants to make things a little cozier. Since you are my prettiest girl, I’d like that hostess to be you.” Flattery got him every where and she eagerly took on the new responsibility.

Every morning when she opened the restaurant for breakfast, she was sure to have a fresh urn full of sweetened tea ready for the fellows who demanded it daily. Secretly, she was thrilled to hear things like, “Wow! What are they doing differently? This is delicious!”

Two of the fellows came in every week day for both breakfast and lunch without fail. One was flirty; the other shy with an endearing smile. They loved it when she offered them refills and suggested she use the line, “Coffee, tea, or me?” She declined. Of course, the lemon wedge earrings she wore begged for more comments. She politely informed them that her boyfriend would not approve.

One afternoon, Mr. Flirty Pants asked our young heroine to meet up with him after work and she agreed. However, she regretted her decision within moments. Not having a way to contact him to cancel, she simply did not show up at the designated time and place. Mr. Flirty Pants soon became Mr. Sour Puss and stopped flirting with her.

In due time, her boyfriend opted to move onto greener pastures. One day after work, as she was preparing to walk home, she noticed our above mentioned fellows. Seems they had come in unexpectedly for their afternoon break. Immediately upon seeing her sullen face, they inquired as to the cause. Bravely, she sat down next to Mr. Shy But Smiley and explained. Both of them offered the sweetest condolences and then a surprising thing happened. Mr. Shy But Smiley wondered aloud how a man could let her go. She blushed and lowered her eyes.

Having been once bitten and now twice shy, she immediately put the thought out of her mind deciding he was just being polite. She did, however, walk home on cloud nine.

A few days later, she was surveying the dining room when she noticed that Mr. Shy But Smiling was staring at her. Now, why in the hell did he do that? She stared back…for what seemed like hours. Is it really possible to drown in someone’s eyes? After that day Mr. Shy But Smiley began flirting ferociously and even admitted to having a name. Jeffrey.

Well, Jeffrey and his cohort continued dining at the restaurant regularly and our heroine began to write him off as a harmless flirt. That is until THAT Saturday. Having never seen him in street clothes and only his work uniform, she was pleasantly surprised to see him standing in front of her. That man showed up wearing a white muscle shirt, cargo shorts, sandals, and the most dazzling smile she had ever seen. Now, why in the hell did he do that? She was mesmerized. A black Adonis stood before her. Whew~. How she ever got his food order straight is beyond me. As he collected his order and headed to his car, she found herself straining to not lose sight of him. When his car left the parking lot, she was saddened.

One of her cashiers who had noticed the exchange between the two of them many times before, smiled at her with a knowing smile. Our heroine then made a shocking confession. Whispering in the cashiers’ ear, she said, “I have got to get some of that!” The cashier giggled; never had her boss acted in such a brazen manner. Little did she know her boss was just as surprised as the cashier was.

The flirting continued, but now her heart began skipping beats at the very thought of him. Everyone in the place knew they were doing the “sweetheart dance”, you know, everyone loves a lover.

Christmas time approached and Jeffrey had made no move towards pursuing our heroine outside of the workplace and she was getting, shall we say, antsy. Thoughts of him invaded her mind constantly and she secretly hoped he suffered the same. Gathering all of her courage and wearing her best fitting jeans, she “accidentally” ran into him at lunch time on her day off. As he stood to leave, she invited him to the Christmas party she was having. Unknown to him, she had definite plans for him under the mistletoe!

He asked her to stop by his work later so they could talk about it. She did. After standing at their job talking to him and his buddy for a few minutes, she suggested they talk alone for a moment. An absolutely beautiful woman walked in and suddenly Jeffrey vanished into thin air. He was there one minute and gone the next. The look on his friend’s face told our heroine everything she feared to know. Jeffrey was married!?!?!?! Instantly she knew that, even though it was not the right thing to do, she still very much wanted to spend time with him. Hurriedly she scribbled her phone number on a piece of paper, handed it to his friend, and said in a disgusted voice, “Here. Give this your married friend.” She took her broken heart and went home.

Just when she felt relieved that he hadn’t called, the phone rang. Her heart stopped beating at the sound of his voice. She could imagine his eyes, his lips, his everything as they talked. He asked if he could come over to see her and explain, of course, she said he could. This was the first of many happy Sunday mornings. They spent many hours just getting to know each other. Time spent with him was time well spent.

One fateful Sunday morning things changed. Her father had sent her a ceramic koala bear he had painted for her. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, she had neglected to call and thank him. While relaxing with Jeffrey she decided to call home. It was during that phone call that their relationship took a sharp turn. Since she was occupied, he decided to tease her and playfully licked her ankle. Now, why in the hell did he do that?

Within seconds, the realization of what had just happened hit them both. He sprung for the door; she hung up the phone and met him in the doorway. Gently cupping his unmentionables in her right hand, she leaned very close to his face and whispered, “Either make love to me or leave and never come back.” Needless to say, they made love. They both cried. Some would say that was the beginning of the end.

Once the passion had been unleashed, it was a physical impossibility for the two of them to be in the same room and not touch. The bond between them deepened. She would call his name out loud and he would phone her and ask what she wanted. He would call and wake her on her mornings off because he loved the sound of her sleepy voice. One night while at her new job, she heard him audibly calling her name. She looked every where- even in the darkened stock room. He was no where to be found. She clocked out early and headed towards his house. Shaking, she drove up the hill, passed his house, and then down the hill on the other side. It didn’t make sense. She knew she had heard him and that he needed her. When she stopped at the stop sign at the bottom of the hill, he jumped into her car. Reaching for her he demanded, “What took you so long?” She could say nothing more than, "Don't even touch me. This is too weird!" They drove to a secluded place and did what couples do without uttering another word.

They met everyday for lunch and loving. After work they would go to the Parkway and make love in the trees, go get chicken wings at the yummy place by her house, or just go to her place. Sometimes she cooked, sometimes not. All that mattered was that they were together every possible minute.

One day, while working, she was surprised to look up into a face almost too familiar. She gasped, and said, “You have to be related to my Jeffrey!” The man chuckled and explained that “her Jeffrey” was his brother and that he had brought along someone who desperately wanted to meet her. As she numbly followed him around the corner she came face to face with the friendliest warmest eyes and smile she had ever seen, with the exception of Jeffrey's, that is. The woman smiled and held out her hands. Clutching our heroines’ hands gently, she explained, “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve come to meet you on your job. I just had to meet the woman who makes my son so very happy.” She then invited our girl to visit her home anytime. Taken aback, our girl inquired, “What about his wife?” Momma just smiled and said, “It’s MY house. I can have anyone I want there.”

After being sure that Jeffrey would be okay with her involvement with his family, the young lady went to meet them. She was welcomed with open arms and lots of laughter and felt right at home. Thereafter, she and his sisters became quite the trio. The sisters would insist that she walk between them whenever they went out in public. They were the cookies and she the cream-of a human Oreo. They even went on his job like that!

One night there was a party at Momma’s house and our love-birds were there. As a slow song played, they danced. Suddenly, the lights flipped on and in the midst of her giggles, Momma exclaimed, “Hand check, Jeffrey!” The whole party collapsed into giggles.

He had a 10 year old daughter who spent considerable time at Big Momma’s so it was inevitable that she and her Daddy’s friend would meet. The child had the most beautiful brown eyes ever seen, with the exception of her Daddy's, of course. One day, when her Daddy came to pick her up, he found her curled up in our girl’s lap and fast asleep. Luckily, by then, our heroine’s tears had dried up. Never wishing ill on the child’s mother, our girl secretly wished the precious child was hers. When she later learned that the little girl desperately wanted a Cabbage Patch doll, she happily surrendered hers. The thought of the doll comforting the child made our girl very, very happy.

In February of that year, both our hero and heroine had President’s Day off from work and she made plans to take him somewhere they had never gone. A dear friend had once taken her to the best kept secret in the entire area and she wanted to share it with him. Now, being the young and wild souls that they were, they proceeded to get high and drunk on the way. She had never drank gin from a bottle but she chased it with Sprite anyways. By the time the couple arrived at the deserted beach, they were, shall we say, feeling no pain. He kissed her in the car and the next thing you know, they are racing down the beach stripping of every stitch of clothing. Every single sensation from that day was etched into their hearts and minds forever.

She would never ask him to leave his wife and kids. In his own messed-up way, he was a good man, and though he loved her dearly, he would not break up his family. It was understood. Then it happened. She became pregnant. Now what? Of course she would keep the baby and his secret. Her heart ached, but she knew what she must do. Quietly, she took her daughter and headed back home to her mother’s.

He managed to find her via the telephone…he was devastated. She and the baby were his heart. She reminded that his heart also had other occupants. She cried often to soothe her aching heart. Even though he was every thought she had, she now had a responsibility to this darling little girl. Necessity demanded that she must move on.

He had often said that if they were, indeed, meant to be together that it would happen. The faintest hope lived deep within her, because she knew they would reunite someday. Her life took many twists and turns, but she never let go of that hope or the knowledge of the extraordinary bond that existed between them.

Over the years, she would call him just to hear his voice, to touch base with the other half of her soul. His voice would start screaming in her heart and mind, so in order to relieve the torture, she would call him. It was as though they had never parted. Many times when she called, he had been trying to contact her. After the conversation she would tuck him ever so gently back into the depths of her very being and go back to every day life.

One time when they were talking, 15 years later, his old buddy drove up and laughed at Jeffrey. He said, “You’re talking to that white girl, aren’t you?” It seems that every time Jeffrey had talked on the phone with her(and only her), he would nervously kick the ground.

It was during one of these calls that she learned that his wife had passed away. Her heart ached for him. He and his wife had separated prior to her death and now he was living with another woman. Leaving well enough alone, she wished him well and hung up. Her heart was crushed. The tears she cried that day were for him and his children.

Two men and 3 children later, our heroine still loved him. After her marriage ended, she decided to call him and demand closure. One marriage over-shadowed by him was enough. She needed to be free to live her life and finally put him in his proper place. As she often did, she phoned his job and asked for him. DAMN! He no longer worked there. As it had often happened, someone over heard the conversation and volunteered the number to his new job. She called, left a message, and waited…and waited. Every time the phone rang, her heart skipped a beat. Chiding herself for her silliness, she busied herself with thoughtless housework.

That evening the phone rang and it was him! His voice could still make her heart beat entirely too fast, but it was his words that made it stop beating. “Where are you? How are you? How soon can I see you?” Without even skipping a breath she uttered, “Ohio, wonderful, and how soon do you want to?” So much for closure and moving on with her life.

The phone calls came often now. One night as he headed off to work, he called. All she heard was, “Just wanted to tell you that I love you.” Now, why in the hell did he do that?

Soon, he asked to speak to his 22 year old daughter. The conversation made the 3 of them laugh and cry. Healing began to pour out. Not once in all those years had it occurred to our heroine to foster ill-will in their daughter for her Daddy. From time to time she would share stories of their love and how happy she was to have his baby-the closest thing to him she could ever have. The little girl grew up understanding the situation and try as she might, she could never bring herself to hate him. That very first phone call showed the father and daughter what the Mom had known all along: those two were very much alike even though they had never met. She remembered all the times that she had seen him in his daughter’s face and actions over the years. It is difficult to say who was happier at the reunion and plans were begun for the three to meet up in person.

Meanwhile, the couple spent many hours talking, sharing, reminiscing, and forgiving via the telephone, finding their bond as strong as ever. The daughter takes pride in being, what she calls, the product of the greatest love story ever in existence.

Life has a way of interfering with plans, and our young lovers wisely, but impatiently waited for the time they could lay eyes on one another again. Almost two years, lots of tears, too much heartache, many prayers and phone calls later their dream came true.

To be continued...