Dedicated to Jeff & James the two men in my life
Submitted by Stacey
Being a single mother leaves you rather hardened. Having a beautiful baby boy to raise has had it’s moments. Needless to say, I’m hip to it all. It had been ten years since I’d really been in a relationship. Keeping busy paying bills, going to PTA meetings. Typical busy activities of a single parent. One night I was working and received a phone call from a woman who had a wrong number, however proceeded to tell me of a curly blond haired man in my future. A strange phone call. My son has curly blonde hair! I brushed it off to coincidence.Christmas 1999. I was feeling the usual Holiday feelings of loneliness. My boss invited me to a Christmas party at her home, people we worked with, a few people I didn’t know, and a special surprise guest (she invited to introduce to me without my knowledge.) At the party I mingled, talked, all the usual party gestures. When getting ready to leave, I stopped to say goodbye to the hostess, when in the kitchen stood the most handsome man. Amazingly having a conversation with my 12 year old son. I stood and watched them for a few minutes. They looked like they belonged together, if I didn’t know better. Nothing seemed to matter as I stood and watched them laughing and carrying on as if they knew one another already. After a while I approached and excused myself from the party. I didn’t catch the man’s name but his face stayed in my mind for the entire ride home.
As I approached our house I asked my son about the man he was speaking with in the kitchen. It was like he was thinking about him as well. “I know we know him from somewher mom, he is so familiar, but I can’t remember from where”, said my son. Funny I felt the same way.
After Christmas had passed and I returned back to work, I was surprised to find flowers delivered to my desk, signed “the man in the kitchen.” Upon questioning my boss, that man was the reason I was invited to the party. That afternoon, she had given him my number, he phoned, we made plans for that Saturday. He arrived with a beautiful bouquet of roses in hand, standing in the doorway, looking so familiar. He said, “I’d love to take you to Hawaii tonight”, “but my plane is in the shop.” I was wearing a long Hawaiian dress. We had dinner that night, my son was included on our first date. It’s my little test of worthiness.
The evening was heavenly. He was the perfect gentleman, the perfect fit for our family. That night upon returning home, my son asked if this was the man I was going to marry? That’s an odd question I thought. I kind of gave up on that idea after ten years.
It was exactly 3 months when Jeff proposed we get married. He was so determined, so strong, so sure, so passionate. He had captured my son’s heart and willing or not, he had completely captured mine. Jeff said there are two very special days in his life, his birthday and someday his wedding day. They are so special to him he said they might as well be the same day, and they were.