A Love Story on Valentine's Day!

Journal Entry Tue 25 Jan 2011
Yesterday was a great day. Since I’ve been here at Delaram I’ve been so busy with turnover that I haven’t had much time to think much less anything else. Add to that the continuous fighting going on in the battle space and it can make for some long, arduous days around here. But, today was a great day. After more than a week, I was able to chat with Teresa again via Skype. Sure a week doesn’t seem like a long time, but when you’re separated by thousands of miles it can seem like an eternity. When I got a hold of her, she was sitting there in the kitchen back home, eating breakfast in her PJs and sharing with me the events of the previous week. She was absolutely beautiful. Of course she’ll be the first to argue against that, but she is.
I sat listening to her, grinning from ear to ear, not because anything she said was necessarily funny, but the fact that the sight of her face and sound of her voice just warmed my heart. In an instant I forgot where I was and completely immersed in her world. I wanted so badly to reach out and touch her face, to lean over and smell her hair, to pull her close and kiss her lips. She made my heart whole again. She’s always been able to do that, melt my heart that is. Teresa’s been my best friend for more than 23 years now. I can’t help but smile when she walks into the room or when I hear her voice on the phone. We always know what the other is thinking and we pine when we can’t be together. We’ve always said that we were “split aparts”, two people that at one time in the distant past used to be one, torn apart and destined to find each other and become whole again.
We found each other in the summer of 1987. We actually had a chance encounter prior to that, but it was so fleeting that it appeared insignificant. In July, I was working as a cook at Golden Coral, the premiere steakhouse in Belton, MO at the time. Teresa will tell you that I was a horrible cook, but actually I was somewhat of a grilling savant. She came in on that summer day with a friend of hers looking for a job waiting tables. Some people say there’s no such thing as love at first sight, but I knew my heart belonged to her the minute she walked in the door. She was a thing of beauty, big brown eyes, long dark hair, and soft tan skin. I knew at that moment that I had to be with her.
I pleaded with my boss to hire her on, and though we were fully staffed with waitresses, he gave her the job. After a few weeks of my constant badgering and cheesy advances, she finally caved into the idea of going on a date with me. Yes, in today’s workplace that would be considered sexual harassment, but she thought I was cute. Actually, I think the phrase she used was “big dork.” Our kids think that is so funny. So, on August 13, 1987 we went on our first official date, a pool party at a friend’s house. It was chilly for an August afternoon and her and I were the only ones that ventured into the pool that day. We didn’t care about the cold water; all we knew was that we were having a ball.
I could tell there was a chemistry between us, but as much I wanted to be with her I must admit that I was a little intimidated by her beauty. She hates hearing that because she can’t see how guys can be intimidated by her, but it’s true. Anyhow, that night after the party we shared our first intimate moment, a stolen kiss in the front seat of her car. Okay, I fully admit that she made the first move. Remember, I was intimidated. It was August 1987, and I didn’t know it at that exact moment, but I was in love.