Timing is everything. We found each other at a time in our lives that neither of us would describe as the best of our lives. She was seperated from an emotionally abusive, drug addicted husband, and I was an unemployed alcoholic, living with my mother. Yup. Sounds so romantic, doesn’t it? I knew you’d think so. Well, ain’t life just a fairy tale? In our own little world, it was.
I was a floor tech, new to the job. She was a supervisor, over the dietary department of the nursing home we worked for. I passed her office every day, catching glances of her through the small window. My job and hers didn’t have much to do with each other, and I never suspected she’d ever even noticed me. She had. Other than a small argument over a mark on the dining room floor (which we disagree about to this day, stubborn woman that she is) we’d hardly even spoken, other than to say “good morning”. One night I was cruising facebook and “just happened” to find her page. She had several pics of her boys and girls, some older people trimming trees, and a few of herself. Some of her pictures were of her adopted daughters, Dominique and Bubbles. They were obviously mixed race. She had two boys, Jon and Cody. I thought “Bubbles” was a unique name, and decided to break the ice with an “innocent” question about how she got the name, if I got the chance. The next day at work, Laura was sitting at the smoke patio with her friend, Linda, and I decided to mention her facebook page. I asked “what’s the deal with Bubbles?” To which she launched into a rather detailed and informative history of how she’d adopted the girls. They were her second exhusbands nieces, and she’d adopted them after she’d divorced him. That certainly told me she had a big heart. It did not, however, speak to how the girl got the name. I playfully told her, after she’d finished, that that’s cool and all, but I meant “how did she get the name “Bubbles”? We all got a little laugh out of that, and I got to see a beautiful smile that I wanted to see much more of. For the record, Bubbles real name is Betty Faye (after her two grandmothers) and she liked to blow spit-bubbles all the time when she was little, like kids do. That was my introduction to the cute, chatty blonde I discovered behind the all-business dietary supervisor.
Then, one morning, I’d noticed that she wasn’t at work. I found out from one of the office people that she’d had surgery to remove her gallblader. I missed her. I was concerned about her. And she was cute. So I sent her a friend request. Just being thoughtful, you know. I’d noticed several posts concerning a distinct distaste for men; disgust, even. I may have commented, on one of them, something like “there are good men out there, don’t give up”. To which she responded “why, are you applying for the job?” Hmmm. I don’t recall my exact response, but I made it plain that I was up to the challenge. We were definitely flirting. I was enticed. I asked about her surgery. She was convalescing at home, bored. I offered to bring her pizza and rent a movie. She accepted, to my great surprise. I got directions to her home, and we set a date. You’d think I was bold as brass, but I was nervous as hell.
I kinda froze up at the Redbox, trying to pick out a movie. I ended up with two. Rango, Johnny Depp voicing a lizard, and Hall Pass. It was a funny, but raunchy, movie with a public masturbation scene, in a car. That embarrassed me, but I tried not to let it show. Her son, Cody, was there when I arrived and I introduced myself and shook his hand. Good looking kid, seemed nice. I believe he left for town, and we sat on Laura’s couch and watched the movies. We ate pizza and enjoyed the movies. There was some conversation but, for the life of me, I can’t remember what we talked about. She probably does. I was both nervous and comfortable at the same time. I managed to put my arm around her at some point during the movies. I didn’t make a move, exactly. I just thought we were very comfortable together, there on the couch.
When the pizza was gone, and the movies over, we both got up and stretched a bit. I knew a two-movie date was a little longer than usual, and I didn’t want to press my luck. As I began to tell her goodbye she stretched her arms upwards, yawning, I slid my arms around her for an embrace. No running, screaming or gnashing of teeth. Cool. So I leaned in to kiss her gently on the mouth. The Eagle has landed. I got a few kisses, and a very nice full body hug before I left. And I left with a warm heart, and not a small amount of repressed desire.
We began texting on a regular basis from then, on. I’d text her from work, or at home. She actually responded, almost as if she really liked me. Sounds so high school, huh? It felt a bit like that, too, but in a good way. I hadn’t felt this way about a woman in a very long time. It was awesome to talk to someone who actually seemed to like me, to care about what I thought. She was honest, but caring. She was a little reserved in some ways, and bold in some ways that really got my motor running in high gear. She had me hooked.
You have to realize where each of us were, in life. We didn’t expect this to happen. We didn’t expect to find each other, but we did. Laura was seperated from her third husband. She’d had a few very bad years, but after they’d parted (she threw him out) she’d found some peace. The summer before our first date was heaven for her. Her daughters were spending the summer away from home. Her son spent most of his time away with friends, or work. She read. She played games on her computer. Luckily for me, she posted and played on facebook. Her chaotic life had leveled out to a quiet peace that she’d not known in…forever.
I was in a different era of my life, also. I’d been a widower for seven years, freshly off a second DUI and unemployed less than a year before we met. I was living at my mothers. I was still an “active” alcoholic. Getting hired by the nursing home didn’t seem to be a step up, at the time. Floor tech didn’t exactly fit my “dream job” ideal, but it was forty hours a week, and day shift. I soon found that I enjoyed the work, and the people. Things were looking up. Starting a relationship with Laura proved it to me.
We moved fast from there. She came over for dinner and met my Mom. They got along great, and always have since. Laura’s Mom and I got along well, too. She reminded me of MawMaw (Shirley Williams, my first Mother In Law) in that she had no reservations whatsoever. What she thought, she said. I knew that to be a great character trait, even if it could aggravate you at times. She’s honest. She’s a good person. So’s Laura. We went from a first date in August, 2011, to a wedding date of March 25th, 2012. Laura wanted a wedding, with guests, a cake and reception, the works. We’d both been married before, but all at city hall, by justices of the peace. She deserved to walk down that aisle, and I was proud to be waiting for her at the alter. It was a beautiful day, surrounded by our friends and family. She made a beautiful bride. It was one of the greatest days of my life.
Our marraige has given me hope for the future. I know God gave us both a second chance (fourth? fifth?) for love. I’ve not been the best husband, or man, in the world. I’m learning, though. I’ve discovered a lot about myself in the past six years. Not all of it is good, but I’m more humble today because of who I’ve been in the past. Laura is the most beautiful woman in the world, inside, and out. She’s seen me at my worst, and still loved me. At this stage of our life, we’ve both found that we don’t actually need another person in our life to make us happy. We could be happy alone, if need be. What’s awesome is that we WANT to be together. We’re each others choice. That’s a very important thing. I want her to be with me, through thick and thin. She doesn’t need me, but she wants to be with me, too. It may sound odd to you, but it’s a very important part of our relationship. It’s simple. We lean on each other because we want to, not because we NEED to. She’s good enough, strong enough, and smart enough to live a good life without me. I could deal with things without her. Maybe that doesn’t sound romantic, but to me it is. She’s here, with me, because she wants me. I’m here, with her, because I want her. It’s our bond of love; our brand of romance. Our kind of fairy tale.
And now we’re living happily ever after, Dear Reader.
K.S.
Rolling Stones 
And I am so very happy for both of you!
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I absolutely loved this story and am so happy for you and your beautiful family.
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