It all started with a message from one of those reunion sites. It read "I've finally found you " and was signed "Much Love, Jennifer". There is only one Jennifer that I know and I met her over twenty years ago in college. She was married (to a total asshole, I might add) and had a daughter. We had become fast friends and confidants. There were many times that she would lean on my shoulder and cry over stressors in her home life. A lot of this stress was due to her husband who thought her getting an education was a total waste of time, and was becoming increasingly jealous of the friends she was making. Naturally, I sent a reply with my home address, e-mail address and phone number. If nothing else, it would be great to catch up with her.
The next night, there was an e-mail message from her in my inbox. She was divorced, living in Georgia with her daughter and son (he came after we lost touch), and was working as a secretary in a hospital. She had two dogs (both hound dogs) named Freckles and Blue. She included her address and phone number in the message.
I sent her a message telling her what I was up to. For starters, I was in the middle of a very messy divorce. I lived in a mobile home (a double wide close to Charlotte, North Carolina) worked in a local psychiatric center as a nurses aide, had no pets, no kids, but was still an avid reader. (My ex-wife often said that books were the other woman in our marriage. For me it was a way to escape her controlling issues and guilt trips). I also promised to keep in touch with her, sending email messages at least once a week. "Now that you found me, I do not want to lose touch with you again."
So at least once a week we sent each other e-mail messages telling each other what was going on in our lives. One night, I got a phone call from Jennifer. She told me that she was taking the kids to the mountains to see her father and wanted to know if it was okay if she stopped by with them on the way there. Gee, what could I say? A chance to see someone I have not seen in over ten years? Of course the answer was yes I gave her direction to my place and she told me she would be here on Saturday around noon.
Saturday could not get here fast enough. I was up at six in the morning, and put the finishing touches on the house. I showered, put on a fresh pot of coffee and before I knew it there was a knock at the door. There she was, as beautiful as I remembered her. Chestnut brown hair, brown eyes, generous mouth, and curves in all of the right places. I stepped back to let her in the house and she walked in and gave me the tightest hug I've ever had. Damn she felt great in my arms I did not want to let go.
"I've been thinking of this for a long time" she told me. "You have no idea how much I've missed your hugs."
"About as much as I've missed yours." I told her. I looked around for the kids, but they were not there. "I thought you were bringing the kids with you on your way to your dad's place."
"I was, but he called earlier in the week and asked if I could bring them a day earlier. He wanted to take them camping, so I dropped them off last night."
"So, how long do you plan on staying?"
"I was going to get a hotel room and stay in town until Monday morning. I don't have to be to work until the afternoon."
"Well, let me save you the price of a hotel. You can stay here, I've got the spare room."
"Are you sure? I don't want to put you out or be an impsotion."
"Yeah, I know. I'll have to call the other women who were coming here this weekend, but they'll have to understand." I said jokingly. "It is not a problem at all. In fact, I made up the room in case you and the kids needed a place to stay."
"Well, at least allow me to take you to dinner somewhere. It's the least I can do."
"You're on."
We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling down memory lane and comparing lives. We found out that we had a few things in common. We both went through nasty divorces and we were both currently single. We decided to go to dinner. She told me she was in the mood for Chinese food and I knew just the place to take her to. During dinner, I felt her foot trace up the inside of my calf. I just passed it off, until I felt her foot go higher. I looked up and she was giving me the cat-who-ate- the -canary smile.
"Ummmm....."
