"Love at first sight."
"What a bunch of bologna," I had thought most of my life.
Yes, I knew about immediate attraction to a person of the opposite sex. But love? That was different.
At 52, I was skeptical about relationships. I had just finished my second divorce. The few guys who were showing interest in me were shooting aggressively for a chance at my pussy. No flowers and candy for me.
Then the earth tilted on its axis, aligning the stars to change my life.
It was a chilly April night and I was staying in a condo on the beach for the first time in a decade. Three gals had invited me to join their "girls week out" at Orange Beach.
After several days of sunning on the beach, cool drizzling rain had settled in, so the girlfriends decided to go shopping. Two of the women were masters at shopping, so six hours later, they were still going strong.
Faye and I were tired of shopping so we sat in the car at the factory outlet mall, waiting on the other ladies to find one more good deal. One of the other women was Faye's sister, Joanne, in whose car we sat.
"Hey, Faye, what are we going to do tonight?" I asked.
"I want to go to Royal Pub to see a comedian I've heard about. They'll have great live music, too. Maybe I'll meet up with Jon, the guy I met on the beach yesterday. He said he'll be there early," said Faye.
I wanted to go with Faye. The show started at 6 pm, and it was 5 pm already. My hair was a mess. I'd been pulling it up in a pony-tail for days and it needed washing. I was wearing no make-up. I had on blue jeans that accented my heart-shaped butt, but I could smell my underarm pits.
As we arrived at Sea Side condominium at the late hour of 6 pm., Faye and I rushed around to get ready for our night out. Priority for me was to grab a bite to eat, so I snacked on rice cakes and almond butter while Faye changed into a denim mini skirt and fresh blouse. I took a quick look at myself in the mirror.
"Oh well, I'm not trying to impress anyone tonight," I sighed, as I smoothed out my hair and readjusted the clippy holding it away from my face.
Faye and I drove Joanne's car three miles from the condo to Royal Pub, which touts as a five-star honky tonk with top-shelf rednecks.
"Dang, it's crowded," Faye said.
"And dimly lit, too. Hey, don't lose me," I said, and grabbed Faye's arm.
The comedian was also a musician and had written adult-themed songs. He was hilarious. All the tables were filled and shoulder-to shoulder people of all ages mingled in the dome room of the bar.
Faye and I found a place to stand on the stairs that led to the upstairs bar. Others were standing on the stairs as well, and foot traffic up and down the steps was constant.
"Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry, did I spill that on you?" were words we kept hearing.
At one point, I saw Jon in the masses. At that moment Faye was looking backward talking to one of the men carrying drinks down the stairs.
"Hi," I waved at Jon. He didn't recognize me, so I pointed behind me toward Faye.
"Ah," Jon said and came our way.
Within a few minutes Jon and Faye had slipped off into the sea of people to the dance floor and I lost track of them entirely.
Alone on the stairs, I became aware of men's eyes staring at me. I had only been to a handful of bars in my life and never as a single woman. I concentrated on the comedian's words while holding my head a little higher and shifting my weight evenly so as not to cock my hip out to one side or the other.
Several men standing on the stairs eased in closer. I felt like fresh prey, with hungry wolves biding their time on making an approach. Which one would speak first? I wondered.
Then a new person entered the room from a door at the bottom of the stairs. Even with hundreds of people milling around, I noticed him. He stepped into the bar with a drink in his hand, stopped with his back to me, his focus on the entertainer for a few seconds, then turned all the way around and our eyes met.
I smiled.
"So many guys to choose from, huh?" said the man who looked like a cowboy to me, sort of a Marlboro man in beach attire.
His blue eyes twinkled and his face showed maturity of a man near retirement. He wore knee length shorts and a blue shirt with fish prints on it. His ball cap looked as much a part of him as his mustache.
I shrugged. After all, I was not there to find a guy to hook up with.
"So where are you from?" was his next question, and we began to talk.
The music was loud, so I moved down a couple of the steps so I could be closer to him. His name was David and the things that happened in the next 15 minutes were magical.
The words we said to each other were inconsequential, small talk about our careers, hometowns and family. The magic was happening in the space between our bodies, a sort of electric magnetism. Though not visible to our eyes, we both felt the energies dancing and entwining together. Part of it was physical attraction, it's true, as I found myself reaching out to touch his arm often. After discovering a common love for country music, David embraced me in a quick two-step twirl as the band thumped out a loud beat.
But the most powerful part of the attraction was deja vu and we both felt it. We had an immediate comfort with each other as if we had known one another intimately in another place and time. David held his arms outstretched toward me, palms facing me. I responded by placing my palms near his without actually touching him. We both stood there entranced as we felt sparks and tingles of energies interacting in the inch of space between us.
Faye returned from the dance floor and whispered into my ear, "Is this guy bothering you?"
"No, I like him," I said to her.
After a few minutes more of conversation in the bar, David invited me to step out to the porch. We slipped into the cool night air. David looked me straight in the eyes and after about 30 seconds, we embraced. I heard David vocalizing as he held me.
"Uh huh, uh huh," David said, as if it was the final test of compatibility.
"I live 500 yards from here. Would you like to see my place?" David said.
"Yes, but I need to tell Faye," I responded.
I checked on Faye. She was still standing on the stairs but no longer with Jon. She was talking to one of the bouncers at the club and they looked like they were getting along good. It was 8:30 pm when I left Royal Pub with David.
As we reached the end of the bar's boardwalk, David suggested we take off our shoes and walk barefoot down the beach.
"So your Dad was in the military?" David said.
"Yes, I was an Air Force brat my whole childhood," I said.
David had spent several years active in the Army and a total of 34 years in the Army Reserves. I had two grown kids, as did David. David's wife had died of ovarian cancer two years earlier. In fact it was the anniversary of her death and the reason for David getting out of the house that night.
"I didn't need to be by myself so I walked to Royal Pub. I surely didn't go there expecting to meet an angel like you," said David.
When we arrived at the 12th floor penthouse, we walked through the condo to the back porch where we sat and talked. David offered me a drink, but since I rarely consumed alcohol, I declined. He poured himself a double shot of whiskey.
"I'm surprised you haven't said anything about my smoking," said David, as he lit up another one.
"It's really none of my business whether you smoke or not," I said honestly.
