There are only a few moments in life when we find our true selves; when the layers of the personas we carry into the outside world are shed and the soft underbelly of emotion is revealed; when we are naked and exposed to the love and the care of our beloved. Such is the time I spend with him.
He entered my life in the usual way. We were friends online, he living in two cities, mine and his. Chat became a photo exchange, a plan to meet. Fate and illness intervened and delayed our meeting by several weeks, a nuisance to some but painful to us. Once we finally were together, the nervousness of it all obscured my vision of him. I was lost in his vision of me and how I might not measure up to his expectations. I needn't have worried...but I didn't see the light shining in his eyes, didn't notice his delight with me.
The first meeting ended with a kiss; nothing much to speak of, it was innocent and chaste. There was a spark between us felt more by him, obscured by my nervousness. Thank goodness he recognized it and pursued me to the next level.
How does one know when their soul mate has arrived? Is there a flash of recognition, an insight, a lightning strike? Or does a soul mate sneak into our lives, stealthily as if on shoeless feet, the better to surprise us with their discovery?
Two weeks later we meet again. This time I am loathe to get out of the car, I am in the parking lot at the restaurant and I know that today we will become lovers, that we will explore compatibility and attraction. I am mute, overcome and not knowing what to expect as I propel myself forward and onward towards my fate. He is there, waiting for me, anticipation written upon his smiling face and suddenly I am at ease when he kisses me on the cheek and smilingly takes me to a corner table. We chat and eat and all I can think about is the moment to come when we will be alone, when he will kiss me and touch me and I will become vulnerable to him. My sense of attraction is still out with the jury, I am intrigued by him but unsure of anything more. My heart pounds as we leave and while I follow his car to his apartment I wonder, should I just stop following, should I drive off into another part of the city, lose him and stop this folly now? But out of curiosity and intrigue, and the common kindness of my promise, I follow mutely into the complex and park my car. I get out shakily and mutely take his hand as he leads me upstairs to his place.