It felt as if I had known Janet all my life, but, only since we were in high school. We attended different schools, but our common bond was church where we attended with a shared group of friends. After years of separation from each other and separate marriages, we both found ourselves divorced.
During this time of separation though continuing to live in the same city, I had undertaken to learn ballroom dancing, a vow I had made to myself after my separation and ultimate divorce. My ex-wife had no interest in any such activity we could do together. I had thought that it might bring us closer. But, no.
My ex-wife had falsely accused me of having an affair with a video store clerk turned dance instructor so the original idea of taking dance lessons was doomed to failure when we arrived for our first lesson and noted the presence of the former video store clerk at the dance studio as an instructor.
After the divorce, I was able to successfully take dance lessons without the burden of my ex-wife complaining about it. I found that Janet was similarly involved with ballroom dancing the first time we encountered each other at a dance. Thereafter, we would meet occasionally under the same roof to enjoy this past time together.
As already stated, after the first disastrous experience taking dance lessons while still married, when I first separated from my wife, I vowed that I would do two things even if it killed me: 1) I would enjoy a Caribbean cruise because my wife never wanted to do anything like that, and 2) I would learn how to ballroom dance.
So, it was under these circumstances that I found myself sitting with Janet and talking to her week after week at a local dance studio and the weekend immediately prior to my first ever cruise. Before she and I would see each other again, I would embark on a cruise to the western Caribbean and be gone for a whole week.