I Write Short Stories
My Loves My Mexico... I met my husband on the internet. I was single, never married and I worked alot so meeting nice guys was kind of difficult for me. I found internet dating to be so much easier at that time and I took full advantage of it. I met some nice guys, but no one really special. I really just thought of it as a way to have someone to go out to dinner with on a Saturday night and if we hit it off, that would be great. If we didn't hit if off, I would go home and do a few clicks with my mouse and maybe line up another dinner companion for the next week. My expectations weren't really all that high. Love, marriage, children, family, all of those things were things I wanted but I never really thought it would happen for me because I was in my 30s and I had been dating for so long, I gave up on the idea that there was anyone out there for me.
I got a message on my profile from a man named James. It was just a quick, little note. "I saw your profile...blah, blah, blah" a message I had seen a hundred times before. He was in his 40s and divorced and there was no picture on his profile. Not a good sign right there, but I tried to keep an open mind. I responded with "Thank you for replying to my ad....blah, blah, blah" aka-the usual response. For the next couple of weeks we were emailing back and forth and one of his messages said that he wanted to take me to dinner and a movie one night and gave me his cell phone number. Just a nice casual invitation for an upcoming weekend. That sounded nice.
It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I decided to call 'Mr. No-Picture' James to see if he wanted to have dinner. He explained that he usually has his son every weekend but that the little one was sick and staying with his mother so he was in fact available for dinner and a movie. We had a nice conversation on the phone and our personalities seemed to mesh while we talked. We asked a few questions like "where do you work?" and "what do you like to drink?" and even shared a chuckle or two. I was at a disadvantage because he didn't have a picture on his profile (something that I felt very comfortable teasing him about) so he described himself as "a black man who wears glasses, a little thin on top, around 5'9 I guess, ummmmm,medium build but with a belly, ummmmm, sort of like a football pla<x>yer on the off-season, a moustache and I wear a yellow coat". In my experience with on-line dating, I was expecting a black man with coke bottle glasses, bald, 5'4, 350 lbs with a moustache and a bright yellow coat (that was probably dirty). I kept thinking that he sounded like a nice guy and it's only dinner. Two hours out of my life and if we didn't hit it off as a romantic connection, I might be meeting a friend. "OK, I'll see you at 6 o'clock"
I pulled up at the restaurant and looked at myself in my rear view mirror before leaving the car. I checked my lipstick, fluffed my hair, buttoned the top button of my long, dressy wool coat and checked my watch. I made good time. As I was getting out of the car, the thought crossed my mind, it would be great if he was a nice guy. A nice guy who was decent and cute and funny. A guy who liked me and liked who I was. Christmas was coming up and it was always a good feeling to be in a relationship during the holidays. Maybe, just maybe.
I opened the door and my eyes started to scan the bar for the fat guy in the dirty yellow coat. I didn't see him. A woman walked up to me and said "Are you Joyce?" As I opened my mouth to answer her, out of the corner of my eye I can see someone waving. That someone was a black man with beautiful chocolate brown skin, wearing nice, wire-rimmed glasses that perfectly fit a very handsome face, that stood about 5'10 or 11, medium build with a little belly (one could say like a football pla<x>yer on the off-season), a little thin on top but with slight grey at his temples that made him very distinguished looking, a nice moustache standing next to a clean, dark yellow coat that hung next to a booth in the far end of the bar. I started to walk toward him and I was so pleasantly surprised at how incredibly handsome this man was, when I got face to face to him without even thinking I threw my arms around his neck and he gave me a nice big hug as we kissed each other on the cheek and we both said "nice to meet you". Our date had begun.
Within a couple of minutes, a waitress appeared and said to me "Joyce, what kind of vodka would you like for your Cosmopolitan?" Talk about scoring points! James ordered my drink for me before I had even got there because he remembered what I said during our prior phone conversation. Then it occured to me, the hostess had spoke to me by name as did the waitress. This wasn't my usual Saturday night date experience. This was looking promising. Very promising.
So there we were, enjoying each other's company, having a nice meal, getting to know each other, really having a nice time. We were asking all kinds of questions to each other and telling stories, laughing and joking, it felt like we were the only two in the restaurant. We touched on the subject of vacations and traveling and I asked him if there was a place that he always wanted to go to. Without hesitation, he said "Cozumel, Mexico". I couldn't help but giggle at that answer. I had been on a couple of cruises to the Caribbean and Cozumel was my favorite stop. The beautiful blue water, the friendly people, the beaches, everything about that little island I adored. He had never been there but he said that he had been reading about it and it was a place that really appealed to him and he had decided that one day he wanted to visit. For a second my mind drifted and I thought of me and this handsome man being in Cozumel, holding hands, looking at that beautiful blue water...."Joyce, did you want to order dessert?" I heard him say. Back to reality and our date.
Our first date lasted for eight hours. We had dinner, then we went to the movies, then we went somewhere for coffee and pie. I really didn't want it to end but when it did, we said good night, he gave me a little peck and I went home. I could barely sleep because my mind was filled with everything we said and everything we did that night and all the fun I had with him. The next day I called him to thank him for dinner, invited him over for pizza and to watch a movie (and we had our first REAL kiss!) and we've been together ever since.
November 2002 was when our life together started and in 2003 Charles was born. Over the years we built our family and our home. We have gone through alot of ups and downs as most people do, but one constant challenge is the fact that our son was diagnosed with autism in 2005. To put it bluntly, our life is hard. The day to day struggles with his behaviors and the constant worries of his future is very weighing on our family. It often felt like we never really got a break. Autism can make it so difficult to enjoy anything. A simple trip to the store can be a nightmare so having any sort of vacation was something that seemed so far fetched and out of reach.
I found an organization that helped our family take a cruise, the vacation that we never thought we'd be able to take. Charles was well taken care of on and off the boat and we had a lot of support. The reason I picked this particular trip was because one of the stops was Cozumel, Mexico. My husband and I were both so excited about going to the place we talked about on our first date. I had told James about how blue the water was there and I just couldn't wait for him to see it. We didn't book an excursion with the cruiseline, instead we ventured out on our own to see some of the sights the island had to offer. We decided to rent an open-air Jeep for the day, got a map and filled the tank with gas. We were off!
The wind was blowing through my hair, the blue water was sparkling under the mid-day sun, the waves were crashing against the rocks on the beach, the air smelled of salt water and sea creatures and Charles was singing along with the radio in the back seat. I looked to my right and could see that beautiful blue water that I had fondly remembered from my previous trips and what I had been telling James about for years, I looked to my left and I see my handsome husband, the man that gave me all the love I never thought I'd have and then, I look behind me and there is this beautiful little boy that our love created, smiling and singing, who's happy and having the time of his life.
I recalled the brief thought I had over dinner when James and I first met. Thinking how wonderful it would be to go to Cozumel with him and hold his hand. I reached over while he was driving and squeezed his hand. He looked over at me and said "Thank you for everything. I am having a great time. I love you." and he leaned over and kissed me.
There I was in my favorite place. My Mexico. With not only the one love of my life, but the two loves of my life. My loves. A dream come true and then some.
I got a message on my profile from a man named James. It was just a quick, little note. "I saw your profile...blah, blah, blah" a message I had seen a hundred times before. He was in his 40s and divorced and there was no picture on his profile. Not a good sign right there, but I tried to keep an open mind. I responded with "Thank you for replying to my ad....blah, blah, blah" aka-the usual response. For the next couple of weeks we were emailing back and forth and one of his messages said that he wanted to take me to dinner and a movie one night and gave me his cell phone number. Just a nice casual invitation for an upcoming weekend. That sounded nice.
It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I decided to call 'Mr. No-Picture' James to see if he wanted to have dinner. He explained that he usually has his son every weekend but that the little one was sick and staying with his mother so he was in fact available for dinner and a movie. We had a nice conversation on the phone and our personalities seemed to mesh while we talked. We asked a few questions like "where do you work?" and "what do you like to drink?" and even shared a chuckle or two. I was at a disadvantage because he didn't have a picture on his profile (something that I felt very comfortable teasing him about) so he described himself as "a black man who wears glasses, a little thin on top, around 5'9 I guess, ummmmm,medium build but with a belly, ummmmm, sort of like a football pla<x>yer on the off-season, a moustache and I wear a yellow coat". In my experience with on-line dating, I was expecting a black man with coke bottle glasses, bald, 5'4, 350 lbs with a moustache and a bright yellow coat (that was probably dirty). I kept thinking that he sounded like a nice guy and it's only dinner. Two hours out of my life and if we didn't hit it off as a romantic connection, I might be meeting a friend. "OK, I'll see you at 6 o'clock"
I pulled up at the restaurant and looked at myself in my rear view mirror before leaving the car. I checked my lipstick, fluffed my hair, buttoned the top button of my long, dressy wool coat and checked my watch. I made good time. As I was getting out of the car, the thought crossed my mind, it would be great if he was a nice guy. A nice guy who was decent and cute and funny. A guy who liked me and liked who I was. Christmas was coming up and it was always a good feeling to be in a relationship during the holidays. Maybe, just maybe.
I opened the door and my eyes started to scan the bar for the fat guy in the dirty yellow coat. I didn't see him. A woman walked up to me and said "Are you Joyce?" As I opened my mouth to answer her, out of the corner of my eye I can see someone waving. That someone was a black man with beautiful chocolate brown skin, wearing nice, wire-rimmed glasses that perfectly fit a very handsome face, that stood about 5'10 or 11, medium build with a little belly (one could say like a football pla<x>yer on the off-season), a little thin on top but with slight grey at his temples that made him very distinguished looking, a nice moustache standing next to a clean, dark yellow coat that hung next to a booth in the far end of the bar. I started to walk toward him and I was so pleasantly surprised at how incredibly handsome this man was, when I got face to face to him without even thinking I threw my arms around his neck and he gave me a nice big hug as we kissed each other on the cheek and we both said "nice to meet you". Our date had begun.
Within a couple of minutes, a waitress appeared and said to me "Joyce, what kind of vodka would you like for your Cosmopolitan?" Talk about scoring points! James ordered my drink for me before I had even got there because he remembered what I said during our prior phone conversation. Then it occured to me, the hostess had spoke to me by name as did the waitress. This wasn't my usual Saturday night date experience. This was looking promising. Very promising.
So there we were, enjoying each other's company, having a nice meal, getting to know each other, really having a nice time. We were asking all kinds of questions to each other and telling stories, laughing and joking, it felt like we were the only two in the restaurant. We touched on the subject of vacations and traveling and I asked him if there was a place that he always wanted to go to. Without hesitation, he said "Cozumel, Mexico". I couldn't help but giggle at that answer. I had been on a couple of cruises to the Caribbean and Cozumel was my favorite stop. The beautiful blue water, the friendly people, the beaches, everything about that little island I adored. He had never been there but he said that he had been reading about it and it was a place that really appealed to him and he had decided that one day he wanted to visit. For a second my mind drifted and I thought of me and this handsome man being in Cozumel, holding hands, looking at that beautiful blue water...."Joyce, did you want to order dessert?" I heard him say. Back to reality and our date.
Our first date lasted for eight hours. We had dinner, then we went to the movies, then we went somewhere for coffee and pie. I really didn't want it to end but when it did, we said good night, he gave me a little peck and I went home. I could barely sleep because my mind was filled with everything we said and everything we did that night and all the fun I had with him. The next day I called him to thank him for dinner, invited him over for pizza and to watch a movie (and we had our first REAL kiss!) and we've been together ever since.
November 2002 was when our life together started and in 2003 Charles was born. Over the years we built our family and our home. We have gone through alot of ups and downs as most people do, but one constant challenge is the fact that our son was diagnosed with autism in 2005. To put it bluntly, our life is hard. The day to day struggles with his behaviors and the constant worries of his future is very weighing on our family. It often felt like we never really got a break. Autism can make it so difficult to enjoy anything. A simple trip to the store can be a nightmare so having any sort of vacation was something that seemed so far fetched and out of reach.
I found an organization that helped our family take a cruise, the vacation that we never thought we'd be able to take. Charles was well taken care of on and off the boat and we had a lot of support. The reason I picked this particular trip was because one of the stops was Cozumel, Mexico. My husband and I were both so excited about going to the place we talked about on our first date. I had told James about how blue the water was there and I just couldn't wait for him to see it. We didn't book an excursion with the cruiseline, instead we ventured out on our own to see some of the sights the island had to offer. We decided to rent an open-air Jeep for the day, got a map and filled the tank with gas. We were off!
The wind was blowing through my hair, the blue water was sparkling under the mid-day sun, the waves were crashing against the rocks on the beach, the air smelled of salt water and sea creatures and Charles was singing along with the radio in the back seat. I looked to my right and could see that beautiful blue water that I had fondly remembered from my previous trips and what I had been telling James about for years, I looked to my left and I see my handsome husband, the man that gave me all the love I never thought I'd have and then, I look behind me and there is this beautiful little boy that our love created, smiling and singing, who's happy and having the time of his life.
I recalled the brief thought I had over dinner when James and I first met. Thinking how wonderful it would be to go to Cozumel with him and hold his hand. I reached over while he was driving and squeezed his hand. He looked over at me and said "Thank you for everything. I am having a great time. I love you." and he leaned over and kissed me.
There I was in my favorite place. My Mexico. With not only the one love of my life, but the two loves of my life. My loves. A dream come true and then some.
56-60, F
