Adults Yarns

Mary sat at the kitchen table, staring calmly into her quickly cooling cup of tea. It had been a few weeks since her first conversation with the very handsome gentleman at the market. He had been so pleasant, so easy to talk to and, admittedly, Mary had been surprised by her reaction to him. Since Rob had passed away, she hadn't had such an easy conversation with another man.

Mary and Rob had been together since their school years. Everyone that knew them said it was true love right from the beginning. They just seemed so compatible. Not only were they both excellent students, Mary was a beautiful, outgoing cheerleader and Rob had been the almost stereotypically handsome captain of the football team. They had experienced a very mature kind of relationship, in comparison to their peers, often foregoing the weekend parties and staying home to have dinner together by candle light. It came as a surprise to no one when that true love also walked itself down the aisle, during a candle light service some years later, and they became husband and wife.

Mary realized, in the moment, that she had absolutely no experience with adult dating. She had been with Rob for so long that she felt much like a fish out of water. When Sean, the handsome fellow from the market, had asked if he might give her a call sometime, Mary had felt a moment of panic. She truly did not know how to respond. However, after a few more minutes of conversation, she realized that she did feel comfortable in his presence. She also felt that he was someone she would enjoy getting to know better. So, she had scribbled her home number on the back of her business card and had placed it in his hand as he smiled back at her.

Now, as she sat at her kitchen table, staring across to the steaks thawing on the counter, Mary smiled to herself. It felt good to be happy inside again. She even dared to let herself wonder if it was possible, more than once in a lifetime, to find true love in candle light.