Kismet

A woman was doing 90 on a country road, when a cop pulled her over and said, "Young lady, I've been waiting for you all day."
"I'm sorry, Officer," she said. "I got here as fast as I could."

At the beginning of the summer, I visited an old coworker who retired last year. She lives in a luxurious lakefront apartment with her husband who is also retired. Over dinner, they recounted the full unabridged story of their romance:

When they were young, Orrin's mother married Gwen's uncle. Since they were around the same age, they were very close growing up. Gwen fielded Orrin's girlfriends and Orrin introduced Gwen to her first husband - one of his fraternity brothers. They fell out of touch with one another sometime after college, when their lives and careers pulled them to opposite ends of the country.

Life went on: marriages, divorces, kids... Several years later, Gwen contacted Orrin to invite him to her mother's 86th birthday celebration. Orrin wasn't able to attend the gathering, but they kept in touch from that point on. This time, their friendship evolved into a passionate love affair and they married in 2004.

Gwen and Orrin's story struck a chord in my cold little technoheart. They met each other at a young age, spent their lives as friends, and fell in love in the latter part of their lifetime. I cannot think of a more powerful example of true love.

I believe in "The One." I believe that one person in this world exists solely for me. I don't believe that everyone finds their "one," or even that those who do stay with that person forever, but I do believe that such a person exists and that they will make me exuberantly happy for as long as they are a part of my life. Sometimes, in my darkest and loneliest moments, I think of my "one." Whoever he is, I know that he's out there; I hope he knows that I'm out there too.

I like to believe that we're both on our way, running toward that moment where our lives converge. We're running as fast as we can... and when we collide, it'll be kismet.

The College Experience

I met Marc when I was in high school during a brief stint in retail over the winter break. He worked in a different department than I did, but we saw each other often enough to strike up a friendship. Marc was a big flirt and he always had a bevy of ladies at his side, ready to laugh at his jokes and shower him with their affections. Marc and I flirted all the time and though I really liked him, our relationship never went beyond innocent flirting. After the Christmas holiday, new schedules meant little to no interaction between us. Marc and I fell out of touch completely after I quit in March.

Fast forward a couple years, and I was a few weeks into my first quarter as a college freshman. As luck would have it, I bumped into Marc one night on my way home. He instantly recognized me and we exchanged numbers before parting ways. I soon learned that Marc was a junior at the same university and we used this newly discovered proximity to see more of each other. We hung out mostly around campus - a lunch here and there, a couple school functions, and even a few parties. Marc was the typical college guy: playful, easygoing, and non-comittal.