A Park Affair

We visited with his brother Ted, his wife, Alisa, and their two children. They were a happy family and I could see the two of us in the same light. I felt like I belonged and it made me incredibly happy to be fully accepted.

Two months later, I moved out of Clara's apartment and into my own. I received a promotion at work and Robb had been very proud of my achievement. It was the small things he noticed and appreciated about me that drew us closer. He knew my likes and dislikes, the small gifts he gave me showed me he did. We went out with our friends and he teased me, whispering into my ear I was the smartest and sexiest woman there. He delighted in me and I found I delighted in him.

He proposed one evening as we walked in the park where we had first met. I cried with joy, not able to stop myself. He took me into his arms and held me until I stopped. We had come full circle. We never spoke of that first day and night together. There was no need, we both knew what we had now wouldn't be if he hadn't been there for me. I would have been a grim statistic, nothing more.

My ex had thought I was having an affair with a man in the park. He had been wrong about that until the day I found him with that woman in our own home. It was ironic, my desire to punish my ex for his sinful acts led to my own sins. Though I never once considered it a sin in my own mind. It was his belief system that brought me to a place where I rejected religion altogether as a meaningful part of my life. No God, no sin. It was that simple for me.

Robb and I were married in a small ceremony with our immediate family and close friends two months later, and moved into a home suitable for a small family. We both had saved most of our earnings and were comfortable right from the start. Two years after we married I was pregnant. I had never seen Robb smile more than when I told him we were expecting.

On our third visit with the doctor he was very excited when the doctor revealed we were going to have twins. He teased me that I had found another way to cut expenses by having two at one time. My god how I loved that man.

He was with me in the operating room holding my hand when Tina and Evan entered the world. I was tired after a long labor. After I delivered I gave him a weary smile as he caressed my hand. Later, when I was in my hospital room and alone he looked at me as he held my hand, caressing it ever so gently.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

I looked at him puzzled. "For what?"

"For being my wife and the mother of my children. I love you."

I felt tears roll down my cheeks. He was there to wipe them away, even though they were tears of joy.

***

Fifteen years later Tina was helping me in the kitchen to bake a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. Evan was in the backyard playing catch with his father.

"Mom, how did you and dad meet? Was it romantic?"

The question stunned me, I hadn't expected it. Memories flashed through my mind. Memories I had pushed far away long ago.

I finally looked at her with a smile. "Your father found me in the park after almost hitting me with a baseball, your cousin Ted was there. We seemed to hit it off after that."

"So, it wasn't romantic?"

I gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "Not quite, the romance came later."

I pretended to have gotten something in my eye and dabbed away a tear. Yes, the romance did come later- as an affair of the heart that started in a park.