Love At First Sight

I enter the room breathlessly, Somehow anticipating that tonight will change everything. I sit quietly among strangers lost in their own worlds. Cell phones buzzing, coffee steaming. We all glance at watches, Even some that aren't wearing any. The air is electric as everyone is keenly aware That tonight has the power to change the world. I know that my love has not arrived yet, Although I have never met or talked to him before. A tired looking woman beckons me from the back room And robotically I answer her call. And in another room full of people and chaos, I immediately see HIM. He is perfect, though not at all what I expected. Our eyes lock briefly, I smile and wave. I'm wishing I had a mirror and had taken the time to "freshen up." Other women in the room are as obsessed with him as I am. I grab the barrette from my hair, And like every ingenue I've ever seen on TV, I shake loose my curls coquettishly. I think I have caught his eye, but suddenly his entourage rushes him from the room. My heart slows a bit and I feel the color draining from my face. Someone is holding my arm, sensing my weakness. "He'll be back in a minute, why don't you sit down?" I sit and for the first time, I notice HER. Glowing, happy, giggling . . . the center of everyone's attention. And the game just became REAL! For it is she who stole my last love. We make small talk, pretending no animosity exists. Until a door opens, and HE is back. New clothes, blue to match his eyes, And I can't keep a little gasp from escaping my lips. Of course, he flies right into the arms of my nemesis. I move in, touching his arm, briefly holding his hand. Even brazenly stroking his dark curls when SHE looks away. And I see him respond -- glances in my direction, guarded smiles. I am lost in a world where only he and I exist. The room and everyone in it disappears and the two of us are floating away. Without warning, I realize she must have seen our exchange. And the room and everyone in it comes back into focus. I look at my nemesis. She looks back at me. "Would you like to hold him?" she says, seemingly without guile. I cannot help myself. "YES!" I say, a little too quickly and loudly. Unselfishly, my daughter-in-law gives him up. At last, my newborn grandson and I can start our love story. 7/14/2015