Many Aspects of Love

My name is Spencer Byron. My first wife Addy died tragically in 1991. A devotee of surprise. She was so much fun. The breadth of love is unchartered territory. Not all loves can be explained. There are many aspects of love. Today my wife's name is Amy. She knows little of this. She mended my tattered heart left by Addy. A night this week in our New England hometown in the crushing crowd leaving the show I saw a flash and a glance by Addy between moving heads and shoulders. Same exquisite, classic, good looks. Same beguiling presence of my love thirty years ago. How could it be? After the crash, in the morgue I'd sent her off to eternity with a teary kiss on her pale, sweet cheek before they took her away. There are many aspects of love. Where did Addy disappear to that night? With an old snapshot the next day, secretly I went to the hotel near the theater on a chance. To my surprise, she and her sister were staying there. Should we, could we meet? The sister answered the hotel room door. I explained that her sister had a haunting resemblance to someone I'd loved thirty years before. Then I saw her - same long thin neck, deep brown eyes, hair up in a twist, surprise in those eyes. When she first spoke, my heart leapt. The urban myth is each of us has an exact double somewhere in the world. There are many aspects of love. We talked timidly, as the sister went to make tea. She leaned forward, touched my hand and said, "Dear heart, I seem to know you somehow". My head exploded, I was filled with infatuation once again. Spinning, it took me over. How quick it was. I tried not to show it. Stumbling over rushing thoughts, I knew to withdraw, to protect myself from me. "Dear heart" was Addy's pet name for me! Startled and backing away, I left my personal card. Later, I got a handwritten note on my door. It said, "Dear heart, I met you two years ago in Brussels. Your name was Emile Ibsen. You were thirty years younger then. We made forbidden love. Should we do it again?" There are many aspects of love. Colored Pencil Illustration G.Gaul 2023