My Greatest Adventure

MY GREATEST ADVENTURE The greatest adventure of my lifetime took place in a quaint little town on the East Coast --- a town whose name I can't remember. Oh, but the girl, I will never forget. I met her in a tavern where they serve peanuts at the bar, cold beer in frosted mugs, and a juke box with songs from the sixties. The only vacant stool happened to be next to her. Without asking, I sat down next to her and ordered a mixture of half orange juice and half 7-Up and informed the bartender that when I wanted a refill, I would ask for an OJ-7. (No slam to your integrity but drinks with 7 in the name includes Seagram's 7, which is alcoholic, and I don't drink) He nodded and fixed what I asked for. I was not really in the mood for small talk, but the young lady said to me, with a quizzical look on her face, "The drink you just ordered sounds interesting. Is there a particular reason for it?" I told her that I am a recovering alcoholic and cannot tolerate anything with alcohol in it. She replied, "I too am a recovering alcoholic. I am drinking milk with a small amount of vanilla flavoring and a spoonful of sugar." Oh, yeah, a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. She laughed and said, "Mary Poppins --- right?" Yes, I said to her. Then came the BIG question. "Are you married?" I said, no, I am actually single at the time and have no plans otherwise. To which she replied, "Do you have anything against marriage?" No, but I am doing fine on my own. "Well, okay then." I asked her if she were married and she said, "Not any more. He passed away four years ago and I just never sought a relationship with anyone since that time." My question (in my mind) was, where is this going? So, I asked her, since after all this time, are you ready for a relationship? "Funny you should ask?" she said. What makes it funny, I asked. She told me, I have not been out alone since that time and you are the first man who didn't come on to me as is the normal reaction when a woman is seen alone at the local pub. My response was, You are an attractive lady and I have great respect for a lady who doesn't flaunt herself as if seeking to be drawn into conversation. Well, as the evening wore on, we moved to a vacant table for two and continued to talk about lots of things. In case you are one of those people who is leery about love at first sight, ask my five children and my 12 grandchildren and my 3 great grandchildren just how happy Grandpa and Grandma are. Yes, that was more than 69 years ago and on the 3rd day of next month, that young lady and I will celebrate our 70th anniversary. Life can be wonderful and my life has been just that way since I sat down on that bar stool in the quaint little town whose name I can't remember, and ordered an OJ-7 and got into a conversation with a lady drinking milk, laced with vanilla flavoring and a spoonful of sugar. 3 October 2018 For the contest sponsored by Dear Heart Fictional Writing Challenge 2018