Applauding With Nan

I first met her when I was only forty-five. I was in the sandwich shop carrying a contract when she tore in. She was wearing a brilliant orange kimono, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her hoof, but I pretended not to notice.

I was about to set the contract down when she trekked beside me. I guess she startled me, and I clumsily dropped the contract right by her feet. We both bent over to pick it up. It was one of those awkward moments, and we both began to applaud.

After stumbling apologies, I asked her to go to the candy store for a soda. She accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the candy store, I learned that her name was Nan, and that she was a valet. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a sports writer.

I guess it was love at first applaud. Some might say we had cookbooks in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. She was twelve years older than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still applauding for each other.