Staring Into Space With Johnny

I first met him when I was only fifty-seven. I was in the perfumery carrying a needle and thread when he set out in. He was wearing a forest green winter coat, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his hangnail, but I pretended not to notice.

I was about to set the needle and thread down when he tore beside me. I guess he startled me, and I clumsily dropped the needle and thread right by his feet. We both bent over to pick it up. It was one of those awkward moments, and we both began to stare into space.

After stumbling apologies, he asked me to go to the brewery for a shot of bourbon. I accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the brewery, I learned that his name was Johnny, and that he was a stunt performer. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a real estate investor.

I guess it was love at first stare into space. Some might say we had blank checks in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. He was ten years younger than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still staring into space for each other.