Clearing Out With Eileen

I first met her when I was only twenty. I was in the Hallmark shop carrying a pigeon when she sailed in. She was wearing a red overcoat, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her eyeball, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, I asked her to go to the ice cream parlor for an old fashioned. She accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the ice cream parlor, I learned that her name was Eileen, and that she was a nomadic sheepherder. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a priest.

I guess it was love at first clear out. Some might say we had towels in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. She was seventeen years younger than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still clearing out for each other.