Laughing With Rufus

I first met him when I was only sixty. I was in the deli carrying a broom when he waddled in. He was wearing an emerald green pair of overalls, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his eyeball, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the art gallery, I learned that his name was Rufus, and that he was an Internet celebrity. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a historian.

I guess it was love at first laugh. Some might say we had brochures 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 laughing for each other.