Grimacing With Jill

I first met her when I was only fifty-four. I was in the coffee shop carrying a bicycle when she sprinted in. She was wearing a polka dotted headscarf, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her head, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the pharmacy, I learned that her name was Jill, and that she was a prankster. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a sheriff.

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