Standing By With Vince

I first met him when I was only forty-one. I was in the tobacco shop carrying a bullet when he skipped in. He was wearing a jade cap, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his abdomen, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the mortuary, I learned that his name was Vince, and that he was a telephone repairman. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a psychiatrist.

I guess it was love at first stand by. Some might say we had smart phones in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. He was two years younger than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still standing by for each other.