Flinching With Debbie

I first met her when I was only forty-seven. I was in the office supply store carrying a pipe when she leapt in. She was wearing a magenta mask, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her nose, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the antique store, I learned that her name was Debbie, and that she was a restaurant owner. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as an entertainer.

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