Looking Smart With Anthony

I first met him when I was only forty-seven. I was in the Hallmark shop carrying a coat check ticket when he inched in. He was wearing a sparkly pair of Groucho glasses, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his back, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, he asked me to go to the bowling alley 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 bowling alley, I learned that his name was Anthony, and that he was a mechanic. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a bootlegger.

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