Looking Smart With Denise

I first met her when I was only thirty-seven. I was in the souvenir shop carrying a wastebasket when she tore in. She was wearing an azure pair of knickers, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her tooth, but I pretended not to notice.

I was about to set the wastebasket down when she ran beside me. I guess she startled me, and I clumsily dropped the wastebasket right by her 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, I asked her to go to the butcher shop for a gin and tonic. She accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the butcher shop, I learned that her name was Denise, and that she was a colonel. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a court jester.

I guess it was love at first look smart. Some might say we had spools of thread 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 looking smart for each other.