Pausing With Quinn

I first met him when I was only fifty. I was in the haberdashery carrying a pail when he cantered in. He was wearing a crimson bow tie, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his rib, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, he asked me to go to the convenience store for a glass of iced tea. I accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the convenience store, I learned that his name was Quinn, and that he was a bullfighter. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a convenience store clerk.

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