Getting Rigid With Lear

I first met him when I was only sixty-nine. I was in the pharmacy carrying a bucket when he hobbled in. He was wearing a terra cotta ribbon, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his toe, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the shoe store, I learned that his name was Lear, and that he was a sheriff. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a painter.

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