Scratching With Anton

I first met him when I was only forty-nine. I was in the pub carrying a button when he sashayed in. He was wearing an olive drab raincoat, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his tongue, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, he asked me to go to the police station for a Pepto Bismol. I accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the police station, I learned that his name was Anton, and that he was an exterminator. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a kindergarten teacher.

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