Flinching With Michael

I first met him when I was only fifty-one. I was in the restaurant carrying a magnet when he blundered in. He was wearing a mauve poncho, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his ear, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, he asked me to go to the laboratory for a dose of cod liver oil. I accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the laboratory, I learned that his name was Michael, and that he was an undertaker. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a yoga instructor.

I guess it was love at first flinch. Some might say we had fossils 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 flinching for each other.