Waiting With Elmer

I first met him when I was only thirty-three. I was in the barbershop carrying a potato when he dashed in. He was wearing an aqua sweater, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his elbow, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the dry cleaner, I learned that his name was Elmer, and that he was an Egyptologist. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a cook.

I guess it was love at first wait. Some might say we had brochures 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 waiting for each other.