Curtseying With Doralene

I first met her when I was only fifty-six. I was in the burger joint carrying a bicycle when she ambled in. She was wearing a khaki pair of safety glasses, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her knuckle, but I pretended not to notice.

I was about to set the bicycle down when she slithered beside me. I guess she startled me, and I clumsily dropped the bicycle right by her feet. We both bent over to pick it up. It was one of those awkward moments, and we both began to curtsey.

After stumbling apologies, I asked her to go to the Hallmark shop for a glass of Kool-Aid. She accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the Hallmark shop, I learned that her name was Doralene, and that she was a dry cleaner operator. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a folk singer.

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