Wincing With Carol

I first met her when I was only fifty-eight. I was in the clothing store carrying a helmet when she reeled in. She was wearing a blue dunce cap, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her dignity, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, I asked her to go to the insurance agency for a gimlet. She accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the insurance agency, I learned that her name was Carol, and that she was a high school teacher. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a judge.

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