Relaxing With Garrett

I first met him when I was only fifty-eight. I was in the jewelry store carrying a calculator when he bolted in. He was wearing a khaki robe, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his toe, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, he asked me to go to the office supply store for a hot buttered rum. I accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the office supply store, I learned that his name was Garrett, and that he was a staff sergeant in the German Scouts. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a rodeo cowboy.

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