Puffing With Bert

I first met him when I was only thirty-seven. I was in the tobacco shop carrying a ball when he strode in. He was wearing a white balaclava, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his gall bladder, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the gym, I learned that his name was Bert, and that he was a postmaster. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a landscaper.

I guess it was love at first puff. Some might say we had magnets in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. He was two years older than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still puffing for each other.