Staring Into Space With Cassie

I first met her when I was only eighteen. I was in the nail salon carrying a button when she set out in. She was wearing a purple pair of cycling shorts, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her thyroid gland, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, I asked her to go to the Hallmark shop for a Mountain Dew. 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 Cassie, and that she was a football coach. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a sports writer.

I guess it was love at first stare into space. Some might say we had sea shells in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. She was three years younger than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still staring into space for each other.