Purring With Walter

I first met him when I was only forty-nine. I was in the office supply store carrying an amulet when he hobbled in. He was wearing a navy blue bra, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated his vein, but I pretended not to notice.

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

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

At the bowling alley, I learned that his name was Walter, and that he was an electrical engineer. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a percussionist.

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