An Anniversay

of sorts

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In the spring of 1978, around the time I graduated from high school, I met my future wife. We were both working at the TG&Y store off 76^th Street North in Owasso, Oklahoma. I had been working there for several years and managed to become one of the highest-paid hourly employees; going from my starting wage of $2.00 an hour to almost $4.00 an hour over the four years of my employment there. I had been out on a couple of dates, but never had a serious girlfriend. I liked the girls and all, but I wasn’t exactly a ladies' man.

Monica had been hired and went to work in what they called the “front office,” which was more of what we would call a giant kiosk type of area at the front of the store where they answered the phone, took layaway payments, and dealt with returns and such things as that. For some reason, which is still a mystery, she took a liking to me. I only became aware of it because another girl who worked in the store told me, “Monica likes you.”

Well, that was good information, but information this shy young boy was not skilled in taking advantage of. Monica, not one to take my reluctance lying down, decided to step up her game. One evening she announced over the store intercom system that my presence was needed at the front office. I dutifully made my way up there and when I arrived she held out her trembling hand and showed me that she had somehow put a staple into her finger. She wanted me to pull it out.

When I took her hand in mind, well…

I became, as it were, Androcles to my beloved lioness.

We went on our first date shortly after. That was in August – thus, this past week was the anniversary of our first date. A little over a year later we were married.

That was one magic staple.

Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash