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Inside Looking Out: What could have been

The following story is based upon a TV commercial from years ago.

They were walking toward each other on a crowded sidewalk. Suddenly, his shoulder bumped into her shoulder.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” he said.

“It’s okay,” she replied. “I was at fault, too.”

They stood on the sidewalk, their eyes locked together for what seemed like an hour.

“And who is this person I nearly shoulder blocked to the sidewalk?” he asked.

“I’m Anastasia, but everyone calls me Ana.”

“Anastasia is a beautiful name,” he said, “as beautiful as your blue eyes.” He wished he hadn’t said that, coming onto her too strong, he thought.

“And who may you be?” she asked with a smile that lit up his entire being.

“I’m John. It’s a pleasure to bump into you.”

She laughed. They chatted about the weather and where each was heading, but then the small talk left an awkward silence between them.

“I have to go,” she said, “It was so nice to meet you, John.”

He could not let this opportunity get away. Upon his request, she gave him her phone number and two days later they met for coffee at a local café. One date led to another and to another. The magnetic attraction became stronger.

They held hands wherever they walked. They went to baseball games together, watched scary movies until midnight. They played cards on rainy afternoons, strolled the beach on October evenings. All this and more until their conversations centered around preserving their love forever.

On a frigid Christmas morning with the tree lights sparkling behind him, he bent down to his knees and flashed a diamond ring before those beautiful blues that had captured his heart when they had first met. They were married before friends and family on a perfect day in June.

With their careers intact, and a home purchased, John Junior was born a year later and Bella Rose came into their world 15 months after JJ. To keep their love alive, John and Ana kept a date jar on the kitchen counter in which they put all loose change along with a some extra dollar bills. Once a month, they took the date jar money, hired a babysitter, and treated themselves to a romantic dinner and a concert. The only rule they agreed upon during their date was that there would be no talk of kids, no talk of jobs, and no use of cellphones.

That rule was difficult to keep, but they managed to find new things to say to each other on their nights out and for the next 35 years while they raised two wonderful children. When facing their trials and tribulations, they never let go of each other’s hands and they never let go of each other’s hearts.

Upon their 40th wedding anniversary, John Junior and Bella Rose threw them a surprise party at their favorite restaurant that overlooked the beach they had walked every October since their courtship had begun so long ago. At a planned part of the evening, Bella stood up and asked for everyone’s attention.

“Tonight, we celebrate the love between my father, John and my mother, Anastasia. My brother and I are blessed to honor the best parents we could have ever wanted. Their love is given in everything they do for us, but their love for each other is even more magnificent. What man surprises his wife with a bouquet of flowers that he brings home after work on a Monday night? What woman surprises her husband with a candlelight dinner while JJ and I were at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a few hours? And you might think that with the hustle and bustle we all go through every day, that Mom had given up on these romantic dinners a long time ago. Well, that’s not so. I called her last Tuesday and asked her what she was doing and she said, ‘Candle lights and shrimp scampi tonight.’”

“Mom and Dad are real examples of the power of love and that there are no bad days in life when you love someone who loves you back. They have been beautiful inspirations for my marriage with Jeff and JJ’s marriage to Shelby. And with our own children, just like Mom and Dad did with us, we are teaching them to be kind to everyone, to say please and say thank you, and that it’s OK to cry when you see someone else who is sad. We are all about paying it forward and we do that because of our love for two beautiful people whom we have come here to honor tonight.”

But wait a minute.

There was never anyone to honor that night. John and Anastasia’s legacy of love was never paid forward. He never asked for her phone number. They didn’t go on a single date. There was no diamond engagement ring. No marriage. No date jar. No Monday flowers. No candlelight dinners. Bella Rose never gave a speech at a 40th anniversary party that was never planned. She and John Junior were never born.

Here’s what really happened.

He was walking quickly and her eyes were frozen to her cellphone. He was texting his friend while he was walking toward her. Suddenly his shoulder bumped into her shoulder. Just for a moment, they glanced at each other. Her phone made a sound that another text was coming. She lowered her face to the screen and then continued to walk on her way. He looked down at his phone to pretend her beautiful blue eyes didn’t matter, but they really did. By the time he looked behind him, she had turned the corner and disappeared forever.

Email Rich Strack at richiesadie11@gmail.com.