I
In the movies, it’s epic when
two people figure out they’re
made for each other. There’s
usually an airport gate involved,
or a sudden downpour,
or maybe a passionate
monologue, music swelling
in the background. But in real
life? C’mon.
There’s no script. The
moment can be as subtle as
a glance across a room or as
frenzied as a cow chase in a
cornfield. (Read on.) These five
stories of sudden revelation
underscore what really matters.
They just might help you
recognise that magic moment –
and seize it.
WHEN SHE KICKED MY BUTT
FOR GOOD
When I was 13, I found an
incredibly steep 500m grass
hill in a neighbourhood. It was
called, simply, “the hill.” For 11
years, it was the source of my
speed and conditioning workout.
I’d spend an hour sprinting up
the hill and jogging down it.
I always struggled to get
people to run with me. Only
three ever did – and Mary was
one. She was cute, petite... and
tough: She’d made it to the
National Rugby Championship
Tournament.
At the base of the hill that
day, I assumed I’d crush her. We
accelerated into the first sprint.
She stayed close and we jogged
back down. Same thing the next
round and the one after that.
She was a champ while I was
dying. We did 15 rounds, but for
the first time, I didn’t want to
quit.– JoshuaWHEN SHE COMFORTED MY
FATHER
On July 14, 2006, I took the
witness stand in a hearing room
in a courtroom. Three teenagers
were on trial for 13 kidnappings
and robberies, and I was among
their victims. As I looked out, I
caught sight of my father and my
girlfriend, Kathy. It was only the
second time they’d met.
While I was on the stand,
my kidnappers snickered. I
eventually stepped down and
back into the rest of my life. Over
the next nine months, all three
pleaded guilty.
Later on, my dad told me a
story. It was about a 20-year-old
woman in a courtroom who
quietly, without eye contact,
took the worn left hand of a
man she barely knew, held it and
squeezed. It was about a woman
who calmed him when the
boys who’d kidnapped his boy
laughed. That’s when I knew.
–BradWHEN SHE PUT HER LEGS UP
IN THE AIR
Erin is naked, she is in bed, and
we have just made love. Her
face is flushed. But her body
position is less conventional,
which perhaps partly explains
the redness. Her legs and
torso are high in the air. Anyone
who has ever tried to get a
woman pregnant knows this
position – it’s a gravity assist for
the swimmers.I’d spent the previous couple
of years trying to figure out
if Erin truly wanted to get
pregnant. She was in graduate
school and working on her first
novel. A child wasn’t the only
thing she wanted, or even the
first thing.
But seeing her lovely body
in that curious position left no
doubt that some part of her
yearned for motherhood. Two
days later, I proposed. Later that
week, she announced that she
was pregnant with our first child.- Steve
WHEN SHE SHOWED UP TO
BAIL ME OUT
We’d been married for three
months, so, yes, I’d already
decided she was the one. But
some of us don’t know with
certainty until that first trial
presents itself.
Ours came one night in 1996
after a concert. My buddy
drunkenly suggested we streak
back to our downtown hotel. Ihanded my clothes to my new
bride, and my friends and I
busted cheeks down the street.
When my wife got to our
hotel, she found me standing
near its entrance, bathed in
flashing lights, wearing only
handcuffs. Someone had
apparently taken offense and
called the cops.
My wife was not amused. But
the next morning, there she was
with bail. And what I’ll remember
is this: She didn’t harangue
or bitch or give me the silent
treatment. She just shook her
head and gave me a hug. I knew
right then that we’d make it.
That being my third arrest, I
thought it best to leave behind
my “life of crime.” She was – and
still is – worth it. – TimothyWHEN SHE HELPED PUT
LUCKY DOWN
When our friends set me and
Diana up on a blind date, they
figured we’d bond because of
our pets. They were right. We’d
take my elderly husky, Lucky, and
her rambunctious chocolate Lab,
Dylan, to the park, the beach or
each other’s apartments.
A year passed. The
relationship had substance in an
easy-going sort of way. Then,
boom: It wasn’t easy. Our dogs
were sick – Lucky with hip
problems, Dylan with lymphoma.
The truth is, it sucked. The
truth is also that it showed me
I had stumbled onto a partner
with a big heart. Diana was
there as we shoved pills down
Lucky’s throat and carried him
outside to pee. She was there
during his final hours, holding his
paw and my hand as the vet
ended his misery.
Any doubts I’d had about
who would be the mother of my
children left. Nine months later,
as I stood beside Diana while
Dylan’s battle with cancer
ended, we were already married.- Peter
When our
friends set me
and Diana up
on a blind date,
they figured
we’d bond
because of our
pets. They
were right.
JUNE 2017 25