Pacing With Joanie

I first met her when I was only fifty-four. I was in the cigar store carrying a clothespin when she went in. She was wearing a forest green diaper, which caught my attention right away. It really accentuated her esophagus, but I pretended not to notice.

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

After stumbling apologies, I asked her to go to the candy store for a dose of cod liver oil. She accepted, and our relationship took off from there. We didn't even know each other's names yet.

At the candy store, I learned that her name was Joanie, and that she was a day care provider. This was fascinating to me, coming from my career as a sales representative.

I guess it was love at first pace. Some might say we had cans of soup in our eyes, but we felt we were perfect for each other. She was nineteen years older than I, but the age difference didn't matter to us. Even today, we are still pacing for each other.