Sometime in late November or early December of 2008 I was introduced to a friend of a friend in hopes that we would like each other and hit it off. I think he and I spoke maybe two times before it was clear to me that he was not interested. Honestly the feelings were mutual, but I was still trying to give him the benefit of doubt because it had been only a short period of time. I guess he had the bright idea of feeling like I would be a better fit for a friend of his, therefore he introduced the two of us. I don't quite remember our exact first interaction but some way somehow, we seemed to hit it off, because he asked me on a date shortly after. We went on the date and seemed to have a good time, if I'm not mistaken, we went to a movie, and he took me to this little burger shack right beside a club. (My Mississippi people know exactly where I'm talking about.) When I tell you all that this was one of THE BEST burgers i had ever had, i am not lying to you! I didn't need a fancy restaurant that night, that was perfect for me. so, after getting our food, we went on back to my home to eat and talk and end the night. We ended the night with a hug and a peck, he was very much a gentleman so far.
At this time, although I was a young adult with a child, i still lived at home with my mom for various reasons, and anyone who knew my mom knew she was very strict. After this date i was still excited so I sat down to tell my mom all about it after i put my son to bed. After giving her all the details that i wanted to share, she turned out to know the guy and know of the burger shack we had gone to. She knew the owners of the shack; she knew the man I went out with, and she knew his mama and family. Well, none of that surprised me because Clarksdale being such a small town and my mom being a retired teacher, I knew she knew a lot of people. What shook me was that I also knew his mom and siblings, turns out we all had attended the same church as children. ha! sat on the same pews sometimes. i guess the saying "it's a small world" was really true in this case. However, none of this changed anything, it actually made things a little better. My mom liked his mom and was willing to give him a chance, apparently, he liked me because after that night we began to see more of each other.
Before I knew it and right before my eyes we went from strangers to lovers. Although he was 10 years older than me, had more children, and I later learned was in the process of a divorce from his first wife that he had been separated from for a great deal of years. This was the first and only man that I had actually "dated" even being a single parent of one, the father of my son and I had never "dated" we just had my son for the lack of better ways to put it. There was also a huge age gap between the two of us and because I met him while I was still in high school, my mother was not too fond of the way we met and our age differences, therefore they never really "made nice" with each other. well since I was older and this new man was someone who knew about, after a couple of meetings and conversations, she came ot the conclusion that he was a nice guy and didn't mind the two of us dating. This was also the first man I had allowed to be around my son and have interactions with him. He was a great role model to him although he was about 3 or 4 at the time. He would take us to and from t-ball practice, sometimes go get pizza after practice or a game and sometimes even would go to the park just to allow him time to play and enjoy himself. I met his children, he met mine, my mom like him, his mom liked me, in my mind we were the perfect little family and I loved every second of!
Not only was this man good with my son and could hold a respectable and adult conversation with my mother, he had not only gained my love, but also my trust and respect. He had been patient with me in ways others may or may not have. He had accepted my "shortcomings" and things that I couldn't do at the time. As I stated earlier, I was an adult, but I still lived at home with my mother, and alone with that came some of those "under my roof, follow my rules" deal. There were things that just was not going to go on in her house and he and I both had to respect that. There were no such things as sleepovers, so even after a full day of work for him, then doing whatever we had planned for the day, then relaxing for a movie, no matter how tired he may have been, he had to get up and get home. Also, at the time i did not have a vehicle, so all the driving had to be done by him, I'm sure that was not always fun or convenient for him, but he made it work. I also had a child younger than his so therefore I had to sometimes make sacrifices and put my child first to make sure all his needs were met before I could enjoy some time with my mate. However, whatever came up, he and I together for a while made it work. We could get our way through anything, so I thought. This was my first real "boyfriend" and I was loving every minute of being with him.
But I guess "all good things come to an end" especially when that person is not your person! In my next writing I will share how my fairytale turned into a nightmare.
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