A Love Story (she said yes)

This story ends with a beginning. It has no ending...

He was born in Paris, but grew up in California. She was born in California, but dreamed of far away places- like Paris.

He grew up on the beach, and then moved back to Paris.
She grew up in the mountains, and then went to Paris to study architecture for a year.

There they met (their social circles overlapped.) Both expats, they talked to each other about their California roots. He fell in love with her smiling eyes and her wit. She fell in love with his passionate lease on life. He met her giant brother and never forgot.

Their friendship bloomed slowly over the long winter. He told her that talking with her was like a breath of fresh air. One spring evening, he spotted her laughing with another guy. He loved her laugh! He knew he would have to act quickly to have a chance with her. He summoned the courage to ask for her number. Little did he know, the other guy was checking him out- not her and was probably a little jealous that he asked for her digits, not his.

She wrote her number on a metro ticket. It was all she could find. (He still has it!) She was surprised and glad when he called her the very next day... to ask her if he could call her soon.
She said yes- he was already head over heels! She laughed to herself thinking he was sweet. She was already falling for his adorable nervousness.

They ran into each other late the next night. She was out with her friends after-hours having just left the Latin Corner (ooh, la, la!) He ditched his friends and happily spent his cab fare on her mojito. He didn't mind the long walk home alone later that night or his friend's teasing the next morning because he'd spent his evening with her!

He called her again to ask her out on a real date. She said yes- he was ecstatic! They met in the park one afternoon between his work and her flat. They went for a walk and talked on the grass before he took her to his restaurant to cook for her. He was confident and nervous and sweet. She was suddenly shy and full of smiles.

They shared a French lemonade with two straws and the fois grashe has made with a crusty baguette and a salad. He fed her avocados he'd stuffed with tuna, crab, bay shrimp, mayo and everything else she hated. She was too timid to admit she was a picky eater, so she ate it- and loved it!! They shared his tarte de pomme for dessert and then he had to get back to work and she had to meet her friends.

(He didn't find out till years later, but she always thinks of him when she eats avocados. He was the one who taught her to love them without ever knowing it.)

Their second date was several hours later. He got off work and picked her up to take her to a mutual friend's party. They stayed out laughing all night. Her cheeks hurt and her abs were sore. As the sun was coming up, he offered to walk her home. She smiled and then she said yes- he was thrilled! He reached for her hand; she gladly held his. He loved holding her small cold hand. She adored his warm strong hand!

They reached her door. The bouncer at the club next to her flat eyed him. She grinned to show him she was happy (the bouncer always looked out for her!) Standing in the doorway downstairs, he kissed her. Butterflies fluttered all around her tummy and her heart beat hard and fast- she'd been waiting since that afternoon! He was giddy and told her she made him feel like he was in high school again!

It was an amazing first kiss. He skipped down the street on his way home. She peaked out from behind her door to watch him go, wishing he'd stay. As moonlight turned to sunlight, she exchanged knowing glances with the bouncer and then giggled as she walked up the stairs. Her phone rang. It was him. He told her he was just making sure she wasn't asleep before he was. Her heart grew wings.

That summer was their summer of love. He worked and she traveled, but they always thought of each other. He called her in Rome, she called him from Greece, and they texted each other from Egypt. They talked all the time when she went on a road trip through France, Italy, and Switzerland with the other guy. He asked her to come with him to Grenoble for a weekend. She said yes- he was elated. They ate together, got to know each other, laughed together, and her friend, the other guy, became his friend too.

They fell in love under a blue moon that summer. They went for romantic walks in the City of Love, took a trip together to the beaches in Normandy, and he even danced with her to Santana (she loves to dance!!) ...make it real, or else forget about it... he sang along. She met his family, they celebrated his birthday, and then she had to go back to California to finish her degree.

How can I ask you to come back- he mused. You don't even have to ask- she responded. He waited for her. She missed him terribly. He called her all the time, they wrote each other love letters, and she visited every chance she could. He got a better job. She graduated. He kept waiting anxiously for her to come back, and she spent the summer with her family. Then, just in time for his birthday, she moved back to Paris and in with him. To stay- he wondered. She said yes- and he was delighted!

They fell even more deeply in love as they got to know each other. They learned how to live together and how to love each other. They traveled together. He met her parents. Things were getting serious! They went to London. On Lover's Lane in Hyde Park, he got down on his knee and asked her to marry him. She said yes- he was over the moon!!


They say true love happens just once in a blue moon, so now, surrounded by the people who mean the most and who taught them to believe in true love, (that's YOU!) they're finally saying, "We DO!!"

"True love stories never have endings." - Richard Bach