Page 2 - 2017 Valentine's Day Writing Contest Winner

An Unexpected Love

Kimberly Wisener

My first marriage ended in divorce leaving me feeling like love might not be in the cards
for me. It had been a messy divorce and I was left to pick up the pieces with my two teenage
sons. I had friends and family who were consistently trying to fix me up with men but I was not
brave or eager enough to agree to any of the blind dates.

Having married at eighteen, this was the first time in my life I was truly on my own. I felt
like I was finding out who I was after nineteen years of marriage. There were days that things
would be just awful—appliances breaking at the house and many a teenage crisis.

A friend from the past called me it seemed on every single bad day. This encouragement
really helped me get through this time. Doug had gone through a divorce and was able to give
me advice about navigating this new single life. We would talk for hours about anything and
everything. He was dating and he would share the crazy things that had happened to him. He
lived four hours away so our conversations were phone conversations.

One of my coworkers wanted me to go out with her and I went. This was the same
friend who said a man was not going to parachute into my front yard and I needed to get out
there. We went to a concert in Fort Worth at Billy Bob’s. We got there a little early and were
standing in the dance area when two older men came up wanting to dance. I told my friend I
didn’t think so but she said yes. I stood on the sidelines holding both of our purses looking
ridiculous. A few minutes later a younger guy came up wanting to dance. It could have been my
son. I quickly said no but that my friend would and she did. I continued to hold our purses. He
came back and this time refused to take no for an answer. He put the purses around his neck
and pulled me out on the dance floor. It was fun! I didn’t think that I could laugh so much.
When I got back home I told my college age son that when he went out he needed to dance
with the older women. It makes them feel good. My adventure was something that Doug and I
laughed about too.

A few months past and things begin to change between Doug and I. Falling in love with
your best friend can sometimes take you by surprise. We were now spending weekends
together. He would visit and then I would visit. On one trip, a stranger gave me a bouquet of
wooden roses while Doug was busy putting things in his truck. He came back and jokingly said I
can’t leave you alone for a minute. After that weekend though, we really didn’t want to be
apart.

We got into a habit of talking early in the morning. Doug paused in the conversation one
morning and I asked him what was wrong. He said he had just given money to a homeless