Chapter 1: Prelude to a Kiss
Once upon a time there was a very lonely boy.
“I’ll never get married.” he complained to everyone, including the girl’s parents. You see, he knew the girl’s parents very well, but did not know the girl. He had only heard about the girl, and thought she must be very nice indeed with such a nice family. But the girl was off at college, and he was back at home teaching in a small school.
Christmastime came, and the boy found out that the girl was coming home! Oh joyous day! Now he could finally meet the girl that he had heard so much about! He scratched his head and tried to think of an excuse to see the girl. He didn’t want to frighten her, but he did want to be friends with her.
At Christmastime, everyone gives gifts. The girl was getting a guitar from her parents, so the boy decided to make a book of songs that she could play with her new guitar. He put together the book with a nice folder and brought it to her house on Christmas break. He even taught her a special way to play a ‘C’ chord. The boy was very happy.
But when the boy went home, his mother told him news that made him sad. She said that the girl’s mother had called on the phone and told her that the girl liked someone else.
“I’ll never get married.” he complained to everyone, including the girl’s parents.
The girl went back to school and winter settled in. It was cold and the boy was lonely. But the boy found a way to talk to the girl over the computer – just as friends, of course. He was lonely less and less. They talked almost every day and became friends. One day, the boy tried to let the girl hear his voice on the computer, but it was broken. So he typed her this message: “I could call?”
The boy and girl began to talk on the phone and before long they were very good friends. They talked about food and family, school and church, smelly things and happy things. Everything they thought of they talked about. She made him laugh and smile at the same time, and almost every day they found something they agreed about.
Then one day the boy went on a trip, and his trip took him near the girl’s college. Maybe he could see her! He thought and thought and thought and finally got up enough courage to ask her: “Would you go to dinner with me?”
To his surprise, the girl said yes! They went to the big city and walked around. They went to old stores with lamps and mirrors and statues. They even went to a special restaurant where they didn’t have a menu and the waiter poured water on their hands. By the end of the night, both the boy and the girl had big smiles on their faces.
The boy knew then that he liked the girl. So he asked the girl’s parents if he could date her, because he liked her so very much. And they said yes. So he visited her at college and asked her: “Would you be my girlfriend?”
She again said yes! They drove many hours back and forth to see each other and spent their days going to the park, walking in the woods, playing the guitar, skipping stones and eating sandwich cookies. Then summer arrived and the girl came home from college.
Each and every day they spent time together. They played volleyball in the rain and watched goldfish swim in the pond. They stayed up late swinging on the front porch swing and talking about what life together would be like. When he was sick, she took care of him. When she was tired or had a long day at work, he gave her a hug and let her talk about it. There was not one day that they did not spend time with each other.
Then one day, the boy had a big thought. “We should get married.”
