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22 april 2002

downtown, car's eye view

love story

I got to chat with a friend in Asheville last week. I hadn't seen him in about six months, so there was a bit of catching up to do. After many years of marriage, he and his wife had grown apart as people do. The divorce is now final. Life has continued.

When everything had settled down, he re-established contact with his first-grade sweetheart. This was a serious sweetie. Four years. Sadly, fifth grade brought the end of the affair. Cause you know, people change. Fifth grade is tough like that.

And now, they're in love again.

Both are determined not to graduate from this affair.

As my friend spoke, he scrunched his eyebrows together. "One day, when I was in the first grade, I decided to do something romantic. So I had an empty orange juice can. I went out and picked some peonies, and put them inside the can. Around the stems of the flowers, I placed a little ring I'd gotten, one with a red stone. She was so excited, and remembered it for years afterward. When we began getting to know one another again, she confessed that every time she saw peonies, she'd think of that orange juice can...and me."

"Hey, I was a romantic kid."

He continued to tell me how they finally ended up together this time. Both of their children are grown now, so everything aligned nicely for her to move down to Asheville. They got a house together. They have a garden.

One day in December, he decided to make some phone calls. He needed two things, and pronto. But Asheville is a small city, you know, and it can sometimes be tough to get just what you need. One of the proprieters might be able to special order the first thing, but it was going to cost him.

My friend was okay with that. Just get me this thing.

He made another phone call to an artist, for the other thing. No problem. It would be ready in a week.

Some time passes.

Three weeks after my friend starts making all these calls, he hits pay dirt. The first thing has arrived from overseas, and he can pick it up today. Which was good, because he and his sweetie were due to fly out of town that week. The artist made good on her promise. It took awhile, but eventually things do make their way to Asheville. You just need to be persistent, and patient.

My friend makes one final phone call, to his sweetie. "Hey, Honey, I've had such a day. Let's just throw some salmon steaks on the grill, and have a nice, quiet dinner. How's that sound to you?"

Pretty darn good, as it turned out.

So they made dinner. It was nice.

A couple of days passed, and they were waiting to board their plane at the airport. An older fellow stopped them. Actually, several people had stopped them, but this guy was the most insistent. His eyes looked as though they might pop out of his head.

"Where on EARTH did you find peonies this time of year?!?

My friend said, "the Netherlands." His sweetie showed the fellow her new ring, a simple but beautiful gold ring with a red garnet cut into the shape of a heart. They told him how everything came to be, including the orange juice can.

And the question.

And her answer.