Last night, Ted and Suzi, two regulars at the pub sat down for dinner. My friends GB and K sat down with them. I squeezed into the booth beside GB.
"For 35 years..." Suzi said.
"You've been together 35 years?" I asked.
"Oh no...because this man made some very poor decisions, we were apart for 35 years." She smiled and reached for Ted's hand. He took hers and smiled back.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well, we dated for a while in the 60's. But I had a son. And he wasn't ready for all that. So he ran off with a woman who made leather clothing for rock stars," Suzi explained.
"Like Cher?" I asked Ted.
"No, like Jim Morrison," he replied.
K's eyes bulged.
"Did you know Jim Morrison?"
"I sure did."
"Wow," K and I said.
"So then what happened?" I asked.
"Well, then I got married and we lost touch."
"You married the leather woman?" I asked.
"No, another woman," He said.
"So how did you finally find each other?"
"When I got divorced, my sister asked 'whatever happened to Suzi?'"
My eyes welled up. GB shook his head and handed me a napkin.
"Meanwhile," Suzi said. "I thought I'd die never having the chance to tell him how much I loved him."
More tears.
"So then what?" K asked.
"I called her brother and asked what Suzi was doing. He said, 'She's still in LA waiting for you.' So I called her. She didn't answer, so I left a message. I told her I wasn't going to leave my number, that I'd just keep calling until I got her."
"How did you feel when you got the message?" GB asked Suzi.
"I didn't even hear the words. I just heard his voice. I couldn't believe it was his voice."
"So what happened when you finally got on the phone?" I asked.
"I told him, 'I thought I was going to die without ever getting the chance to tell you how much I love you,'" Suzi said.
"And I told her I'd always loved her too," Ted said.
I sobbed.
"I think I see a Question of the Day in here somewhere," said GB.
I nodded. How could I not ask? I'm a sucker for love. True love. Love that doesn't start out crazy and then fade. Love that doesn't pale when things aren't going well. Love that's so important that you'll go back and search for it after 35 years.
Do you know any love stories like that?
xoxo,
Suzanne
About Me
- Suzanne Casamento
- Author of Fingerprints, Choosing Tally, and All the Moments in Between. Tweet me @suzannecasamento
It would be hard to match that story, much less top it. I did recently get an email from my Highschool girlfriend. We caught up on 35 years ourselves and it was fun comparing notes on what has happened. Sorry no love story ending, just a lot of nice memories.
ReplyDeleteWow...I've been waiting table on them for all these years and never knew their story. Makes me feel selfish for not asking. That's such a wonderful story.
ReplyDeleteMy grandparents had that kind of love. They were together for 50 years and when my grandmother got M.S., my grandfather was there for here every single day for 35 years of suffering. It was a very tough life but it would have been a lot tougher without my grandfather.
Can't top that *going for Kleenex
ReplyDeleteWow! There are so many real stories out there.
ReplyDeleteI do. And I can't wait to see him again.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I just love it. Every inch of that story. The Jim Morrison cameo made my heart skip a beat.
ReplyDeleteThe only story I have is of my grandparents too. They were madly in love. Even after 9 children and 50+ years of marriage, they would sit on the couch and hold hands. You could just see the love when they looked at each other. In 2003, my grandfather started having major heart issues. He hung clung to life because he didn't want my grandmother to be alone. After a year (in which all doctors said he would never make it through) he passed away. My grandmother passed away less than 2 months later. I truly believe they just didn't want to be apart.
I feel incredibly blessed to have been part of their lives.
Wow. Nope, can't top that.
ReplyDeleteGreat, great story. Sigh. And no, I don't know any love stories like that.....that on just took the cake.
ReplyDelete