This piece first appeared in the March 2010 edition of the Story Circle Journal. It has been revised slightly since then and I thought it would make a good post for Valentine’s Day. I hope you like it.
We had enjoyed our meal in one of the a-la-carte restaurants and, although it was a bit surreal to have had a steak dinner at a resort in the Mayan Riviera, we left the restaurant feeling satisfied having enjoyed a good meal and good conversation together.
Gerry took my hand and the warm evening air caressed my bare shoulders as we walked along the tiled pathway and cut through the open eating area where we had enjoyed lunch a few hours earlier. A few people sat at the bar having an after-dinner drink and part of the area was roped off. There was a wedding party going on! I couldn’t resist taking a peek at the celebration as we walked by, and I saw a happy crowd doing the motions to the song Y-M-C-A as performed by a Mexican band. Gerry and glanced at each other and smiled. Who could help but get caught up in the fun and romance of a wedding party?
We stepped down from the tiled floor and entered the main pool area where subdued lighting cast a soft glow around the perimeter of the pool and we couldn’t resist the urge to raise our arms above our heads as the chorus started again.
“It’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A!”
We bopped along keeping time with the music and moving our arms to form the letters as we sang along. When the song ended we continued our leisurely stroll hand-in-hand alongside the swimming pool and heading toward the beach where there was a small hut between the pool and the beach. For the past few nights we had enjoyed picking up a small glass of an after-dinner liqueur and sipping it on the beach listening to the waves and gazed at the stars that were so much brighter here than we had ever seen them at home.
Before we got to the end of the pool area we heard the wedding band begin to play slow song and we spontaneously turned toward one another. Gerry embraced me and we began to waltz along beside the pool – just the two of us caught up in our own private world.
We had found each other later in life, both battle-scarred and slightly hesitant about starting over again. Nevertheless we took a chance, threw caution to the wind, followed our hearts and married. He made me laugh again; he awakened dreams that had long since been forgotten; our different personalities complemented each other as we began a new chapter in our lives together.
And on this exceptional night he held me in his arms and we danced. We just danced.
