When Sally (I) Met Harry (Him)
I can't say I met Harry. And for all purposes of maintaining anonymity I will call him Harry. Harry was always my favorite prince anyway. Not quite as handsome as the other one but boy he sure is a firecracker. Knows exactly how to enjoy the hell out of what would otherwise be a dull and miserable life. Kinda like my prince. Had to kiss a few frogs before finding him. And no he is definitely not as handsome as the older one, but you know the saying that beauty is only skin deep?
As I was saying, I did not meet Harry. I knew him before; since we were 6. We went to the same elementary school. His mother was a teacher there and he would get away with murder because of such. He used to hang with a clique I could not stand and would often tease me and dare me to do dumb shit. I couldn't stand his ass. We both left to attend other schools after 5th grade and I never saw him again. Saw his FB profile a few times through mutual friends but had no inclination to add him as I did not really care for him. It had been years since I last saw him.
Almost twenty years later, here I was on the planning committee of one of the largest annual events in the state, booking performers for the show. In the process of booking the air travel for an artiste, I happened to come across the personal information of the artiste, his wife, and manager. I saw Harry's name and said to myself that I once knew someone by that name and immediately dismissed it as a coincidence. No, it wasn't him. How wrong I was on the day of the show. When I got backstage I saw him standing in a small group. It did not take me long before I decided to approach him.
"Excuse me. Are you so and so?"
"Yes," he smiled.
"Don't you remember me? I'm so and so from so and so."
"Yes of course!" his smile got wider.
We chit chatted a little bit and he introduced me to his artiste. We were both working. He managed his artiste while I managed the event. There was little time for talk. Towards the end he approached me where I was sitting at the rear side of the stage and happened to see my kids around me. He asked me jokingly if I killed their dad. Almost intuitively I responded:
"No, but I wish he was dead."
We both laughed and he shook his head. He told me he was about to leave and we exchanged numbers. He said he wanted to see me before he left. I said neither yes or no but I told him to call me.
Later that night I got home pretty late and I was dog tired. The Boss Man, who also happened to be working at the event, called me to talk about what transpired throughout the day. I was so exhausted I pretty much rushed him off the phone to take a shower. Once I got out the shower I realized I had a couple of texts from Harry.
"Hi Sally, it's Harry."
No response from me so minutes later he texts:
"Wake up! lol."
I informed him that I had just gotten out of the shower and was about to go to sleep. He urged me to come out and meet him for drinks at the hotel where he was staying. In between my eyelids slowly closing and opening again I told him that I definitely was not going anywhere and would prefer to meet him for breakfast in the morning. He conceded. The following morning he contacted me about 8:30. I had not even gotten out of bed yet but I woke up and made breakfast for the brats and my guests. I told him I would let him know when I was on my way which was two hours later.
So we had breakfast. We were joined by his artiste and his wife. His artiste had been on the scene for decades and dominated the conversation with talk of his career and his viewpoints in life. It was a pleasant breakfast that came to an end because they had to leave to fly back home. And guess who was taking them? The Boss Man.
He called me when he was on his way to get them. He was surprised to find that I was having breakfast with them. He asked me in astonishment how I got over there. I told him I drove with my smart ass self. SMH. I took my call in front of them and the artiste remarked that I sounded like I loved Boss Man. I laughed it off and shook my head. Damn! Was it that obvious? Sigh..
So after we said our goodbyes I left them loading into the truck and thought I wouldn't be hearing from him any time soon. Wrong. He texted as soon as he got to the airport. And again When he landed. And the day after. And the next. And every day since then. The conversations became frequent. I was a bit taken aback at how into me he seemed. I just couldn't understand it. I used to hate this dude. OK. Hate is too strong a word. But I couldn't stand him. And here it is that we were having these long conversations daily via phone, text, Skype, and whatever medium we could find. I was still undecided as to whether or not I was going to take him seriously. That changed when I saw Boss Man with that chick. By the end of that month I had literally fallen for him. The "I love you's" were constant. The conversation became more and more intimate as we learned about and yearned for each other. Then three months later he came to town for work and it was total magic. All that was pent up between us was released in a series of very steamy romps. It was a bittersweet feeling for me because that same weekend was when I saw the Boss Man with another chick, deliberately trying to avoid me. That was when I knew it was definitely over and I no longer wanted to give myself to him in that way.
And as happy as I was with Harry, I felt a growing anxiety beginning to form in the pit of my stomach once we started discussing my becoming his wife and us joining our lives. It would most likely mean my having to leave this country to be where he is and starting over with very modest means. Did I love him? Of course! You can pet a rock everyday and eventually grow to love it. But he was not just a rock, he was my rock when I hit bottom during the Boss Man saga. He was a great friend to me. He was there with me through everything I went through during my dad's passing. He's been a friend to me ever since. I will always love him for what he has been to me in the time we were together and beyond. But deep down, I knew my anxiety was nothing more than my intuition alarming me that this man, as good as he was, he was not the one for me. I would find that out right at the beginning of the end of our relationship when an unlikely suitor began to pursue me.
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