...And Then There Was Meghan

After I separated from my first wife, and before I met the woman I would later marry, I dated some, but not much, because not terribly long after the separation/divorce, I met Meghan.

I met Meghan at the same government agency I was later to meet my wife, but the stories don't intersect... I didn't have the time, inclination, or money to play the field like that.

Meghan was a sweet girl, about 4 years younger than me... she was about 5' 4" and explosively curvaceous. A real looker.
We met, chatted a few times, and when I would see her, she would smile at me... and blush. Not being a particularly stupid man, I knew there was interest... which I returned.

We I started flirting with her to beat the band, and it wasn't long after that we started dating. We dated exclusively, and spent a lot of time together as new couples tend to do, and were having a great time... but there were some problems.

As much as I thought that I had completely worked through mu divorce, I hadn't. There were custody/visitation issues that regularly turned into battles. There was that fact that child support, which I never missed paying, even before it was court ordered, was keeping me in Jesuit-like poverty. To say that I had some hostility to get through would have been more than accurate.

Meghan had her own issues to deal with as well... she was never sure about how I felt about her, even though I regularly told her of my love. Worse, she was very unsure of herself, physically. The poor girl's self esteem was wrapped up in the fact that her mother had been a dancer in her youth, and still had a dancer's figure, as did two of her three sisters. Despite my assurances of her beauty (and I kid you not, she was a head-turner), she never quite believed it about herself, so she needed constant reassurance.

Meghan and I were together for nearly three years, and while we were pretty good together, the other stuff got in the way. It led to unhappiness, because I couldn't make her feel better about herself, no matter how I tried... and she couldn't help me get over my issues with my ex-wife. Suffice it to say, we were doomed..

Eventually, we broke up. It was really sad because we loved each other... we kept in touch from a great distance. I healed, she did , too. I got married, and so did she. I saw her downtown, once, about three years after I got married... she was beautiful. I was pleased for her when she had gotten her professional credentials as an interior designer. I was sorry for her when she divorced. I was pleased for her when I heard about her new job at the Pentagon, where she was working at redesigning one of the wings of the building. I was sick with grief on 9/11, when that damned airplane crashed into the building... the wing she was working in. I was overjoyed when I found out, two months later, that she had quit that job scant weeks before the attack. Again, I was happy for her when she met, and later married, a nice man who is making her very happy.

I hear from Meghan about once a year.

It makes me smile.

***NOTE*** It makes me smile because I am happy for her... she is a good person who would never hurt a soul. I have no romantic designs, so tsk tsk if you were thinking that.