Like many kids, I come from a
dysfunctional family. Unfortunately, my family is a tad bit more dysfunctional
than other families. But since this is a Christmas story, I’ll save the tales
of horror for Halloween. J
I did have a ray of light in my life,
though. I had wonderful grandparents and an Uncle and Aunt who were wonderful
role models. Still, many years sitting at my cousins’ Christmases, made me long
for the family I never had.
So the weekend before Thanksgiving it
wasn’t unusual for me to start feeling depressed. I was twenty-two, I’d been
living on my own and dating the wrong men since I was seventeen, and my
prospects weren’t looking good that I’d ever find my happily ever after. I’d
prayed to God more nights than I could remember for Him to rescue me from the
road I was travelling.
And then, a funny thing happened. My
roommate wanted me to go out partying on Saturday night. I’d refused
repeatedly. I had a final on Monday, and if I didn’t pull my grade up, I’d get
kicked out of college. Needless to say, I crumbled under peer pressure and her
comment that I might meet “Mr. Right.” Humph! At a bar? I don’t think so.
Well, we weren’t in the club two
minutes when my friend ditched me—a regular occurrence. But as I’m standing in
the doorway of the lounge, deciding whether to take my car and leave her, a man
walks up. A man I’d met a couple of times since he was a friend of one of the
losers I’d dated. In fact, I’d tried to hook him up with my friend.
The man says to me, “Hey, where’s
your friend?” He’d taken her number a few weeks ago but never called her. LOL!
I was secretly glad.
Ticked off at my friend, I planted my
hands on my hips, allowed my mouth to fall in a subtle pout, and said as I
pointed at my roommate, “Over there. What’s wrong with me?”
“Um, nothing,” he stuttered. “Wanna
dance?”
On December 1st, thirteen
days later, this extremely interesting man, who was in the police academy to be
a police officer, took me shopping to buy our first Christmas tree together.
That night we went to a quaint Italian restaurant, and he asked me to marry
him. Yes, you read correctly…thirteen days after our first “official” meeting.
The week before Christmas, this man
started his new career as a police officer, and for Christmas, he presented me
with a Taurus .38 Special as a gift. Yes, I thought it was very romantic. And
yes, he did get me other things, but that’s the gift I remember. He also bought
me a diamond, but I made him take it back since we would need furniture for our
new apartment he leased for us.
We moved into the new apartment on
December 30th and December 31st we eloped. We still kept
the wedding plans for March 25th and remarried in front of our
friends and family, though.
This year on New Year’s Eve, we
celebrate twenty-four years of marriage. Yes, I believe in fairy tales and
Christmas wishes, because I’m living one.
Merry Christmas, friends. Always
remember to BELIEVE!
Carmen DeSousa
Thank you for stopping by my place and reading my musings. Remember these are just my opinions and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. If you’re curious about what I write, please visit my author page, where you can read all about my novels and short stories. And hey, I’ll even give you a free book just for stopping by.
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Image credit: Elnur / 123RF Stock Photo
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