Happy Anniversary

This is for my husband. We will celebrate forty
years of marriage tomorrow.

Dear Sweet William Happy Anniversary!

I knew I loved you the first time you smiled at me
then ordered a medium root beer at the Sears’
food counter in the Buena Park Mall.

I was seventeen, you eighteen, both of us recent
graduates from high school. You worked in the toy
department, across the aisle, and had to
build up the courage to ask me out.

You were so suave when you said nonchalantly,
“So… where shall we go this Saturday night?”

I replied, “Meet me after work. We will talk then.”

Without a blink I served you the drink and went
on about my business. My heart pounded
in my chest, hardly able to breathe because you would
be my first date. The minutes between then and closing
seem to go on forever. Finally it was time to quit
and we rushed out to the parking lot.

I sat in the black Pontiac, you borrowed from your brother,
and we talked until midnight about everything
from who we were to who we wanted to become.

We set the time and place for when we would get together
of course you had to meet my mother and father
and wrote down directions to my house.
I gave you my phone number and scribbled yours down
on a paper napkin, but we didn’t want to separate
so we continued to reveal our life stories.

We knew it was late when we saw the security guards
come out to their cars. I lied to my parents,
said I went out with the girls. My mother asked me
to call next time I was going to be delayed.
I decided to tell her tomorrow
about our plans for Saturday night.

When you arrived at the door I could see you were nervous,
my stomach churned and we couldn’t wait to get out the door.
The time flew. There was laughter and wonder.
We knew we belonged together.

You held my hand and I leaned over and kissed you.
We have been together ever since.

Today we are both older. Time shows on our faces
but love never faltered from that first time,
many years ago in August,
when we fell in love with each other.