The Most Perfect Night

We have been together for a few months now. All seemed well until the night of December 3rd. The usual date and whatnot. Go here. Eat there. Romantic walk on the pier.

We walked by some old men playing some records on their stereo. It was a familiar tune from the movie "Casablanca". The song was "As Time Goes By".

"Would you like to dance?" I asked

"Here? In front of all these people?" she replied.

Looking around, I saw nobody. I looked back at her with a confused look. She smiled and drew closer to me. We slowly glided in a small circle on the pier. Quietly I hummed the tune being played by those old men into her ear. Soon our dance ended and we continued to stroll down to the end of the pier

As we sat on a bench that overlooked the most beautiful view of the sun setting she moved in closer to my side. This surprised me because in the past few months she has never been this intimate. From a distance, I could hear Nat King Cole's beautiful voice singing "Unforgettable". I put my arm around her. All seemed sublime. But then there was a curious sound emanating from somewhere close. It did not sound like the waves happily lapping at the pillars underneath us. It also was not the sound of the seagulls squawking to each other about the fish they had just attained.

It came from her. She was crying. Oh how surprised I was when I saw this. A horde of feelings rushed through me. What did I do wrong?

"What's wrong?" I asked as I pulled her closer to me.

"..."

I put both my arms around her. Her head on my shoulder, I could feel her warm tears as her sobs began to intensify. I felt helpless, what can I possibly say? (I assume that it is just the nature of a male to not know what to do in such times. Is it that our gender goes through a state of shock by seeing someone so dear to us fall into such a tragic state at some random moment?) Frozen, I just held her. It was the best thing that crossed my mind out of the many that shot through me.

"This . . . is just too good to be true," she suddenly said through a burst of breaths.

"What is?" was my dumbfounded reply.

"How can we be together? You are an average guy, and I am an actress. There is a three year difference between us. Yet, you just seem so perfect."

Thinking back on those past months of when we were dating, this was the only other emotion I have ever seen from her. As odd as it sounds, it was a relief to see something other than happiness, for I also believed that it was too perfect.

I was in shock. If only she knew what was going through my mind just a few moments ago.

"Me? Perfect? Why thank you m'dear, but you give me way too much credit. And age, what about it? We are having fun aren't we? I enjoy every moment I share with you. Now, I hope this is not only how I feel."

She began to sob even harder. I was still in total confusion. My mind was trying to go though as many different possibilities to handle this situation. Still, I had not a single clue on how to work it out. Instead, I just held her closer, I just wanted her to know how my heart felt. My hand pushed her hair out of her face. I wiped her warm tears away from her cheek. My shoulder is slightly warm and wet. Strangely enough, I never felt closer to her than that night. It was odd, seeing her in such a horrid state, not even knowing what can possibly be going through her head.

She pulled her head away from my shoulder and then she looked at me. Still crying, I couldn't see a small glimpse of actual sadness in her face. She searched me with her watery eyes as if looking for a reason for me being there with her, other than liking her.

As she continued to look at me, the last bits of light faded from the sky. Behind her, I could see the moon slowly beginning to give out its share of illumination. It was one of those wonderful movie moments where the butterflies begin to flutter in your stomach. Then, she made a move so sudden that it took me several seconds to comprehend what just happened.

She kissed me.

Her arms wrapped around my neck. Her lips were salty from her tears. (Note that I still did not know what happened until a good five seconds after her first movements.) Soon, my arms wrapped around her. It lasted about ten seconds, but those ten seconds made it seem like we have known each other for an eternity. As our lips parted, she laid her head on my shoulder again. Our arms still locked around each other.

Silence. The perfect ending to what seemed the most perfect moment.

As her tears subsided and the moon began to shine upon us even more intensely, I began to hum softly into her ear the lovely tune "As Time Goes By".