Page 38 of No One Like You

“Hello, Mr. Wa— John.”

“How are you, Megan?”

“I’ve been better, but I know that things could be worse and I’m grateful for what I have. How are you?”

“I’m grand! How’s that little girl of yours? I always loved her name. Sophia, the Greek word meaning wise, clever, smart. I would have named Tasha that, but Estelle got to name the girls.”

“Well, I guess that explains Dante’s name then.”

“One of my favorites. Now, Estelle said that you wanted to know how we fell in love. Is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Pffft, you don’t have to ‘sir’ me.” John laughed heartily. “I remember this like it was yesterday. When we were in college, I went to one of the mixers and there across the room, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I felt like Eros had shot his arrow straight into my heart.”

“Eros?”

“The Romans called him Cupid and made him a baby with tiny wings. I prefer the Greek version. Anyway, I was shocked when she came up to me. We talked all night long. She was as intelligent as she was beautiful. Estelle gave me her number. I called her the next day, but I suspect that she might have tracked me down if I hadn’t. We started dating, and by the end of that first date, I knew that I couldn’t live without her.”

From the background, Megan heard, “You better believe it!”

John continued, “As beautiful as she was on the outside, I discovered that she was more beautiful on the inside. Her intelligence, compassion, humor… I couldn’t help but be forever in love with her.”

“That’s amazing, thank you.”

“Here, I’m gonna give you back to Estelle. Dante’s family is coming over for dinner and I need to get the grill started.”

“Okay, thank you, John. Hi again, Estelle.”

“Well, now you have John’s side of the story. He called me the next day to ask me out. We met at a restaurant just off campus. Megan, he was so nervous! It was cute, but I was a bit worried at first. Then, once we got to talking, I saw how smart and confident he could be. It’s funny, he’s always been so confident as a teacher and a church leader, but even today, he’s still kinda shy around me. Like he can’t believe how lucky he is.”

Megan laughed. “He really is lucky. You’re an amazing woman, Estelle!”

“Well, thank you, sugar. So, we dated for a while, but we both knew early on that this was forever. Our lives haven’t always been easy, and there have been challenges, but everything has always been easier because we were there for each other.”

“Thank you, Estelle.”

“You’re welcome, honey. Did this help?”

“It did. It helped a lot. I’ve really been struggling with my feelings toward Brad. I wanted to know if what we had was really love or not. Does that make sense?”

“It does. It’s difficult to ask questions like this of ourselves, and I respect that you are doing that. I also respect that you are wise enough to seek help, too. Too many people are too proud to ask for help. I know, because I can be one of them. I haven’t spoken to my own daughter in years. I miss her, Megan, but I…”

“I think that she misses you, too.”

“You didn’t call to talk about my problems. What have you decided about Brad?”

“Oh, um… I think I loved the idea of being married, and Brad checked off the right boxes at the time, but I don’t believe that we had true love. Certainly not like you and John. Thank you so much, Estelle.”

“You’re very welcome, Megan.”

“Hey, I should let you go since I know that Dante is coming over soon. Say ‘hi’ to him for me, okay?”

“I will. Thank you for your call.”

“Honey… I’m home.”

“Is that…”

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