Page 10 of Persuading Penny
I got into my car and sat behind the wheel. In my mind’s eye, I saw his youthful face as I sat there and stared into space. In my mind’s eye, he smiled that gorgeous smile. His wavy brown hair, kissed with a few natural highlights around his face, was thick and long enough to reach his shoulders. His clear hazel eyes had never failed to catch every girl’s attention.
Had he changed? Nearly ten years had gone by. Both in our first year of college, we were so young and so naïve back then, and it seemed that anything was possible.
We had met during a summer trip to Israel, he with his American perspective and I with my British one.
“You talk funny,” he’d said.
“Me? You’re the one who talks funny.”
Truth was, we were both enchanted by the other’s accent. I loved hearing his stories from Illinois and New Jersey, which he’d said he frequently visited. I’d told him of my time in Bath.”
“Bath?”he’d said. “You live in a town called Bath?”
“I do, indeed,” I’d replied. “And if you could see it, you would be enchanted.”
“Why would you name your town Bath? Is the neighboring town Shower?”
I’d laughed and told him of the Roman baths that had drawn so many to the region.
By the end of our trip, we’d promised to write to one another, and we planned to see each other at first opportunity.
I’d come home after that trip, completely in love, but hadn’t dared speak to my parents about him.
But to Aunt Sally...I was sure she’d understand.
“If you could only see him,” I’d told her. “He could be a Hollywood movie star. His hair is perfect, and you just want to run your fingers through it. And his eyes...oh, Aunt Sally, if you could only see his eyes, you’d melt.”
“It takes a lot to get me to melt,” she said.
“Well, if his eyes aren’t enough...Aunt Sally, I saw him in a bathing suit one day out by the pool. He claims to not be interested in sports, but he has the physique of an athlete; broad and strong shoulders, perfectly sculpted biceps...and his chest.”
“There’s more to love than an appealing body, Penny. You were in Isreal for just over a month. It takes more time than that to truly know someone and fall in love.”
“You’ll see,” I’d told her. “Cliff and I promised to write to one another. We’re going to keep in touch and find a way to see each other...perhaps during Christmas break.”
She’d smiled, then laughed, then looked at me with solemn sadness. Patting my hand, she’d said, “I certainly hope that you will one day meet a man who’ll make you happy, but Penny...a long-distance relationship...that’s always sure to fail.”
Not this time, I’d wanted to argue.
But as time had passed and my heart ached so terribly to see him again, I’d come to understand how difficult a long-distance relationship truly was.
I remembered that first Christmas break, how I’d tried to convince my parents to let me go to Chicago.
“Chicago?”Mum had cried out. “What in the world do you want to do in Chicago?”
“I don’t care what she wants to do in Chicago,” Dad had barked back. “The answer is no.”
The same had happened when school ended for the summer. It seemed no matter what we did, seeing each other was impossible.
Finally, a full year after initially meeting him, he came to London. We met secretly and spent a good part of the summer together.
He was intrigued by London, and by Londoners. He loved hearing my British accent and I was constantly amused by his American expressions.
When August came around, with the knowledge that he would soon be returning to the United States, we had a romantic dinner together.
“I know it seems impossible now,” he said as he pulled out a small, deep blue box. “But...one day... One day we will be together, if you will have me.” He popped open the box. “I know it’s not for now, maybe not even for next year, but, Penny, will you marry me?”
Thrilled, I’d accepted, and thrilled I’d returned home, and so filled with love was I, that I immediately shared the news with my parents.
