It's Valentine's Day, and Mr S has been hinting that he's over being
portrayed in this column as a dozy old codger, and fancies himself this
week as a romantic lead. Let it never be said that I can't take a
hint.
Mr. S was quite a dashing figure when we met. 37, straight, and a bachelor - who would have thought there were any left?
We met in the office of a mutual friend, who was also my boss.
Mr. S had come in on a Friday afternoon looking for someone to play
with, and as he stood at the reception desk waiting to be shown in, I
walked by, and not to put too fine a point on it, I was immediately
struck by the fact that he possessed a truly superlative bum.
Mr. S is small, feisty, funny, and cute as a button - but I didn't know
any of that at the time. All I could tell was that the back of
him made we want to know a lot more about the front of him.
It literally was love at first sight. We went out to dinner on
the night we met, and we haven't been apart since. We got married
six months later, and on November 5th this year, we will celebrate our
silver wedding anniversary.
Mr. S regards this as a mere whistle-stop - his parents were married
for over 60 years, and he clearly has something similar in mind.
He gets irritated with me for registering my astonishment at surviving
for a mere 25, but as I reflect on my own youthful indiscretions, and
the very transitory nature of modern relationships, I feel very lucky
indeed.
My own parents (who have racked up a not inconsiderable 57 years)
would, if pressed, also have to confess to profound astonishment that
we've lasted this long. They'd never admit it, of course, but I
think they'd written me off as untamable.
A combination of feminism, and general unruliness, had made me unsuitable for cohabitation, in their view.
But they had not counted on the redoubtable Mr. S. On our first
date, I asked him why he wasn't married yet, and he said it was because
he couldn't stand having a woman depend on him. At that moment, I
knew I was a goner.
I think we've survived because he really meant it. He's bemused
by my career, but not over-awed by it. Apart from occasional
lapses in wardrobe maintenance, he looks after me extremely well.
He turned out to be a really good Dad, even though he was an only
child, and had zero experience with children.
When I'm away working we talk several times a day, and alas, we've even begun to finish each other's sentences.
I'm happily married, dammit, and I'm not even sure how it happened.
So Happy Valentine's Day Mr. S, and all the other unsung romantic heroes out there. We love youse all!
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Change of Life 
