My Eternal Flame

The next time I see you all here at Roads Lesser Traveled, I will be a married man. My second marriage and TJ’s third, we both feel destiny put us on our separate paths as long-ago friends running into each other now and then, finally brought together in union two decades later.

We always clicked. We always got each other. We always laughed in each other’s company. Constantly. We always rallied one another, through tough times and in our pursuits as respective writers. She is the pillar of strength who restarted my deadened heart and gave me back my writing mojo. Whatever I’ve brought to the table in this relationship, it’s jived with her, and we are simply meant to be.

We have received early wedding gifts from distant friends who sent us treasures we will honor for our remaining years. The first being a set of hand drawn foxes, our mutual spirit animal, from an ultra-talented artist based in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Debbie. The second is the heart-shaped printed lyrics to our forthcoming first dance song as man and wife, The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame.” Complete with our wedding date upon it from our likewise thoughtful friend from Georgia, Angel.

TJ will call me corny for this post later, but there’s a reason we chose the song, going back to our first few weeks of dating. TJ had called the two of us “instant twin flames.” After running into each other at a Panera while I was getting my son lunch, the “it” factor was right there. He was wowed by TJ upon first contact since she could speak his language, many generations removed.

Our romance was instantaneous from the first date the very next day in an Irish pub, nearly closing the place down on a Sunday night. We laughed like lunatics and pledged to keep the train rolling, sealed with a kiss the following evening. We knew what a gift we’d been given, and we weren’t going to let this get away from us.

I especially look forward to recreating this photo from our first getaway together in the western Maryland mountains…