The Sixth Sense

Derek and I don’t make public declarations about our relationship. Occasionally, there’ll be a compliment or a jokingly sarcastic comment on social media, but that’s mostly meant to entertain. Whatever we think or feel about each other tends to stay between us. 

So, I’ll just say that I’m gobsmacked how quickly we seemed to have arrived at this, our sixth wedding anniversary. Six years ago today we rode up on a Harley to The Little White Chapel on the Las Vegas strip, said our vows while wearing riding gear and posed for photos as vehicles whizzed by and a bikini-clad stripper rode a huge swing across the street.

It was an unconventional wedding for an unconventional couple who first met in a radio station hallway in 1985 and fell in and out of contact for long stretches (decades!) over the years.

A lot has happened since December 23, 2009. Derek used to say, “meh”, about pets. Now he is owned by two cats. His 20+ year ponytail is now a wig for a cancer patient. We’ve had job changes and house crises and a critical illness but we also laugh a lot and keep each others’ spirits up through the low ebbs of life.

There was a time in our long story when I told him I never wanted to hear from him again. And I didn’t, for many years. He was part of my past, and destined to stay there. I had no plans or even hidden hopes that we would even see each other again in this life. It’s funny how things turn out, isn’t it?