Star-Crossed

I scanned the room for a friendly face and my eyes landed on him. He was tall and awkward and flashed a shy smile of big straight teeth as he looked up through a sweep of blonde hair across his brow.

At the sweet age of seventeen, I was an outlaw hiding out in Alaska. After years of juvie, I said ‘fuck this’ and sought out a man I had remembered as Dad.

A senior with no credits, this alternative school took me in. Dusted me off. Pulled me up by my scruff and limped me along to a high school diploma.

Tony was my first friend. He was smart, kind, fun- but such a dipshit. We made out a few times and got in a little trouble a few times, and I decided I didn't want to go down the not so good path he was skipping on. I loved him on a deep level. A love that we both recognized immediately. A love bigger than we were at the time.

At last, it was not meant to be. We graduated high school by the skin of our teeth and said our goodbyes.

Thirteen years later the stars aligned for us. He showed up on my front porch and flashed that smile at me just the same as the first time I saw him and my heart fluttered back to 2006. His awkwardness was no more- in front of me stood a tall, muscly, confident man sure to make any woman swoon.

Our hearts had been broken by others, we had both had children, careers, made moves, gotten our shit together a few times over, and we ended up back in that small town in Alaska.

We were married six months later and conceived a son on our wedding night.

Now as I look at our drooly face baby boy with sweeping blonde hair smiling up at me, I can't help but remember the first time I met his father, my almost star-crossed lover.

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