It was a good omen.

When I walked into the lounge Margo Valiante was singing “Angel from Montgomery”-- one of my favorite songs.

I saw him from across the room as he stood to greet me. His “wow” was the answer to my “hello”.

We hugged and then settled in at a spot overlooking the lake. Our knees grazed under the table as we talked for an hour, then two. He pulled his chair closer to mine as the people next to us grew louder and after a few minutes he pulled my chair closer, too. He asked good questions and listened intently. He smiled. His eyes were dancing. He liked what I had to say. And to everything he said my heart cried out: yes, yes, yes.

He fingered the embroidered hem of my dress and said, “this dress…..thank you for wearing this dress.”

I excused myself for a minute and when I returned to the table he stood up.

We walked outside and down to the lake. I stood at the railing, watching the moonlight reflected on the lake and feeling the breeze on my skin and his hips pressed into my back. His arms wrapped around me and I leaned back and felt his heart beating fast.

I closed my eyes and smiled and smiled and smiled.