Cheers to Table for Six!
Hi Dee, Well, Dee, you scored! E.L. and I had a glorious 5-month relationship until last week when he started his sailing journey. He told me 5 minutes into our first date that he was planning to take a sailing trip for 1-2 years in September. I didn’t think much of it until we started seeing each other more frequently, and then I would start to tear up every time he mentioned it. This was something he had been wanting to do for many years, and since his wife died last year, now was the perfect time for him to do it. (I kept asking him why he joined T46 knowing that he was going to be leaving, but he was never able to give me a good answer). I want to thank you for selecting him for me. I can honestly say that I fell in love with him! The last time I fell in love was in 1994, with whom would eventually become my husband. Interestingly, I knew he was still grieving over his wife, but he managed to make me feel very special, and we always had a wonderful time. He actually touched my soul. Now I know what that means! E.L. is an awesome guy. While we didn’t have a lot in common on the surface (he was into backpacking and sailing, and grew up in rural North Dakota, and I was into fine dining and traveling, and grew up in LA), we had a beautiful connection. I spent a fair amount of time on his boat, and we went sailing the last week he was in town. I got to know his kids and grandkids, and I even threw a Bon Voyage party for him. In addition to his family, there were about 30 other friends of our’s at the party. He wowed all my friends, of course. I just received a text from him. He is in Santa Barbara, making his way south to Mexico. Both of us have never texted so much!! I love it! I have no expectations about what the future will hold for us, but I do know that my life was enriched by knowing him. Given what we had, I would like to think that I may meet him in Mexico or Tahiti, or somewhere in the Pacific. His sailing venture, I hope, will help him finish his grieving process. It sounded like his wife was a very special woman, and she died much too young. On our last date, I managed for us to go back to the restaurant for dinner, where you had us meet. I also made sure we had the same table. We reenacted our first words when we sat down, and we toasted T46. Not long after we met, I made plans to vacation in Turkey in October. The timing couldn’t have been better. I leave next Monday and will be back at the end of the month. Getting ready for the trip is helping me deal with him leaving. I don’t think I will want to start to consider dating again until after the first of the year. Thanks so much, Dee. You helped make this year a most memorable one!
R.W.
