Never Say Never

　　Never Say Never

　　By Sally Kelly-Engeman

　　"How would you like to accompany me to England for a week of sightseeing?" I stared at the

　　e-mail in disbelief. It was from Mel, the widower I had been dating for six

　　months.

　　I immediately replied, "Thank you for your generous offer, but I must respectfully decline. As

　　much as I enjoy your company, I would not be comfortable traveling with a man I

　　wasn"t married to. Besides, I don"t have a passport."

　　My dear husband of fifty-one years had died three years earlier. I learned to ease my grief by

　　reading, writing, attending church functions and visiting my children and

　　grandchildren. But as time passed, I missed belonging to a

　　partnership.

　　Then friends invited me to a party where I met Mel. He was attractive, intelligent and had an

　　engaging personality. To my surprise, he called two weeks later and invited me

　　to join him for dinner.

　　I discovered being part of a couple again opened new vistas. Soon we were receiving invitations to

　　parties and meeting each other"s friends. After being in a desert of loneliness,

　　I enjoyed the social oasis of dinners, concerts and theater.

　　We talked freely about our deceased spouses and how lucky we were to have found true love with

　　them. Because we didn"t think it was possible to find that level of love more

　　than once in a lifetime, we both admitted our decisions to never marry again and

　　decided to enjoy the companionship we found in each other.

　　Consequently, I was shocked at the invitation to travel together and questioned Mel"s motives.

　　Certain my response would sever our relationship, I was surprised when he

　　phoned.

　　"I got your reply. Let"s forget I asked about the trip."

　　Relieved, I mumbled, "Thanks for understanding."

　　"We are still going out tomorrow night, aren"t we?"

　　"Sure." After all, he didn"t seem to feel awkward about the situation, so why should I?

　　The following evening he held the car door open with one hand and handed me a legal looking

　　paper with the other. "Just happened to be in the post office today and picked

　　this up for you."

　　It was an application for a passport. What? Why, that sly man! Without comment, I tucked

　　it into my purse and changed the subject. Nothing more was said, and we enjoyed

　　the evening.

　　Amused he had bothered to get me an application, I filled out the papers, had my photo taken

　　and doled out the $75.00 fee without telling him.

　　While attending a party with friends, we were invited to join their dance club. I was excited, but

　　Mel resisted. "I played trumpet in a swing band during my youth so I never

　　danced very much."

　　"If you"re a musician, you"ve got rhythm," I reminded him. "If you"ve got rhythm, you can

　　dance."

　　Although reluctant at first, Mel relented and agreed to take ballroom dance lessons - where he held

　　me in his arms for the first time. With him holding me, I felt my heart melt . .

　　. and immediately rued our platonic relationship. But I couldn"t tell him lest

　　he remind me about our "never marry again" agreement.

　　Then he began bringing candy and flowers, and I knew I was being courted. Although he was

　　careful not to mention marriage, I sensed we were falling in love. Still,

　　neither of us said a thing until the day he invited me to dinner at his

　　house.

　　Fine china, crystal and sterling silver on a white linen tablecloth greeted me. Red roses

　　graced the table. Before we sat down to eat, I confessed I had applied for and

　　received my passport. When I showed it to him, his eyes sparkled and he flashed

　　a mischievous grin.

　　He served a delicious rack of lamb with all the trimmings and we had a lively conversation

　　as we ate. During dessert he said, "Sally, if I asked you to marry me, what

　　would you say?"

　　"You haven"t asked me yet." My startled response was quick. Awkward. Even a little coy.

　　"I think I just did."

　　Unprepared, I stammered, "Oh. Oh. P-p-probably."

　　He looked dejected, but didn"t pursue the subject. I was so surprised I didn"t know what

　　to say. We cleared away dinner and cleaned up his kitchen, then he took me

　　home.

　　Most of that night I lay awake pondering his proposal. I had been married to an extraordinary man

　　once. But Mel was wonderful, too. Was it possible to marry two extraordinary men

　　in one lifetime?

　　The next morning, he called. "Last night I asked you to marry me and you said probably. How about a more definite answer," he urged. "Like yes?"

　　"But . . . what about our agreement?"

　　"Let"s just forget it."

　　"Forget what?" I smiled into the phone, tingling with excitement.

　　"Let"s fly to England for our honeymoon and never say never again