He had seen her before. Where? At a park, that’s where it was. How could he forget her long wavy brown hair and slender frame. She had been at her nephew’s eighth birthday party. He saw her from across the park. Even from such a distance he knew that she was perfect. Her white sun dress stood out against the lush green grass, clinging to her slim figure as the wind blew. He wanted to hold her, to touch her and make sure that she was real. He wanted to grasp at her body, he wanted her to feel his passion. He wanted to look into her eyes, but they were hidden from him as her hair was swept across her face.

She saw him, too. Her heart stopped for a moment when she saw a man with deep brown hair standing at the opposite end of the field. She saw the powerful but gentle muscles of his arms, his strong chin and perfect lips. Then she saw the gleam of a ring on his finger, the children who ran past him to play with her nephew, and the woman who slipped her hand into his as they began to walk towards the party. It was all just a quick fantasy. Nothing would become of it. She turned back to her niece as she complained about the attention her brother was getting.

They were walking towards the party. She had turned away, but his eyes clung to her. She had seen his wife, his children. All was lost. The family he thought he loved had taken the possibility of her away from him. He blinked, as if for the first time, and forced his eyes onto the task at hand. He had to get through this party, for the people he loved. He would not look at her again, for fear of losing all he had worked for.

She had made the same vow. Though she had no romantic entanglements, she would not permit herself to be disappointed so brutally. She had never thought much of herself and had never been willing to risk the little self-esteem she had on love. No, she would not look at him. They stayed on opposite ends of the party, as if a magnetic force kept them separated. As one moved forward and to the right, the other moved back and to the left. When the birthday boy was called to his cake, they were forced to come within twenty feet of each other.