Our first kiss

It was simple, just a dinner and movie sort of date. She had to postpone it twice, then I had to postpone once more, so it was long overdue by the time Valentine's had rolled about. We went to Pa Nolivo's for a sit down dinner and were enchanted by the whole Tuscany style going on there. Bread and olive oil, so simple, but somehow more than that. I'll cut to the chase. After the film I took her hand and we began to walk up the streets, looking in the restaurant windows, watching other people enjoy themselves.

Then we ran out of shops, we ran out of streets in San Luis, and we found the mission. There is a fountain there, with bronze bears over a small pool of water, making a lovely gurgling sound. We walked around the short paths and found that, if one had the inclination, one could climb down into the dried up stream that cut through this part of the path. It was below another italian restaurant, and the candles were lit on the tables, so we had to be secretive. All this, the rhubarb of conversation from above, the stars high above the sky, and it was a warm night too, it all made it perfect, but then "It Had Better Be Tonight" began to play.

Our first movie together was the original Pink Panther. This was before we knew each other on a personal level. It was a get-together with friends, she sat on the couch in a flowery blue dress, laughing and not paying much mind to the film, none of us were. That smile, that laugh, it was then that I realized I had to have this lady in my life.

As the chorus started: "Meglio stasera, baby, go go go" we reached the pebbles at the bottom of this stream. I asked for her hand, she curtseyed, and we danced. Sort of an upbeat ballroom step. The song ended and we stopped. Then it happened, not like on TV or in movies, it wasn't slow and hesitant, as though we weren't sure whether it was the right thing. It just happened, our lips were together and we melted. It was the feeling I got when I saw her after a long absence, only in my whole body, and it didn't go away. We must have stayed there in each other's arms for something like ten minutes before a police officer on a bicycle looked down and saw us. He told us to break it up and take it elsewhere. We just laughed and started climbing back up to the path. That's been our song ever since.