Danny R. Cole. Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved
The horse was tired
So by now, we’ve had some terrific conversations. We are spending more and more time talking on the phone. Our times together have increased. We’re spending more breaks together. Now we are taking this courtship to the next level. I believe it’s time for a second date. I’ve been strategic in my conversations, asking personal probing questions. I took note of her answers. What things have you done? What type of things would you like to do? What things have you not done? Are you adventurous? I made a list of all the things that she mentioned. I took notes like a court stenographer. It’s a beautiful Saturday morning here in Memphis, and I have this fantastic second date planned. Now she had to come from East Memphis to North Memphis to pick me up because a brother didn’t have transportation at the time. Everywhere we went, it was in her car. This situation wouldn’t change until a couple of years into our relationship. It’s a beautiful Saturday morning in Memphis, and the first part of our second date starts. She has no idea what I have planned. All she knows is that we have to be somewhere at some time. So we proceed to Mega Market on Shelby Drive and pick up some fruit, cold cuts, bread, pickles, things to make sandwiches with, and something to drink. After leaving Mega Market, we travel down to this little park on Tullahoma Drive. I have a picnic in the park planned, one of the things that she had never done. It’s not just a picnic; it’s a picnic with a twist. We pull up to this park and find a lovely tree to sit underneath, cause at this point, the lovely beautiful Memphis Saturday has turned into a hot Memphis summer just like that. But I was determined to have this picnic because it was something she had never done.
As we sit under this tree, loving our picnic, laughing, and enjoying our time together, she notices; this is not a regular park like Overton Park or Shelby Farms. It’s a horse stable. Do I see horses? Yes. Horses!? During one of our many conversations, she mentioned that she had never been on a picnic or horseback riding, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. So we finished our drinks, fruit, and sandwiches and repacked all of our belongings into the trunk of her burnt orange Toyota Corolla., which she affectionately called ‘TC,’ which I would get to know very well. We locked the car and walked to the stables, where the beautiful horses awaited us.
The attendant began to prepare our horses for our second date: horseback riding. Now, by this time, it’s even later and hotter in this Memphis heat, and it’s starting to affect the animals. But we are, or I am determined to check this off her list of things she hasn’t done before. We mounted our horses and began our ride. We didn’t get very far before the heat began to cause the horses to act like they didn’t want to be ridden, and they definitely didn’t want us on them. No matter where we tried to go, our animals would find their way to the shade, under a tree. Whenever I tried to steer my horse away from the shade, it would try and bite me. Taking note of this, my date said this adventure has been fun, but I think your horse is tired. With that being said, we dismounted, walked to TC, got in, turned the air on, and there we had our first kiss…
One bag at a time
We’ve gotten comfortable in this dating thing now, so comfortable that we’re starting to spend more and more time together. The kind of time leading into the wee hours of the night. I live at 988 Keel Ave, in North Memphis, and she lives with her roommate Ave’, one of her best friends, in the McKellar Woods Apartments on Airways Boulevard. However, I am aggressively moving this relationship to the next level, so I now get to spend the night at her apartment occasionally. But I don’t have any clothes there. So, I must somehow get my clothes from my home to her apartment. I’m spending one night here and one night there. We’re riding to work together in her car while she’s taking me home to North Memphis and driving back to East Memphis alone. The driving back and forth got old real quick. But not before I had the chance to meet her roommate Ave’, and she met my family, namely my mom, Ms. Amelia Cole. My family knew we’d been dating; mainly because I had two sisters who worked with us at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). My sister Clara, who worked at the IRS before us, got me and my sister Carol the job simultaneously.
Clara and Carol knew we were dating but hadn’t met her yet. This courtship took on a life of its own, and only two people were consumed by it: me and her. We spent a lot of time together, a lot. By now, her roommate, Ave’, could see the writing on the wall by the time we spent together and how often she would wake up, and I was still at their apartment. My mom could also see the same by the frequency of how often I would not come home after work. So the time had come. We were going to my house to get some things for me to wear to work the next day. However, this back and forth from North Memphis to Airways was getting old. On this night, we pulled up to my mom’s house and parked in the front yard, as was the custom of every person visiting us. We both get out, walk up the steps across the long porch and enter through the front door. My mom, seated in her favorite chair beside her bedroom, greets us, hey, son.
Hi mom, this is Amelia, the lady I’ve been spending time with. Hello. Amelia huh? Yes ma’am. Nice to finally meet you. The conversation continued while I proceeded through the house, upstairs to my room. I have no idea what was said or how it was said! I was on a mission. They talked and talked and talked.
On the other hand, I took advantage of this and began to pack more of my belongings, stashing them outside our kitchen door to retrieve them once we were ready to leave. This pattern would continue for weeks at a time. They would talk. I would pack and stash until I had moved all my possessions one bag at a time…
Pastor Danny,
APMM President
*Please note: Love doesn't abuse. APMM does not condone any form of abuse (physically or emotionally). Please do not distort any of our teachings to justify abuse. If you are in an abusive situation, get out immediately and contact the authorities.
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