There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved; it is God's finger on man's shoulder.
--Charles Morgan
I was married three times before I was seven years old.
My older brother Gary performed the ceremonies in our basement. Gary was good at entertaining the family and neighborhood kids with his creative ideas. Since I was the youngest boy in our group, I was often on the receiving end of his creativity.
What I remember most
Puberty hit me late. I was still afraid of the opposite sex when I was fifteen, and yet I prayed every night for the girl I would marry. I asked God to help her do well in school and to be happy and full of energy-wherever and whoever she was.
I first kissed a girl when I was twenty-one. From that time forward, I dated many beautiful and talented young ladies, searching for the girl I had prayed for in my youth and still certain that I would know her by her eyes.
One day, my phone rang. "Don," it was my mother. "You know I told you
"Sorry, Mom, I've got a date that night."
"How could you? I haven't even told you what night it is?" my mother responded with exasperation.
"It doesn't matter when. I'm sure the Addisons are nice people, but I'm not going to waste an evening socializing with people who don't have any eligible daughters."
That's how stubborn I was-I was positive that there was no reason for me to go to visit the Addisons.
Years passed. I was twenty-six, and my friends were getting nervous
1. No dates recommended by my mother (moms don't understand the sex-appeal factor).
2. No dates recommended by a female (they're too easy on each other).
3. No dates recommended by a single guy friend (if she's so awesome, how come he hasn't asked her out?).
In three simple steps, I eliminated 90 percent of all my blind dates, including one recommended by my old friend Karen. She called one evening to tell me that she had become good friends with a beautiful girl who reminded her of me. She said she knew we would hit it off. "Sorry," I said, "you're ruled out by rule number two."
"Don," she said, "You're crazy, and your silly rules are eliminating the girl you've been waiting for. But have it your way. Just take her name and phone number, and when you change your mind, call her."
To get Karen to stop bothering me
Just a couple of weeks later, I ran into my old buddy Ted in the university cafeteria. "Ted," I said. "You look like you're walking on air."
"Can you see stars under my feet?" he said, laughing. "The fact is, I just got engaged last night."
"Hey, congratulations!"
"Yeah," he said, "at thirty-two, I was beginning to wonder if any woman was going to have me." He pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Here," he said, suddenly serious, "look at this.
It was a thin strip of paper from a fortune cookie. "You will be married within a year," it said.
"That's wild," I said. "They usually say something that would fit anyone, like 'You have a magnetic personality. They were really taking a chance with that one."
"No kidding," he said. "And look at me now."
A few weeks later, my roommate Charlie and I were eating dinner at a Chinese restaurant. I shared this story
Not long afterward, my classmate Brian said he wanted to introduce me to a young woman named Susan Maready. I was sure I'd heard that name before, but couldn't remember how or where. Since Brian was married, and therefore I wouldn't be breaking my "rules"
Susan and I spoke on the phone, and planned a bike ride and a cookout. Then, the meeting-and as soon as I saw her, my heart started beating hard and wouldn't stop. Her large green eyes did something to me I couldn't explain. But somewhere in me, I knew that it was love at first sight.
After that wonderful evening, I remembered that this hadn't been the first time someone tried to fix me up with Susan. It all came back to me. Her name had been popping up all over the place for a long time. So the next time I had a chance to talk to Brian alone, I asked him
He squirmed and tried to change the subject.
"What is it, Brian?" I asked.
"You'll have to ask Susan," was all he'd say.
So I did.
"I was going to tell you," she said. "I was going to tell you.
"Come on, Susan," I said. "Tell me what? I can't stand the suspense."
"I've been in love with you for years," she said, "since the first time I saw you from the Addisons' living room window. Yes-it was me they wanted you to meet. But you wouldn't let anyone introduce us. You wouldn't let the Addisons set us up; you wouldn't take Karen's word for it that we would like each other. I thought I was never going to meet you."
My heart swelled with love, and I laughed at myself. "Karen was right," I said. "My rules were crazy."
"You're not mad?" she asked.
"Are you kidding?" I said. "I'm impressed. I've got only one rule for blind dating now."
She gave me a strange look. "What's that?"
"Never again," I said and kissed her.
We were married seven months later.
Susan and I are convinced that we are true soul mates. When I was fifteen and praying for my future wife, she was fourteen and praying for her future husband.
After we had been married a couple of months, Susan said to me, "Do you want to hear something really strange?"
"Sure," I said. "I love to hear strange things."
"Well,
"You will be married within a year…."
相关单词：ted
ted解释：vt.翻晒，撒，撒开
ted例句：
The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
相关单词：exasperation
exasperation解释：n.愤慨
exasperation例句：
He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
相关单词：eligible
eligible解释：adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的
eligible例句：
He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。
相关单词：prospects
prospects解释：n.希望，前途(恒为复数)
prospects例句：
There is a mood of pessimism in the company
They are less sanguine
相关单词：lining
lining解释：n.衬里，衬料
lining例句：
The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。
相关单词：interfering
interfering解释：adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词
interfering例句：
He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。
相关单词：awesome
awesome解释：adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的
awesome例句：
The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.
相关单词：buddy
buddy解释：n.（美口）密友，伙伴
buddy例句：
Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！
相关单词：spine
spine解释：n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊
spine例句：
He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。
相关单词：afterward
afterward解释：adv.后来；以后
afterward例句：
Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
相关单词：fixed
fixed解释：adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的
fixed例句：
Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。
相关单词：spoke
spoke解释：n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
spoke例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
相关单词：suspense
suspense解释：n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑
suspense例句：
The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。
相关单词：swelled
swelled解释：增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）
swelled例句：
The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。
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