I remember when
You first tried to tempt me
With a slimy green frog.
I remember when
Your mother "forced" you
To give me
My first Valentine.
I remember when
You screwed up the courage
To hold my hand
While carrying my books
Home from school;
And I remember when
You gave me my first kiss
On that late summer afternoon
So long ago.
Now here we are
Many years hence
With wrinkles
And pewter hair
That mark the passage
Of the time we've spent
Together.
I remember every moment
As if it was yesterday:
Our first date,
Our wedding,
The birth of each
Of our children,
And the infrequent arguments
That always ended
So sweetly.
Now, in the autumn of our years,
We share
These golden, quiet moments,
Savoring them
As we've savored
All the others.
I never tire
Of hearing you say
How much you love me
And I never tire
Of telling you
How much
I cherish you.
We still hold hands
As we sit close
Upon the porch swing
And we still spoon with one another
In the bed we've shared
Since we were newlyweds.
I don't know
What tomorrow will bring
But for now
I remember when.
Shirine McVey discovers that twenty years of her life have elapsed since she went to sleep in a hotel room in El Paso, Texas. And worse, she is married to a man she doesn't know.