Every summer, Alexander’s two grandchildren would come and spend a month with him and his wife. They looked forward to their visit all year, as the children lived overseas and didn’t see them aside from these precious thirty days in July. Every night after dinner, they would all sit on the stoop and enjoy the cool night air.

“Tell us a story, grandpa!”, they’d ask every night, and every night he would indulge them with stories of knights and princesses, of pirates, fairies, and magical animals. They would sit, enthralled by his words, as his wife of 50 years peeled oranges with a small smile on her face and passed them around to eat as the children listened.

One night, his granddaughter had a different request. “Can you tell us the story of how you met grandma?” she asked and her younger brother’s face brightened at the question. “Yes, grandpa! Tell us!” he insisted.

“You want to know how we met?” he asked them, stealing a glance at his wife, who winked

at him, as the children both loudly voiced their agreement in unison. He wasn’t surprised at their curiosity - their paths crossing was an unusual stroke of luck that made him a firm believer in destiny.

“Okay, let’s see…well, it all started with my brother…” he began as he started to recall that unusually warm fall day, 51 years ago.

He was 21 then, just starting his own business as a car mechanic. He had recently opened his own shop and secured a contract with a local taxi and limousine service that would guarantee him enough business that he would be generating a profit within a few weeks. He called his older brother, George, with the intention of making plans to go out and celebrate that night.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do it tonight.” George said apologetically, “I promised Ilene I would take her to a concert that she had gotten tickets for with a friend. You should come! Her friend is single, and I know she has an extra ticket because Ilene’s sister was supposed to come too, but she is sick and canceled.”

Alex sighed, annoyed. He wanted to celebrate his new business, not be set up with his sister in law’s friend.

“Come on, just come!” George pleaded. He wasn’t looking forward to the concert, which from what Ilene described, was some unknown singers and a classical dance troupe from somewhere in Asia. He purposely did not mention that to Alex, because he knew Alex would not agree to come if he did.

“Okay, fine.” Alex relented. Maybe they could grab a few drinks after the concert.

“Was grandma Aunt Ilene’s friend?” His granddaughter’s question snapped him out of his reverie. His wife smirked as he answered,

“Be patient, I’m getting to that part next.”

George, Ilene, and her friend met Alex outside of the small concert venue. Introductions were made, and Ilene’s friend kept smiling shyly at Alex. He nervously made small talk, but found himself having a hard time to keep the conversation going. They sat at their seats, George on his one side, and the friend on the other. As the curtains lifted, he clapped politely and only then realized he didn’t even know what kind of concert he was attending.

A petite woman and two long haired men walked onto the stage with their acoustic guitars and began to sing in a language he did not recognize. Alex settled back into his seat and his mind began to wander. He didn’t particularly enjoy the music, but he was happy to be out with his brother, still feeling the high from the day’s success at work. He could feel Ilene’s friend next to him stealing glances, and he looked over at her and gave her a friendly smile. She flushed and quickly looked away.

The sudden applause from the audience made him look back up at the stage. The trio had finished their set, bowed, and walked off stage. The lights dimmed and the audience stopped clapping. There was a short moment of quiet, where all you could hear was the dim murmurs and whispers of the audience members as they waited for the next act to begin. George leaned into his brother and quietly asked, “So, what do you think?”

Alex wasn’t sure if he meant the concert or the girl, so he just responded, “Good….it’s good.”

His brother gave him a sly grin, wagged his eyebrows and turned back to his wife. Alex rolled his eyes and gave his brother a light punch in the arm. The truth was, he wasn’t all that interested in either the concert, or the girl.

The lights on stage brightened and caught Alex’s attention, and when he looked up to the stage, his breath caught for a moment.

Up on stage was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Her jet black hair was pulled up into a bun that accentuated her high cheekbones and delicate features, her warm smile reached her deep, chocolate brown eyes, and he could have sworn they caught his as he watched her from his seat, mesmerized.

She was accompanied by a dozen other women on stage, all dancers dressed in brightly colored traditional Korean hanbok gowns and holding fans in both hands. Suddenly, the sound of drums began and the women started swaying in perfectly choreographed, elegant movements. Their fans billowed and twirled in hypnotizing rhythm. Alex leaned in closer to the stage, his eyes following every step this beautiful woman took. George, Ilene, her friend, and the rest of the audience faded away and all that was left was the rhythmic banging of the drums, and the woman on the stage. He could see her eyes darken in concentration, smile still on her lips.

“Was THIS woman grandma?” Alex’s granddaughter asked impatiently. She needed to know.

“Yes, that was me.” her grandmother finally replied, a smile on her lips. Alex recognized it as the same one from all those years ago, although time had added wrinkles to her delicate face and her once jet black hair was peppered with grays. Her smile still reached her beautiful eyes, and filled his heart with love all these years later. She is even more beautiful now, he thought.

“It was love at first sight.” Alex explained to his grandchildren. “I leaned over and told my brother that I had to meet her because I was going to ask her out on a date. He laughed at me, but I did just that. I waited until the concert was over, told my brother I wouldn’t be joining them for dinner, and asked someone that worked at the concert hall if they’d allow me to meet your grandmother.

They asked the dance troupe if they would be willing to meet a fan, and they agreed so I got to go backstage and meet them.”

“Then what happened?” his grandson asked, on the edge of his seat now.

“Well, it didn’t go as smoothly as I had planned in my mind.” their grandfather laughed.

Alex walked backstage nervously, hands in his pockets. He was never this impulsive and now that he was heading over to the troupe, he had no idea what he was going to say. He didn’t want to come off as weird, asking a total stranger on a date. Would she think he was some kind of crazy stalker? His brother and sister in law were not too happy about him ditching them, and Ilene’s friend barely grunted a goodbye, obviously hurt by his slight. He knew he should feel bad, but his mind was elsewhere, distracted by thoughts of the beautiful woman onstage.

The dancers had their backs turned to him and were talking animatedly and laughing, oblivious to him standing there. Suddenly, one of the dancers noticed him and their chatter died down as they turned to face him.

“Hello, I’m Alexander and I wanted to say I thought your dance was wonderful.” Alex croaked, then cleared his throat and continued, “I have never seen a dance like that before, I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed it.”

He spotted the beautiful woman and awkwardly repeated, “Hello.”

There was a long pause, and finally a Korean man that had been standing off to the side speaking with an employee of the concert venue approached them, arm extended. They shook hands as he explained that he was the dance troupes manager and that most of the dancers only spoke Korean. Their dance troupe was on an international tour and would be moving on to Canada in a few days before returning to Korea.

Alex felt like something in his chest deflated. He explained to the manager that he had been hoping to meet one of the dancers to ask her out for coffee and the manager smiled broadly at him.

“You are speaking of Mi Jae. She is one that speaks some English. I will ask her for you, but I must insist to chaperone.” he said seriously. Alex nodded enthusiastically, feeling hopeful again. “Yes, of course!” he agreed. The manager walked over to Mi Jae and spoke softly with her. She looked over at Alex, and as the manager continued to speak, her features relaxed into a small smile. She gave her manager a quick nod and walked over to Alex.

His heart started beating quickly as she approached him. He couldn’t believe she was going to speak to him.

“You are Alex.” she stated. “I am Mi Jae. We will go for coffee? I think it is okay for me.”

Alex smiled and agreed to wait for her and her manager out front while she got ready.

“Grandma, did you fall in love with grandpa when you first saw him too?” their granddaughter breathed dreamily. Mi Jae laughed.

“Actually, no. I thought he was very handsome, but I didn’t know that I would love him until a little while later.”

“When did you know?” the girl pressed.

“After I went back to Korea.” Mi Jae answered, and the girls eyes went wide.

“You left?? How did you get married if you went back to Korea?”

“She came back.” her grandfather smiled.

At the end of their coffee date, Alex asked Mi Jae if she would agree to seeing him again the next day. They only had 3 days together before Mi Jae and her troupe would move on and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. He didn’t know if he would ever see her again, but he knew the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to get to know her. She agreed to meet him for breakfast and to spend the day together at the beach.

The language barrier did not prove to inhibit their communication at all. They talked about their lives, their childhoods, their dreams and aspirations in life. Alex learned that like him, Mi Jae had a brother and two sisters. They both had lost their fathers at a young age, and both carried the weight of their mother’s overbearing expectations. They loved the same

music, enjoyed the same books, and both loved their siblings fiercely, protectively. Talking to Mi Jae was so easy, the conversation flowed comfortably all day. They ended the date late at night with the promise to see each other again the next day, both exhausted but filled with the excitement of a new, budding romance.

When Alex dropped her off in front of her hotel, she leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips before getting out of the car. He watched her as she walked into the hotel, and as she opened the door, she looked back, smiled and gave him a quick wave goodbye before walking through the door. Alex waited until she was no longer in sight and drove home on a high that lasted all night.

The next day was the same as the day before, filled with easy conversation as they got to know each other more. Alex loved the sound of her laughter, the intensity in which she spoke about her future goals and dreams, and the way she seemed to just get him. They spent the day with Alex as her tour guide, showing her his favorite spots around town, and places he thought she would like as well. They walked and talked holding hands, and Alex couldn’t help but think how perfectly they seemed to fit together. He kept trying to push away the thought that she would be gone in just a day, instead focusing on the time they had together.

Despite trying not to think of it, the day of her departure arrived. Alex had a lump in his throat, he couldn’t believe how unfair it was. His romance with Mi Jae was so new, so young, and was being cut short before they were ready to say goodbye. She had come into his life like a lightning bolt, he had never felt such intense feelings for a woman so quickly before. They had promised to write, had embraced and cried in each other’s arms the night before when he dropped her off back at her hotel for the last time, but to what end? She would be returning to her life and her family in Korea, thousands of miles away. Would they just end up pen pals? An opportunity missed? He went to the hotel that last morning to say goodbye and as her bus pulled away, he felt dejected and such a sense of loss.

He threw himself into his work. His contract with the taxi company proved to be incredibly lucrative, and the pride in owning his own business was fulfilling in a way he had never anticipated.

Every Sunday, he wrote her a letter to tell her about his week, his thoughts, to tell her how much he missed her, and waited eagerly for the post to get her weekly letter back. He devoured her words hungrily and was left feeling both happy and empty when he was done reading. Months went by like this. She was now back in Korea, working as a secretary for a prominent judge and teaching dance on the weekends. She told him she missed him, how much she enjoyed their days together and how she wished she could see him again. Through his letters, Mi Jae got to know Alex well. She was always very level headed and pragmatic when it came to love and relationships. She knew the likelihood of their romance being more than long distance love letters was very low, unless one of them made a drastic move. She was not one for grand gestures like in the movies, but she could not seem to get Alex out of her head. She thought with time, her infatuation would fade, but found the opposite to be true. The more they corresponded, the deeper her feelings for him became. His words jumped out of the pages of his letters and seemed to speak to her soul. She found herself falling in love with him, and being apart from him was starting to become unbearable.

Alex’s granddaughter let out a happy sigh. She loved hearing her grandparents talk about their courtship, and she wondered if her future love story would be this romantic. The way they glanced lovingly at each other as they retold the story made her smile.

“One week, I waited for the post to arrive but for the first time since we started writing, there was no letter from your grandmother.” Alex continued, “I was so disappointed. I looked forward to her letters, they were the closest thing I had to being with her. I checked the next day, and the next, but there was nothing.”

“Well, that was rude!” their grandson admonished his grandmother, and both Alex and Mi Jae laughed. Mi Jae put up her hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I had good reason!” she protested.

“She did.” Alex said, nodding his head in agreement. “Four days later, there was a knock at my door. When I opened it, there was your grandmother, standing on my front stoop, with a suitcase at her side.”

His grandchildren audibly gasped, and he laughed again.

“Grandma! You flew back?” their granddaughter exclaimed with glee.

“She flew back.” Alex confirmed.

“I was in love.” Mi Jae added.

“Then what happened?” their grandson asked.

Alex looked at his wife and paused for a moment before answering, thinking of their whirlwind romance. He had proposed marriage to her the next day, and they had married six months later. Their daughter - the children’s mother - had arrived promptly one year later, followed by their son. Then they spent half a century building a beautiful life together, encouraging and celebrating each others successes, supporting and lifting each other up during the hardships.

“Happily Ever After.” Alex said, as he squeezed his wife’s hand. He marveled at how it still felt like it fit perfectly in his, after all these years. It felt like home.