My grandson Jackson sat, eyes glued to his computer game. He says it’s called Four Night, whatever that means.

My daughter walked into the living room, quite annoyed with her son. “Now Jackson, you’ve been sitting there since morning; it’s to five now! Pause that game right now and do something with your life; I ain’t raising a game zombie.”

“But mom, this is a live game; you can’t pause!” moaned Jackson.

“Well that ain’t none of my business. You better get off that game and go do something else that doesn’t require an electronic!” She stormed to the kitchen.

I watched as Jack murmured something into his headphones and angrily switched off the game. He spun his swivel chair, facing me.

I sighed. “Well now that you’re stuck with me for the rest of the night, all thanks to your mom, why don’t I tell you a story?”

“Stories are for babies; I ain’t a baby.”

“Well this story is only for grownups and I believe you are one right?”

“Fine…I’ll listen. What’s it about?”

“The day I met my lover.”

Jackson sighed. “I guess I can listen. I don’t have anything to do anyways.”

“Perfect,” I said. “Now where shall I begin…

“I was sitting out in the park like I always do, watching those grey feathered creatures scramble for my bread crumbs. I loved feeding pigeons by the way despite being 19 then. I tossed some more crumbs but something wasn’t right; not as many pigeons were coming.”

“Why?”

“Well turns out someone was sitting just a couple feet away throwing their own bread crumbs.”

“Lemme guess, it was grandma.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, it was your grandma stealing away my pigeons. I couldn’t accept that so I stood up and took a seat next to her. I threw some more crumbs; the pigeons rushed for them. She stared at me and smiled saying you do know the birds are for everyone. I looked at her, nodded my head and continued throwing some crumbs.”

“You we’re a weird kid then, grandpa.”

“Well I didn’t know what to say; I’m not all that good with girls.”

“Then why did you sit with her?”

“To get my pigeons back of course. Why else? Anyways, she broke the silence. You’re in college right, she asked. I nodded again and told her I’m a sophomore. She told me she was a freshman and she went to Danna Duke College. Turns out I had some friends there so I told her not knowing what else to say. She smiled and said, that’s cool. She threw more crumbs for the pigeons so I did the same. We watched the birds eat away in awkward silence. Someone ran towards her panting saying her friend told him to get her immediately. Her friend had just gotten into an accident and apparently, with her car. She gasped. She jolted up from her seat, told me bye and said see you around. I told her same then added I do hope your friend’s alright. She smiled and said she knows her friend’s okay, it’s her car she’s worrying about. I laughed a little and waved her goodbye as she scurried off. I threw some more crumbs and sighed in relief. She seemed nice and all but I had no idea what to say.”

“So what happened next?”

“I continued feeding the pigeons. I did see her in the park every now and then and she’d always sit with me. I developed a liking for her but never had the nerve to ask for her address or dormitory number. One day, she just asked for mine and told me hers. Eventually we both feel in love with each other and some years later, we got married!”

“That’s not romantic at all! Where was the love at first sight, the blushing, the…the…”

“Listen Jack, meeting your life partner doesn’t always have to be all lovey-dovey at first sight; sometimes it’s just as simple as a “hi” or a smile to start everything. That’s why most people never get to know who their other half is; they think it has to be a big event. But trust me Jack, the little things turn to big things; it just takes time and dedication. Keep that in mind.”