“Good morning Jo” I said, with a smile plastered across my face.

“Good day Marry Joans.” The mail boy responded before peddling away.

I closed the front door, before taking the newspaper to the sun room.

I skimmed the paper but nothing peaked my interest. Missing dog, local school wins football match, Jannie Wo wins three times the holiday pie contest. Everything I had already heard from my gossipy neighbor Sarah Smith. I call her Silly Sarah, since she’s nuts. I once heard her say the government was spying on her, because she didn’t vaccinate her little rodents- I mean children.

I skipped to the crossword, where Ryan’s name was at the corner. Its was his first job out of school, and i had never seem him this happy. I grabbed my glasses and pencil to begin solving it.

I looked at the date, and a got hit with nostalgia like a truck. December 23, 1992. Had time gone by so quickly? Just ten years ago exactly I remembered the day I met Ryan. He was a short skinny 9 year old wearing his boy scouts uniform and walking back from school. It was a cold day, and his nose was as red as Mr. Dallys prize winning tomato’s. I offered to take him on my bike and he agreed. The next day, he gave me a stack full of crossword puzzles he made for me. He called it his ‘payment’. I didn’t like puzzles but was over the moon by his gesture.

Time really does fly by.

I looked for question one across, and found it, but to my surprise, it wasn’t what I expected.

‘A bike is better that two legs, a good heart is better than ____'

My heart skipped a beat and if i had a mirror i would have definitely seem myself blushing.

Its probably a coincidence I thought. Probably.

I thought for a second until I remembered a quote Ryan told me.

‘A good heart is better than all the heads in the world’

I filled in the letters

A

L

L

T

H

E

H

E

A

D

S

Longest one out of the way. Ok next I need 2 across.

‘Now that I’ve got your attention, what is the oldest building in this town.’

I found myself stupidly grinning at newspaper.

God I must have looked crazy.

Once again I filled in the words.

L

I

B

R

A

R

Y

3 across.

‘Meet me under the _____’

At this point I was blushing like a school girl. Meet me under the mistletoe. The song playing at our winter dance two years ago.

M

I

S

L

E

T

O

E

I knew exactly what to do.

I grabbed my bike, and began peddling. It never snows, so the worst I would get is frozen fingers.

When I reached the library, I scanned around, until I saw the Christmas tree, surrounded by hanging mistletoes. And Ryan.

I walked up to him, as he grinned like an idiot.

Before I could say anything, he shushed me and said, “we’re under a mistletoe”

And that was how I fell for my husband.