I met Irene in 1981 when I was working as a youth counselor at the YMCA. I think I fell in love with her the first time I laid eyes on her, and it wasn’t long before I won her heart. I was young and terribly foolish in those days, even more so than now, and I walked away from what turned out to be my perfect partner in life. For the next 20 years, we dated other people, apparently looking for each other in those we spent time with but never really finding what we were hoping for. We got together a few times during that 20-year period, but circumstances were never quite right for us to pursue a relationship. When Irene got married in the mid-90s, I thought it was all over. I was seeing someone else at the time but that, too, was destined to end. By then, I was in my 40s and living quite happily on my own. In August 2001, on a visit to Hawaii and California, I was chided by two friends for being alone. “You’re going to grow old and lonely”, one scolded, while the other pointed out that I really needed to have someone by my side when I hit old age. To both of them, I said what I’d said before. I was happy to be on my own. I’d get home from work and switch on my computer and TV, then shut my eyes and just relax. I wasn’t accountable to anyone, didn’t have to answer any questions when I got home tired from work, and didn’t have to chase after anyone to get things done. Why would I want to give that up? I wasn’t interested in making myself available to anyone. I didn’t want to go through the bother of meeting someone new, seeing if we were right for each other, and then maybe suffering more heartbreak. No, I was quite happy with life. I also said that I would probably never get married. And, IF I did get married, "it would be to someone who comes into my life and turns my world upside down, not because of what she says or does, but simply because of who she is, and that person doesn’t exist", I said. I guess, without realizing it, I was talking about Irene. A few weeks later, on September 2nd, 2001, Irene phoned and asked if I could fix her sister’s computer. The next evening we met for dinner to catch up with old times, and she told me she had left her husband who had been treating her badly. Two weeks later, on the 15th, as I stood there watched her sleeping, I felt those old emotions come flooding back and I found myself falling in love with her all over again. I started courting her more ardently than the first time around, but having been jilted by me once before, it took a long time to convince her that it would not happen again. A few months later, Irene and her little boy Curtis joined me in a new flat that would become our home. Valentine’s Day 2003 was the perfect day for me to propose to her, so I did. It was quite funny seeing me first try to get down on one knee, and then try to get back up again, but I did it. On October 31st, 2004, the perfect relationship I walked away from so many years ago was finally sealed when we exchanged vows and rings in front of our families and friends. And so, life begins. On a lighter note, early in our courtship, I turned to Irene and said "I love you". Her reply was a rather unusual "You'd better do!" That has since become my declaration of love to her: "I'd better do".