By Jennifer

Wndhvrno60@aol.com

G-rating

Stanley Raymond Kowalski entered the bar happily. He couldn't believe that she had agreed to meet him. Weeks of bantering back and forth. Weeks of denying the attraction. And then, BAM, there it was. He asked. He didn't attempt to be clever. He didn't try to be funny. He just asked. And she accepted.

He took a seat toward the rear of the bar. He ordered a beer from the cocktail waitress and waited. Music wafted through the room, from jukebox near the bar. He rapped his fingers gently on the table. His toe tapped the floor in rhythm. The tune was infectious. But it soon ended and a new one began. Slow, piano intro... And then the words... Words that struck a chord in him...

Looking back

On the memory of

The dance we shared

'neath the stars above

For a moment

All the world was right

How could I have known

That you'd ever say goodbye

Stan drifted into a world of memory. Stella. Her blue eyes shining on him. The light of the world nestled there in her eyes. One look there and he could see his future. His future holding her, moving forward together... It was meant to be like that. They were put on the earth to love each other. To hold each other. To always be together.

And now

I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end

The way it all would go

Our lives

Are better left to chance

I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss

The dance

It had been the worst day in his life. The day Stella asked him for a divorce. She was tired of fighting. She was tired of the guilt and the pressure. They wanted different things. He was too possessive. She wanted a piece of her life to be her own. He wanted all of her. Once she had been willing to give that. But as she grew up, she became more self-reliant, more self-absorbed. And she realized she wanted things for herself. There was more to her life than being Mrs. Stanley Kowalski. She wanted to be with him. She loved him. But if he couldn't give her the autonomy she craved, it couldn't work. And it didn't.

Holding you

I held everything

For a moment

Wasn't I a king

If I'd only known

How the king would fall

Then who's to say

You know I might have changed it all

They had learned to dance in high school. She was a graceful beauty. He was awkward. He wanted to show her he could be charming. But she had already known that he was. She always thought he was beautiful, right from the beginning, in the bank, when he saved her. Still he insisted. He wanted to dance. And they took lessons: months of them. And after all was said and done, Stanley Raymond Kowalski had learned he was indeed, graceful.

And they danced through their lives together, as teenagers, as young adults. In their careers and in their marriage. No matter what, they could always dance...

And I

I'm glad didn't know

The way it all would end

The way it all would go

Our lives

Are better left to chance

I coulda missed the pain

But I'd a had to miss

The dance

Stan stared at the beer on the table. He had no idea when the waitress had brought it over. His thoughts consumed him. His memories drifting by with each verse. He had obsessed over Stella his whole life. As he sat in the bar he knew, somehow, that this would be the last time. Life goes on...

She approached the table quietly. He sat there, staring at his beer deep in thought. She kept thinking how lovely he looked. His hair was fuller than usual. She liked that. There was a light in his eye. Bright and beautiful, like he was having an epiphany. She never expected this. She never expected it to be him.

Stan watched her sit in the chair across from him. He looked into her beautiful face and smiled. "Hi Frannie."

Yes my life

Is better left to chance

I coulda missed the pain

But I'd a had to miss

The dance....

The Dance-by Garth Brooks

Usual disclaimer---no copyright infringement intended. Nothing here belongs to me. Just a lovely image to a lovely song.