Finding True Love Amidst True Heartbreak

 I could tell you about the 'loves' I've lost but that wouldn't be fair to the love I've found.  Instead I'm going to tell you how the most unbelievable heartbreak I have ever felt, lead me to find my true love.

In the summer of 2001 I was working down south for an outdoor theater. I had just finished college and had no plans for the fall.  I met a guy down there who said he lived in NYC and I told him I thought that's where I'd probably go.  It only seemed natural since I grew up so close to the city and wanted to work in theater. He gave me his number and told me if I decided to make the move, he would see about finding me some work.

In the first week of September, I arrived in New York, called the fella and had a job the very next day.

I learned so much that week and was grateful to him for giving me the opportunity.  The fella helped me get my first big job and start my career.  I did my best to pay him back by taking him out to lunches, dinners and sometimes drinks.  Oddly enough, he was the one short on cash at the time so it was the least I could do.

That was pretty much our routine, work and hang out. A real friendship was forming.  Normally we'd go out, play darts and be 'buddy buddy', but September 10th we had a couple drinks and some quiet conversation.  When it was time to call it a night he walked me to the subway, snuck in a peck on the cheek and ran to his train.  Before that moment, I really wasn't interested in anything romantic but his mixed shyness/boldness kinda sent me to crushville.

The next day was the most heartbreaking day in my life, in many people's lives.  I'm sure  you've gathered what day that was. 

I showed up to work around 8:45 a.m.  Around 8:50, I got a call from my dad.  He asked me where I was and if I had heard about the plane crash at the World Trade Center.  I hadn't and neither had my co-workers.  I reassured him I was far enough away and it was probably a small plane since no one appeared to be making a big deal about it, yet.

About an hour later I was in the catwalk hanging lights when the woman on the radio began to scream mid sentence.  The south tower was collapsing and the severity of the situation finally started to register.

Fast forward.  Since it was the closest, we walked 30 blocks to our boss's apartment.  Along the way, we saw people on the streets crying, some staring in shock and others completely unaware.  This is when the fella and I held hands for the first time.

We spent the rest of the day in front of a television, trying to contact loved ones, and believe it or not, half-heartedly celebrating a co-workers birthday.  It was all we could do to try and feel normal for a minute.  The shock was just too much to register.  Here we were, sitting less than 10 miles away from the biggest disaster any of us had ever seen and there wasn't a thing we could do about it.

Later that evening, the apartment was getting crowded with friends who had nowhere else to go, so the fella and I decided to try and get to his place.  To be honest, I really don't remember much of this though I'm pretty sure we walked the 85 blocks.  The only thing I really remember clearly is standing on his roof.  At 190th street,  you can't get much further from lower Manhattan while still being in Manhattan, but from there we could see the smoke as if it was a mere 10 blocks away. 

This is the first time we held eachother.  This is the first time we stayed up all night together.  This was our first kiss.  This was the first time "life is short" made perfect sense.

So on this day of the worst heartbreak I have ever known, I found my true love.  We've been together since and call 9/11 our anniversary.  To some it may seem morbid, but to us it makes perfect sense.  It was a new beginning, rising from the ashes.