The year was 1959. I had invited a college friend, Dave Armstrong, to my parent's home. It was New Year's Eve. I asked him to bring some male friends to meet my girl friends. We were all very young, maybe 18 or 19 and in various colleges. Dave brought two guys who were friends from his Flatbush neighborhood. Maurice and Bruce. I was immediately attracted to Bruce. He had a Roman nose, dark wavy hair, and an exotic look. I thought he might be an Arab. He actually was the son of a French woman, and a Russian-German man.

I played a waltze on the phonograph, and I asked him to dance. He was five feet 9 and I was 5 feet period. I fit right under his chin. The only time I'd seen a waltz was on T.V. I showed Bruce the steps and he glided along the tiled floor easily with me. Maurice danced with my friend Joan. We were all paired off nicely and no one wanted to change partners.
Bruce joked, "I could eat apples off your head."
I laughed. I knew what he meant. He wasn't considered tall for a man, but to me he was a giant. I leaned my head against his shoulder, and it felt right being in his strong arms.

Before my mother and my dad left for the Knights of Columbus dinner dance, she put out a buffet of foods from Italian sausage, to Kielbasa. It was the first time she'd ever trusted me to be home in a mixed group, and I felt very mature. This was a party I'd dreamed about with friends new and old, good food, and music. In those days, Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians ushered in the New Year. Before we turned on the T.V., I was asked to play piano. I pulled out some popular music and everyone gathered around. We sang songs from the movies. It didn't matter whether we had good voices or not. It was fun just singing together. I was thrilled that my very first mixed party was a success.

Before midnight we turned on the black and white Philco T.V. We listened as Guy Lombardo played.
" How you start the New Year is how it will be for the year," one of my friends said.
I wanted the New Year to include Bruce as my boyfriend. I hoped he felt the same.

As Bruce and I danced to “Auld Lang Syne” I glanced around. Dave and Barbara were in a clinch, Joan and Maurice were kissing. I looked up into Bruce's hazel eyes. Before that night, I'd only kissed relatives and then on the cheek. He smiled down at me as he lowered his head. I closed my eyes the way I'd seen women on T.V. do. Before the song ended I was tight in Bruce's embrace and we kissed. The horns blared and 1960 welcomed in a whole new life for me.

Over the school vacation, I had a huge report to finish before I could get my final grade in English. I spent a lot of time doing research in the library. I typed it on a manual business typewriter my father brought home from work. Mistakes had to be corrected with a chalk pencil. If there were too many, I had to do over the entire page. Neatness counted with my professor.

Even though I was busy with finishing reports and final exams, which back then were held in January, I wondered if Bruce would ever call.
" Did I get any messages?" I asked my mother one afternoon.
She shook her head.
I looked at my younger brother and sister.
They both shrugged.
" You'd tell me if I got a call wouldn't you?" I asked my brother in an accusing tone.
" Sure," he replied.
Finally the wait was over and one night around 8pm. Bruce called."Would you like to go out on a date?" he asked hesitantly.
I was thrilled to hear his voice. "Yes," I replied and then being my own blunt self I asked, "What took you so long to call me?"
I heard him chuckle. "I didn't know if you'd want to go out with me."
" Well, I do," I said.
We both laughed.
I wasn't allowed to date during the week, so we planned our first date on Saturday afternoon.
He picked me up at my home and we took the bus to Flatbush, Brooklyn.
" This is my favorite restaurant," he said.
We walked a few blocks to a gold and red decorated building with a pagoda design on the door. "My parents and I come to Lee's of China Town at least once a month," he told me.

"Where do you live?" I asked.

He waved his hands, "No far from here. Off Eastern Parkway." Since that area was new to me, it didn't mean anything. "That's nice," I replied politely.

The menu at Lee's of China Town was extensive. The decor was red walls with gold adornments. The waiters were all oriental men in tuxedos. It seemed so glamorus to me, especially since my family rarely ate out. "Let's start with a champagne cocktail," he offered. The drinking age was 18 then, so I agreed. I had only seen champagne cocktails in old movies on TV. I remembered one scene where they took their glasses, twisted their arms together and drank out of each other’s glass. It was so romantic.
The champagne was served in a wide mouth glass with a cube of sugar, and a paper umbrella. I thought it looked beautiful.

"Want to do a toast like I've seen on T.V.?" I suggested.
I showed him what I meant and we each took a sip from the other's glass.
Then we ordered barbecue ribs. It turned out my favorite Chinese meal, (say the type of meal) was the same as his right down to the wonton soup, fried rice, and egg role.

Our dating life was the most fun I'd had as an adult woman. It was innocent by today's standards. Once a month we went to the Brooklyn Academy of music for the latest opera. We bought two for one theater tickets and saw many plays including the original version of "I can get it for you Wholesale." It was the first starring role of Barbara Steisand. We went to the City Center (before there was a Lincoln Center) for the ballet, Flamingo dancing and other performing art shows.
We ate in Manhattan at the Cottage which was a little restaurant off 42nd street that had murals painted on the wall. Another place was Trefnor's on Lexington Ave around 50th street. Bruce said, "My parents have taken me here for years but I never liked it as much as with you."

We spent weekend afternoons walking on Fifth Avenue and browsing through the expensive shops. In the summer we bought sandwiches at a deli and ate them at Central Park. There we got free tickets to see Shakespeare in the Park. The long wait on the line was worth it. All around us seemed to be wealthy, middle aged-people who came from places I'd never been like Connecticut. This particular production of King Lear featured the famous actress Coleen Dewhurst in one of the leading roles.

In those days many movies were made in New York. We saw scenes from Breakfast at Tiffany's being filmed in front of the 42nd Street library. We thought it was Audry Hepburn, but it wasn't. George Peppard though, was the actor who mistakes another woman for Audry. "Let's make sure to see that movie," Bruce suggested. Not only did we see Breakfast at Tiffany's but afterwards we got brave enough to go into Tiffany's. We dressed in our Sunday clothes and tried to act as if we could afford to buy anything. I'm sure the salesmen all realized we were just a couple of kids out for adventure.

Our dating life was restricted to weekends due to my college work. We took rowboat rides in the lake at Central park, visited the zoo, had lunch at the Tavern on the Green, and went to dances at the local Knights of Columbus where my father was the Grand Knight.

Sunday mornings we went to church together where we held hands as we received Holy Communion. His parents and mine were pleased that we included church in our dating life.

We were married in 1963 in a ceremony blessed by the Pope, with my cousin as the officiating priest. Our friends from the party were all there. One was the altar server, the others, along with my sister and brother, were maids and ushers. Dave, who brought us together, was best man and gave the toast at our reception.

We have been married now 40 years and still in love. We moved from New York to Connecticut where we bought a home and raised our son. We still share common interests. He enjoys reenacting in the Civil War and American Revolution. I go with him dressed in an authentic outfit. We enjoy camping, visiting museums, and listening to music. He goes with me to writer's conferences. And most of all we still love each other. When we can we visit New York. We go to Rockefeller Center and enjoy the floral display. Then we walk on Fifth Avenue and browse in the bookstores. The restaurants we favored as a young couple are gone, but we have a new favorite. Now we dine in Trump's golden tower where we pay too much for our lunch but enjoy the luxury of dining by the indoor waterfall. We retrace the steps of the young, naive us and sigh with relief that our friend brought us together. We were meant to be.