Present From Afar

I'm going to tell you a love story. 


My friend Sari, whom I have known for 15 years, was single. None of her friends could understand that, because she is without a doubt the warmest, loveliest, funniest, goofiest and most lovable person I know (other than My Beloved, of course).

But Sari is very choosy about her dates. And she had very definite criteria, ones that to my mind the demographics of which more or less ruled out the possibility of finding Mr. Right. I even questioned to myself whether she really wanted to find the right guy, or was she putting impossible standards in the way to keep her heart safe?

Then, one day an acquaintance of hers called her up with a strange proposal. The acquaintance said: "I work with a great guy. He meets all your criteria. I introduced him to my sister but it just didn't work out. Would you like to meet him?"

Sari is, in addition to all her other great qualities, courageous and optimistic. She agreed to give the guy her email address. Sari was very busy at the time, taking care of her father who had just had a hip replacement and holding down a very demanding job, so she didn't immediately respond to the eventual email, and when she did, she put off meeting the guy for a few weeks. When they met, they dated for a few months and found they had a lot in common. And - ta-dah! - at New Year's Eve dinner at our house, they shared their first kiss at midnight as the skyrockets went off across the bay in San Francisco.

Apparently, skyrockets went off within them, too. They have been inseparable ever since, delightfully giggly and sweet together, truly a couple of love birds. All of Sari's friends are thrilled.

Recently, they decided to put their two-year relationship to the ultimate test by traveling together. Anyone who has traveled with a friend, even a dear friend, knows that traveling points up the worst side of anyone. Sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, sore of foot and differing in interests but yoked together by politeness, traveling together can be a deal breaker. They decided to go to Paris together.

While they were in Paris, they found this delightful little cheese grater as a gift for me and My Beloved. Made by Pylones, it not only reminds me of a wonderful trip to Paris that Sari, My Beloved and I took four years ago, it also grates cheese better than any of my other graters, even the fancy-schmancy one I purchased at Sur La Table a few years ago. I love it.

And they loved Paris. And, even after traveling together, each other. They just rented a house in Alameda and will be moving in to their shared place in mid-May.

Ain't love grand?