It was a very cold, dark, winter night. The skies were heavy with thick snow clouds - you could barely see the moon. I was driving back from seeing a friend in the hospital, listening to the radio playing softly, reflecting on my life. Within just a few minutes it started to snow very heavily, which caused me to drive slower. The snow was heavier than predicted and caused me to have to take the long way home. I came to a curve in the road, and due to the snow, took it slower than I normally would, which in this case was a good thing. As I rounded the corner there was a man walking down the side of the road, I stopped just in the nick of time. One-second earlier, or even five miles faster and I would have ran right over him. I stopped the car, got out, shaking, apologizing, "I'm so sorry, are you all right?". He assured me he was fine, but it was so cold outside and I was beginning to freeze.

"Please, let me take you where you were going, it is way to cold to be walking."

He then told me that he had no place to go, he was trying to find a hotel, but he didn't know the area. I said, "Sir, will you please consider staying at my home tonight, I have an extra room." He tried to protest, but I insisted. It was then that I noticed his bag, and we placed it in my trunk. We got into the car and headed toward my house. I am thinking to myself "What is it about this man? I feel a connection to him. Ha - it is probably just your imagination, you don't even know him."

He then told me that he was actually trying to relocate and had gotten a ride with a friend, and they had gotten into an argument. I said, "My town is very small, but there are bigger towns around that have better job opportunities." We continued to make small talk, but at times there was a peaceful silence between us. Finally, we arrived back at my house and I took him directly upstairs to the guest room, which included its own bathroom. I had prepared it the day before, thinking that I might rent it out after the holidays. I showed him where everything was located, including the extra quilt in case he got cold during the night.

"Please, make yourself at home, we won't get up too early in the morning, but I will make breakfast when we do if you'd like to join us. It won't be hard to find, just follow the noise. I only have one daughter, but she is noisy enough for two."

We laughed, shook hands and said goodnight.

I went downstairs, closed up the house, went to my own room, took a nice, long shower, and got ready for bed. I don't know if it was all the stress of the past few days or what, but I couldn't sleep, so I went into the kitchen to fix myself a hot cup of chamomile tea. That should help put me to sleep. Just as the water was finished, I heard a noise, turned and found him in the doorway. I thought to myself, "How handsome he looks," then I immediately erased those thoughts from my head. Out loud I said, "Would you like to join me for some tea?" He accepted and we drank our tea in silence - enjoying being in the company of someone else.

"I wonder if he ever gets as lonely as I?"

When we finished our tea, he stood up, offered his hand to mine, helped me up, and then took the cups to the sink and rinsed them out. I just stared at him in disbelieve and said, "Sir, you are such a gentleman, thank you". He just smiled and we went our separate ways.

Two maybe three days had passed, during this time when the snow melted off the roads; I took him sightseeing. Of course the town itself took maybe three minutes to see, you can see it all from the four-way stop sign. We saw the outskirts of town as we drove towards the next town. 'This is Sherman,' and I showed him some of the prettier places including Baker Lake Park. I then drove back to the highway and headed toward Denison and the Red River. I told him I was going to take him to a place where he would be in two states at one time, and he laughed. As we drove over the dam, I said, "You are now in Texas and Oklahoma." He said, "Really?" Then I explained to him how the river on the right and Lake Texoma on the left was divided between the states. We enjoyed our outing and we stopped on the way back for lunch in one of the little restaurants my daughter enjoys. We were learning more about each other, becoming friends, at least it felt that way to me. I felt more alive than I had in a long time.

Then one night the most wonderful thing happened. My daughter had gone to spend the night with her grandparents. When I returned from dropping her off I could tell he had started a fire. I drove into the garage, went into the kitchen and straight to the living room. It was so cozy looking, so warm and inviting. He then handed me a cup of hot cocoa. I just smiled, thinking how sweet this man was, and said, "Thank you so much. You are so thoughtful." I had not had a man around the house in a very long time. It was nice to be able to share with someone again. We had already covered our life stories in 500 words or less during the time he had been at my house. He was a very nice man and had already had several good job offers, so I knew it wouldn't be long before he left to pursue his dreams. We had a quiet dinner by the fire and listened to soft music. He then asked me to dance, he said he missed that so much. I accepted, telling myself it was just a dance. There was a lot of tension for just a dance, but I was sure it was just one-sided.

We took the dishes into the kitchen, washed, dried, and put them away. It is amazing how much faster and easier the simplest things are with help. We said goodnight and went to our separate rooms. I got ready for bed, brushed my long hair out. I laid down to sleep and so many thoughts were running through my head. Finally about 2 a.m., I got up and walked into the living room, stoked the fire, and started looking out the window. It had snowed, and I hadn't even realized it. As I looked out over the yard with it's blanket of snow glimmering in the full moon light, tears started rolling down my eyes. I was thinking about how wonderful it was to be able to have a new friend that I could share things with. I also had tears for the things I missed. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I never heard him come up behind me. He wrapped an afghan around my shoulders and then his arms around my waist. I just leaned back into him. It felt so good to be cared for. He then wiped the tears from my cheeks and asked me what was wrong. I told him, "Nothing really, just thinking about life." He held me for the longest time, and then he turned me to face him and placed the most gentle kiss on my lips. I just held my breath - had anything ever felt so good? I could not remember the last time lips had touched mine. We stared into each others eyes for a very long time and then he pulled me over to the couch in front of the fire place, got the fire going again. I had butterflies due to my nervousness, it had been so long since I had been touched or kissed. He returned, standing me up, and sitting in the corner of the couch, he then pulled me in between his legs, so that we were reclined against the couch and each other. He held me for the longest time, caressing my hair, arms, and he would whisper to me how pretty I was. I was beginning to melt so fast. I had never had such gentleness before, such passion. I felt like I was experiencing everything again for the first time. He then turned me to face him and kissed me more deeply than I had ever been kissed before and then he started caressing my body with a touch so gentle yet so firm that I would have floated away had he not been holding on to me. My breasts became swollen, my nipples became hard, my whole body was tingling and felt as if it were on fire itself. I don't know when I started to caress him; I just know I did. Everything felt so natural, so right, like it had always been and would always be this way between us. Like we knew each other and just what to do and say to each other to bring out the best from each other. We touched and kissed every part of each others bodies before he finally entered me. It was like we were made for each other. We completed each other, and when our orgasm finally came it was in perfect unison - leaving us both breathless and more satisfied than we'd ever been. We fell asleep still entwined together - our souls forever touched.

It was not long after that when he said good-bye to us, leaving his mark upon my heart forever. We still talk now and then, but have never had another night to love each other like that. We don't know what will happen in our lives, but we should always be ready to experience life, not just live it. I have enjoyed my life so much more since he came into it. I see things more clearly, feel things more strongly. He released my ability to truly love and feel things again. He gave me a freedom that I never knew existed.