Thirteen years ago today, Gabriel and I would join hands to begin a true, loving, respectful, lifetime commitment. It would be on his birthday, our “Twelfth of Never”, February 12, 2006.
It started innocently – a hello across the continent from one blog to another; the exchange of photos, telephone numbers and, at last, the first phone call. Months passed. We spent hours on the phone each day, sent hundreds of emails back and forth. All about ourselves, our pasts, our hopes and dreams of what a perfect life would be, and making decisions about a future together.
We agreed to meet in person, for the first time, in San Diego during Thanksgiving weekend 2005. And the day before the plane took off, another phone call saying his son had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He needed to be with his family. The story grew and grew, his son deteriorated and finally passed away. We had to wait, give him time to grieve…then silence.
Two years later, Gabriel died, and I found the “dead” son alive and well on FaceBook.
One night, many months after the obituary appeared, my bed was flooded by the light of our Moon. And just as we had done so many times before on the phone, I looked up into that Moon and spoke to him…and forgave him.
There is a much greater story, of course, but for that – you should read the book.