I Met Him in the Dark
Shared by Susan LeDuc
I met him in the dark. At that time, I lived on a mile-long circle drive that invited residents to walk its lap every summer evening. I was strolling with a friend who also lived on the circle when we noticed a neighbor collie being walked by a stranger. Doug went to church with the dog’s owners and had been asked to care for her while they were on vacation. We stopped to talk; I do not recall the conversation nor was I able to see his face, but I was intrigued enough to stroll again the following evening with a different friend in hopes of meeting him.
He had the same idea; we were halfway around the neighborhood when I heard a rustling in a nearby hedge and saw a figure running fast in the opposite direction. When I teased him about it afterwards, he said, “I was trying to listen to your conversation and get to know you.”
High school started that fall; we finally met in the light and on the telephone and talked for hours. My mother watched suspiciously and would remark, “That boy LIKES you,” to which I would reply, “We’re just friends.”
However, when I came home from college for Christmas break after my first semester and Doug was on my doorstep within a half hour, something seemed different. Mother stood in the corner, her arms folded, nodding knowingly.
I was not sure what to do; I liked Doug but had just spent a semester at school in the 1970’s learning about women’s awakening new potential roles. I was not sure I wanted to get married eventually in life, much less date anyone. I tried to express these concerns to Doug later, who listened quietly, then assured me, “We can maintain our individual sovereignty.” I was not even sure what that meant, but I liked the sound of it.
Mother was in a panic (he was too short and liked George McGovern), and sought advice from the family doctor, who had become a confidant following the premature death of my father. “She could do worse,” he said. I could not have done better.
He was the kindest man that I have known, and the smartest. He was the best person to have a deep discussion with; he was a gospel scholar and brilliant in economics. He was incredibly funny. He was courageous, optimistic, and an underdog advocate. He cared deeply about the world and disseminating truth to the last of his days.
For over 50 years, he was my best friend and the love of my life.