The Love Story

Many writers approach the topic of love in a general fashion, some often fail to isolate the feelings between two people.
This story starts with a little piece of paper on the floor and two people less likely to fall in love.
One writer would say that love cannot be forced, it has to happen randomly, when two people need each other the most, then, with time, it will reach its fullest potential. They have to need and want love. Accept it, because they've seen enough so they surrender to the force that love creates. Then the story begins:
It was a rainy day and Ryan sat in his office chair falling asleep, tilting his head to the side he noticed an old piece of paper that had fell from the book that he had been reading on break yesterday. Noticing a familiar name on the piece of paper with a number, he picked it up. Ryan had been single for quite a while and this was a strange situation. The name on the paper was Monica, a girl that he had grew up with but never approached. Holding on to the paper, Ryan found himself in a new trance, all he could think about was the paper and the number so he decided to text the number to see if he would get a response. Hours passed with no reply so he gave up and went to sleep but like the writer said, love cannot be forced, it has to happen randomly to reach its fullest potential. The next morning when Ryan awoke, he noticed that he had a text message from the number asking who it was, but Ryan was too afraid to text back. Eating breakfast, he couldn't help but to keep looking at the picture of he and his ex-wife Karah on the wall. She broke his heart and he doubted his instinct to try again, so he didn't, he erased the text and threw the paper away.
Leaving to go to work, he hurried and grabbed the book that he often forgot to read while on break.
At work Ryan felt different, it was like a force of attraction that was pulling him in Monica's direction. He could feel something because all he could think about was a simple text message. He had some type of spell on him. Distracted, he spilled hot coffee on his arm.
"Ryan, are you okay?" Tina asked, noticing him trying to care for the burn.
"You might want to get some help, that arm doesn't look good."
Tina was the supervisor on staff that day and from the moment Ryan clocked in, to the moment she saw him spill coffee on himself, she noticed something serious was on his mind. She had seen that look before.
"Did you meet someone last night?"
"No, no, I've just got a lot to finish up. A lot on my mind, you know," Ryan explained, wiping off his arm and clothes with a paper towel.
Grabbing more towels from the break-room counter, Tina helped him clean up,
"Ryan, go home and get some rest, and make sure you see a doctor about that burn. I'll have Jim cover the rest of your shift. It's slow today anyway."
Hearing the phone ring in his cubical, Ryan's attention shifted as he slipped to head to his desk. Tina stopped him in his tracks,
"No, no, no lover boy, you're not going to make me look bad today. Jim will take the call. Go get treated, I'll see you Monday."
Ryan gathered his things and in a matter of ten minutes he was headed to emergency to get his burn looked at. The nurse wrapped it up and on his way out, that's when it happened. Ryan saw her and she saw him.
"Ma', Monica, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked, shaking like a wet duck.
"I just started this job yesterday. Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
As the conversation shifted to the text message, all doubt soon left Ryan's mind. This is how it happened. A man and a woman who've had so much heart ache in their lives, yet in the span of three days would have conversation and realize that they needed each other more than a doctor would need a nurse. It was simple. There was no hurry for touchy-feeling-bumping-and-grinding, just pure love. The two just met everyday and began to spend time knowing each other all over again. Five years later, at the altar, he kissed her with no doubt that he had made the right choice. Twenty years later when his son came to him with the same feeling, he asked Ryan about love. Tripping on his own shoe laces, he looked his father in the eyes and asked,
"Dad how do you know when love is real?"
Ryan put his hand on his son's shoulder, the one with the scar that led him to his future wife, and looked his son in the eyes,
"The force of attraction will be so strong and all of your feelings will surrender. My son, there will be no doubt, you will know."
In certainty Ryan and Monica would spend the rest of their lives together and have three children. Through ups and downs they would never forget the moment when they reunited. The key is that they would never forget to keep telling each other and their kids their own love story.
  
The Love Story