Sometimes, in love, all the stars seem to line up. My Mom called it “kismet”; others call it “fate” or “destiny”. At any rate, I swear, this is a true story. I had one of life’s landmark birthdays many years ago when I was still single. I planned to celebrate with close friends at a fancy local restaurant. My friends would handle the arrangements, and all I had to do was find a "date" to share the evening with us. A few weeks before the big night, my best friend warned me that time was running out for me to come up with a date, or he would find one for me. He had recently had a beautiful single young lady come through his place of business, and being happily married, thought of me. (I told you; he was my best friend.) Being of similar tastes, this was not the worst news in the world, but hopefully, I would find my own. I did not date a lot when I was single. I always looked for quality over quantity, but I was determined. As the day drew closer, I was hurrying through the local mall at lunchtime, picking up a couple of things when, whoa! I caught a glimpse of one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. I don’t want to say that I immediately fumbled, but short of an ambush, how do you go about something like this? I began walking so that I stayed within sight of her, but kept enough distance that I didn’t give myself away and freak her out. I may have walked into a couple of trash cans and benches as I struggled to keep her in sight, but I managed to stay close, hoping an opportunity would miraculously appear. Anyway, this went on for about 10 minutes until she finally ducked into a store. My luck, it turned out to be a Victoria’s Secret store! I was not about to follow her there. I pretended to use a payphone in front of the store (they were still around back then) as I waited for her to come out. It was do or die. After waiting another 10 minutes or so for her to exit the store, I just gave up. It was pathetic. It just wasn’t going to happen. That night I told my friend what had happened. His response was, “Time’s up”. He arranged a lunch date a few days before my birthday, for me to meet the girl he had met, and with no other options, I obliged, still kicking myself for an opportunity lost. The day we were to meet, I stood waiting in the parking lot of the restaurant where I would meet her. After a brief wait, I finally heard a soft voice behind me inquiring, “Jeff?” and turned around… to find… the same girl from the mall!!! It was one of the most amazing coincidences of my life. Through lunch, I told her the whole story. It was amazing (probably more so for me than for her). She was my special birthday date, and I was proud and honored. (I shouldn’t tell you this, but we never went out again. She had just started seeing another person, and I’m happy for her to say that things worked out for her with the other guy... coincidentally, another “Jeff”.) Fact.