I met April when I was a paramedic at Valley General Hospital in Monroe, and she was an EMT. I noticed right away that April was kind and genuinely friendly to everyone. As we got a chance to work together, we became friends and we looked forward to talking and visiting together.
I never thought that April and I would be anything but friends and I was perfectly fine with that. In fact, I was hoping that April would become a lifelong friend, someone I could keep in contact with over the years, and check in to see how she was doing and share life stories. There were plenty of guys who wanted to date April and that wasn’t surprising to me considering that April is stunningly beautiful and has such a warm and caring personality. She told me, I wish guys would stop asking me out on dates. I like friendships but I want to focus on my career and I don’t want to get involved in a romantic relationship.
April and I enjoyed talking to each other and I noticed that April seemed more comfortable, over time, with sharing her thoughts with me. Our conversations became longer and we both looked forward to seeing and talking to each other. During one of our phone calls, when we were finishing our conversation and about to hang up, April paused before saying goodbye and told me that she loved me. And, not in the way that you would tell someone who is just a friend, it was deeper than that.
I had feelings for April but I never shared them with her because I didn’t think she wanted anything except a friendship with me, or with anybody else at that point in her life. I told April that I loved her too and that was the start of a loving and caring relationship between April and me that lasted over 30 years, and started with us being the best of friends.