Fate

Copyright 2008 by madengineer3

Sometimes reality can be stranger than fiction. My name is George; and Robin, my wife of eighteen years, and I have found that great pleasure can result from strange circumstances. Let me tell you about it.

When we were both in our freshman year of college we met in our first semester freshman physics lecture. I noticed her right away. She wore very modest clothes and dark rimmed glasses. She had a serious look on her face that sort of said, keep away. I thought she was sort of cute. Her name was Robin.

A week later I was talked into going to a "mixer". You know, one of those dances that you are expected to go to without a date. I was kind of a quiet "nerd" at that time and had gone to the mixer because one of my classmates said that it would be fun. I couldn't see how being snubbed by pretty girls would be fun, but I went anyway.

I had moved around the edges of the dance for about twenty minutes before I decided to leave. On my way out, I literally bumped into Robin. I had rounded a corner, on my way to the outside door when I found her leaning against the wall, right in my path.

My first words were: "OOPS!, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

She responded: "No, I guess it was stupid of me to stand here so close to the corner. You leaving?"

"Yeah, this kind of thing just isn't 'me'. I've never been much of an extrovert."

"That makes two of us. I've seen you in most of my courses, haven't I?"

"Yes, is your major physics too?

"Yeah. Pretty unusual for a girl to be majoring in physics, Huh?"

I don't know why, but I blurted out: "Maybe so, but I like the idea."

She smiled at me! Very seldom has a girl smiled at me. "I'm Greg. I think I remember your name is Robin, right?"

"Yes, why did you remember my name?"

"Because I noticed you the first time I saw you in class."

Both of us blushed a little after I said that.

She asked: "Where are you going now?"

"I'm going over to the pizza place for a slice of pizza and something to drink? What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'm going to go back to the dorm. There isn't much else to do."

I found myself going out on a limb. This wasn't normally me, but I felt compelled to ask: "Do you like pizza?"

"I love pizza. Why do you ask?"

"Would you let me buy you some pizza? I feel like company tonight, and I think you would be good company."

She looked at me in a somewhat strange way and then smiled, "I'd love to."

We made our way to the pizza joint and I ordered a whole pie and a pitcher of root-beer, which she said was her favorite drink. Since it was also my favorite drink I was happy to oblige. We started talking about where we were from, what we liked, and about our families. She had been brought up on a farm and I had been brought up in a small town, by a machinist. We both had been sort of outsiders in high school.

We formed a friendly bond that night. We weren't in love, we weren't going to get intimate, but we both liked the other's company.

When we finished the pizza, I walked her back to her dorm. Remember that, back in those days, women's dorm room was not in the same building as men's dorm rooms. We said good night without a kiss or hug, but as I later found out we were both interested in a hug and kiss but to shy to do anything about it..

Our freshman year found us studying together, going to concerts together, and going out for pizza or movies together. People even started to comment on the fact that we even started to look alike. We both had brown hair and eyes. We were about the same height and a bit on the "chunky" side. However, we each found the other to be almost perfect.

Things continued like this for the next two years. In our senior year I hit a course which I found extremely difficult. It was an introduction to Q.E.D., quantum electro-dynamics. Robin, however, found the subject easy. As a result of this we started to spend several hours each night with her tutoring me as we both took the course. Our friendship grew into love during the second semester of our senior year. We didn't want to loose each other after college graduation.

Both of us had been accepted to continue on for our master's work at the same school. We had done well enough so that we had full scholarships for the tuition. What we didn't have was enough money to pay for room and board. After considering the options we both applied for positions as residents. (For those who have forgotten, a resident is a sort of pseudo-parent assigned to the floor of a dorm. Their job was to make sure the rooms were taken care of and that the college rules weren't broken. You know, like not having anyone of the opposite sex in the room unless the door was open and the visit had been o.k.'d by the resident.) Yes, those were the rules back in the fifties and early sixties. I know times have changed, but back then rules were enforced. You weren't legally an adult until age twenty-one, and sneaking a girl into the men's dorm could get you both expelled.

Any way, we made it through our master's work and in time our doctoral work still as very good friends who had decided to get married as soon as we could land real jobs. We both found a position in the same firm, a large semi-conductor manufacturer who needed people with excellent solid-state physics backgrounds. Since both of us were good at solid-state physics, and "aced" our interviews, we were hired.

It was two months later that we were married. Our first few years were very good. We had both decided that we wanted two kids. We lucked out by having fraternal twins. We essentially "filled our quota" the first time. It wasn't until our kids were teens that the strangeness began. Our wedding picture had always been on the mantle over the fireplace. Our twins were getting ready for their senior ball. They were dressed up and I had grabbed my camera to take their picture. We used the fireplace as the backdrop for the picture. That was when Robin suddenly seemed to stiffen a bit. When the kids had left, she said: "Look at our wedding picture."

I looked. "O.k., what about our wedding picture? We've been looking at it for the last eighteen years."

"No, look at us in the picture!"

Then I saw it! What I blurted out probably sounded crazy! "That's our kids!"

We looked at each other and just stood there for about a minute. I suddenly had an idea.

"Do you have a family tree? Maybe we are distantly related. Oh, forget it, I had totally forgotten that I had been adopted. A family tree wouldn't be useful."

"You were adopted, George? That's odd, so was I."

"Do you have a baby picture of you?"

"Yes, I'll get it. It isn't very good, and it is ripped."

I must have turned a bit white because she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Please get your baby picture and I'll get mine."

About two minutes later we each got our pictures out of our box of old photos. It was with trepidation that I asked her to let me see her picture. As she held it there I held up my baby picture and the torn edges of both pictures matched perfectly. I suddenly knew that there was a reason for us having the same birthday. I had never known that I had a sister!