"If you really want to hear about . . . all that David Copperfield kind of crap . . .”
J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, opening lines, spoken by Holden Caulfield

Since this trip (reach if you will) is largely about my relationship with Mrs. Peel (pseudonym alert), some of Salinger’s “David Copperfield kind of crap” does seem germane, possibly even required for purposes of context. Our courtship has followed a rocky arc that bears more than passing resemblance to that of Lara and Dr. Zhivago’s.

If you want to skip these relationship parts stop reading and wait for the later installments.

We first met as members of a Hostage Negotiations Team (circa 1994). You don’t meet women as pretty as Mrs. Peel working in prison as a rule (or anywhere else for that matter). Later I was assigned to teach a class with her. I was not happy about it because I imagined a couple months of running interference between her and the inmates trying to hit on her. But beyond that, honestly, she was so beautiful I was afraid I’d fall for her.

I was wrong about the inmates, she handled herself with grace and the inmates treated her with respect. The class we taught was scheduled to have its curriculum revised and we both volunteered to work on the re-write. The head of the program must have appreciated our work because we were asked to train staff in the program, so again we were thrown together.

Training involved going on the road, frequently we were in the car for hours at a time. Mrs. Peel liked to talk about her children and family and I enjoyed listening. We never played the radio. We became good friends. I managed my fears of becoming involved by adopting the role of a big brother/confidant.

Twice we were hired as consultants by the Feds and got to travel out of state. Flying home from Oregon she told me she was promoting to our Dept.’s central office. Initially I took this in stride. I knew I’d miss her, but friends move on in this business so it shouldn’t have been a big deal. But it was. It didn’t hit me until she was actually gone. I found, after she left, that I was in love with her and it horrified me, I was happily married.