There's No Forcing The Hand of Love

Lynn was not looking for a man the night she met her future husband. She wanted a night out with her girl friends, sipping cocktails and dancing the night away. After a few boyfriends and flings here and there, Lynn knew what she wanted in a man and knew she wasn’t going to find it in the club that night. 

 

Lanele Lindsey put a dent in that plan. 

 

The young naval officer had seen her before. It was a stolen glimpse of a picture of her in a friend’s barracks, but it stuck with him. He instantly recognized her, and in that moment, it felt like a sign. He needed to speak to her, and he needed to do it now.

 

Dancing under the club strobes, Lynn pulled all the light. When Lanele asked her to dance, she said no, so he waited and tried again later. He asked to buy her a drink, and she said no — again. Over the course of the evening, he approached her 4 times, and she declined every time. Lynn planned to stick to her plan of just being with the girls that night, but the universe had other plans. 

 

The club just closed, but many seemed to be lingering outside, holding onto the last few moments of revelry. As Lanele walked along the buzzing parking lot, he saw Lynn’s silhouette in an empty parked car. Unwilling to lose this last opportunity, he hopped in the car. 

 

Winding down from the night, Lynn leaned back against the headrest, listening to the music that poured out of the car speakers as smoke spilled out of her lips and floated into the cool night air. Then, the passenger seat door opened. She watched in shock as Lanele sat down and formally introduced himself without hesitation. 

 

He was persistent, Lynn would give him that. The young woman fiddled with the cigarette hanging loosely between her fingers and looked at the man who seemed to only ever look at her with stars in his eyes. For the first time all night, she let him proceed. They opened up immediately, discussing life and love with vulnerability and depth. Being with one another felt as easy and natural as breathing. The pair talked for hours that night and only thought to stop when brilliant streaks of gold and orange began to coat the world in a warm glow. 

 

Although Lynn didn’t want to find love that night, love found her. 

 

The pair didn’t go straight to dating after that evening. On paper, the relationship should not work. While Lynn bewitched Lanele instantly, she went against numerous qualities he wanted in a partner. He always said he would never date a smoker or a fellow sailor; however, Lynn proved to be the exception to these rules. Additionally, Lynn did not want to pursue a relationship with anybody when the pair first met. Even after their enchanting night, she didn’t want a romantic relationship with him or anybody, but fate kept pulling them together. Despite all the plans and rules the pair had for themselves, love relentlessly chased them.  

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Finally, the pair gave in and started dating. During the early stages of the relationship, they were together constantly. Lanele bought a stick shift car that he had a difficult time driving just so he could go to the base she stayed at whenever he wanted. As a young couple, Lynn and Lanele spent many afternoons listening to blues music and strolling through the botanical gardens and Virginia Beach. The pair didn’t need much to be happy, just each other. Lynn felt content just lying in Lanele’s lap and listening to him talk to their friends in the barracks.   

 

The young, lovesick pair were truly taken with one another, yet they struggled to acknowledge and admit to the true depth of their feelings. Simultaneously scared of rejection and reciprocation, the pair completely avoided the big “I Love You” and planned to ignore their growing feelings. They had only been dating a few months when Lynn even began to ponder the idea, too early for love she firmly decided. 

 

One day, she talked to her grandmother about it all, rambling on and on about how much she yearned to see Lanele when he was away and how much she treasured their time together. Eventually, her grandmother looked at her with kind, understanding eyes and said, “Well, it kind of sounds like you’re in love to me, baby.” After that, the pair prayed, and Lynn knew and accepted that she was completely and utterly in love with Lanele. Despite their stubborn refusal to take the next step in their relationship, love, yet again, had a plan of its own and guided the couple along their destined path. 

 

After that, Lynn proposed to Lanele right before he was deployed for 6 months, and during that deployment, Lynn gave birth to their first daughter. A week after he returned, they got married in a small chapel on Virginia Beach. After they were married, they had another child and were ready to settle down. Now, the couple still resides in Dallas, enjoying being grandparents and preparing to retire and spend their days traveling around the country together. 

 

To think, this all started with a rejection because Lynn wasn’t looking for love that night at the club. People rarely have a say in love. Sometimes love just happens to you.