My first marriage was to a girl who I met at the Nile. Her name was Jennifer, she was beautiful and 2 years My senior. It turned out she was also Catholic, but that wasn't the reason our relationship was doomed to failure...just an interesting irony. I spent weekend after weekend watching her dance, and every once in a while she'd notice Me watching and watch right back. One evening a mutual friend of ours approached Me with news that this lovely creature wanted to kiss Me, a revelation that I wasted little to no thought on. I took the bait, walked up to her and properly introduced MySelf. After a little small talk, we stepped outside and commenced with our first of many kisses. After that initial contact, she leaned against the wall with her eyes still closed and a funny smile on her lips. Even after all this time, remembering her assessment of that kiss will always make Me smile: "Wow...a good kiss'll rock ya."

Time passed, and Jennifer and I spent increasingly greater amounts of it together. We eventually became an "item", something that didn't sit well with some of her friends. I cared little for their opinions, though. The only friend of Jennifer's that I really cared for was Scott, a strange but incredibly charismatic individual with whom I would come to share a strong and enduring friendship.

A conflict of social interests was, unfortunately, the least of our problems as a couple. Even though we talked a great deal about many different topics, our actual interpersonal communications were greatly impoverished. Regardless, I wound up falling thoroughly in love with this strange and flighty girl and more time flew by deliriously for Me.

Late one night while sitting at a park I took a chance and asked Jennifer to marry Me. She accepted My proposal, and I'll admit that I was pretty surprised because we had been together only a few months...but accept she did and I was on My way to hitched-ville. A week later we had swept through the legal processes and walked away from the Justice of the Peace as husband and wife.

The following happy months deteriorated into bickering and fighting...and eventually a resentful distance. Our apartment brimming with discontent, it was more than obvious that we had made a mistake. Jennifer's acceptance of My proposal was hasty and it was realized that she was not emotionally prepared for a marriage, and I had no place asking her to marry Me to begin with, as I was not possessed of the ability to communicate effectively in the way that love and relationships demand.

My marriage to Jennifer came to an end in the late evening hours of My 21st birthday. It had been a night of yelling and bitter words, and culminated in her locking Me out of the apartment and accusing Me of having gotten violent with her. To this day I will never understand the origin of that groundless and painful indictment. Within two months we were granted an annulment and we were officially "Single/Never Married". We tried to pick up the pieces and start over again as friends with our eyes on the possibility of more in the future, but our end had been too bitter and I could not see My way into repeating it. All told, our time together was perhaps a little more than 6 months. My lesson was learned concerning swift matrimony.

The following year life carried on, Jennifer moved to California and I settled into Tempe. My job had Me on shift the day I met a couple of interesting girls. One was named Andi, whom I started dating for a few very bizarre months. The other was Anita, Andi's bestfriend and the girl who would become My second wife 4 years later.