A Starlit Night

Words & Photos: By Yours Truly, Adam Jeffery

That Starlit Night Led To A Passionate Lovership

Ever since I moved to Boston I’ve encountered many different people from acquaintances to friend and, at times, lovers. Perhaps you’ve already guessed what this post will be covering - yes, the blog’s first heart-thumping story on l’amour. Well, not necessarily. It’s more about a “way of love” that I’ve found to be absolutely invigorating. How we “met” isn’t really interesting but how we met was (confusing? That’s how love is sometimes).

I met this love of mine by “chance” at the Boston Public Library’s Courtyard. I’ve had an annoying and stressful day at work and decided that the serene and cool courtyard was the ideal location to unwind. Much to my surprise, a band was playing jazz in this oasis of knowledge. I picked a spot that allowed me to lean back but close enough to see the musicians and feel the music wash my worries away. As Fate would have it I sat next to my lover-to-be. We talked about music, our trips to NYC the previous weeks (not together, of course), and the annoyances of office politics. It was thanks to my lover that I was able to offload some pent up rage. At that point, we decided to head elsewhere and I offered to walk along the Charles River (prime location to watch the sunset…an intentional move? Perhaps). We walked along the Esplanade and stumbled across a shopping area in Cambridge where my lover had once worked. I suggested that we head to the Shabu restaurant for dinner and for my lover to reminisce of times gone by (in midst of dodging the owners, my lover’s ex-employers…it was quite a spectacle).

After dinner we walked back to the Back Bay Area (unintentionally using the long route and though we were tired I enjoyed seeing my lover dodge cobwebs, spiders, bugs, and bats from underneath bridges and beside street-side bushes). A short break at my place to empty our bladders and we were back out. I know what you’re thinking…that’s an obvious move! It could have been but we left after using the toilet (not romantic) to catch the ongoing meteor shower that my lover had remembered reading about on the news (romantic?).

If you follow me on instagram then you know how much of a sweet tooth I have (I’m almost certain that my mouth is filled with nothing but sweet teeth). I will always have room for dessert and I “tricked” my lover to take the long route to the Esplanade so that we can pass a Gelateria on Newbury Street to share on our way to the river. With gelato in hand we made our way over and across the highway to the Esplanade.

It’s evident that not many people read or watch the news anymore since the Esplanade was fairly devoid of people (or, perhaps, nobody’s into the whole romantic getaway these days). In any case, we came across this low, but sturdy, tree that was begging to be climbed on (if it didn’t then I apologize) so we got in touch with our inner ape and climbed the tree, found a spot on one of its branches and sat there for a bit (it was evident that we were disturbing the residents of that tree as the next couple that climbed the tree started shouting “Oh my god! There are bugs” and so on and so forth…this night has been nothing but entertaining). After a couple of minutes and talking about what each other were thinking about in a moment of silence surrounded by darkness we moved down to a nearby bench for a better view of the starlit night.

We got closer as we watched the night sky above us…close but not touching. We waited and waited until I joked how we weren't going to see much. Suddenly, a star shone bright and whizzed across the darkness- just like that, we both saw our first shooting star that night. In that instant we hugged each other, squealed with glee and excitement. We held each other for a bit longer before moving to the grass. No! Nobody forced themselves on anyone and certainly not in public (well…that’s a story for another day). We decided to lay on a blanket my lover had brought to see more of the meteor shower above us. We laid there hand-in-hand, in one’s arms, on one’s chest… eyes glued to the twinkle in the other’s eyes as they reflect the night sky. Well...not really - we were looking at the actual night sky above us. Staring at each other’s eyes as they reflect the stars? Who’s got time for that?! I ain’t missing my wishes for some eyeballs in someone’s skull.

A Starlit Night (and The Tree That We Climbed)

Two shooting stars.

Three shootings stars.

That’s when I told my lover that I’d give a “reward” if we saw a fourth shooting star.

A star shone bright and painted the black canvas and in that instance I…Fin (The End).

Sometimes the best dates and relationships are the unexpected ones. We didn’t plan to go down the river, have dinner at a place full of memories, to go on a gelato date, to watch the night sky, to wish upon the shooting stars…it just happened. The days and weeks that followed were just like that first date; we left it all to Fate with only minimal planning. We kept it spontaneous but each time we met we made sure to make the best out of it. Though we may have spent time together only about a day per week (sometimes two), the quality time spent made it feel as though we had spent everyday of the week together.

This was a short-lived romance. It wasn’t because we had a falling out but circumstances made it so. We met under a starlit night and like the shooting stars that night we enjoyed each other’s company and adventures before my eventual leave. Like a star twinkling bright in the dark night before whizzing past that black sky for only but a second…this is the tale of my last romance in the United States of America as an “undergraduate student.”