A Casablanca Moment

How did you meet your significant other?

If you remember that very old film (Casablanca) it was a bit like that. It was in fact me that walked in to an entirely new world.

I was just 34, recently escaped from a middle aged marriage to a very conflicted man, and I was neither looking for, nor ready for another relationship. From the moment Tony said “Hi, I’m Tony, have you ever been to Rome”, that was it, and still is.

Despite all the realities of everyday life doing their best to drive us to distraction, and into a divorce, here we still are. It’s just the way it is.

Most long term couples will tell you, most unromantically, that they’re just the one even though you want to strangle them on a regular basis.

Tony has had to deal with my acute anxiety, and I’ve had to deal with a highly pressured director, who is, but doesn’t want to be, a workaholic. Quid pro quo, we get each other through.

In truth it was a romantic and almost impossible meeting. He was born in New Zealand and had only been full time in England for a few months. I never went to Croydon, or a nightclub.

When the universe finds mister right and moves him 13,000 miles, and you get divorced suddenly after 13 years, then decide to write a second play with your friend who wants to set it in a nightclub, somewhere you’ve never been, you just give in gracefully. Mutter the fatalistic “Well that’s that then”, get married, and try not to kill each other.

That’s real romance for you. They must be truly in love as there’s no new flowerbed at the bottom of the garden planted with cacti. Good job too, the cats would dig it up.

Best love

Amorah – Deb