Connected

Connected!
A Story by Lea Sheryn
Two people meet online, decide to marry and meet objections from the family

I

No one knows the feeling of heartache until it happens to him or her. When a loved one is lost for no good reason, the emptiness is overwhelming; it is as though the heart has gone to another place and there is nothing left but a big gaping hole. A deep forbidding sadness envelops the entire being and never allows a glimmer of hope to light the way. Melody felt that way after opening her email one morning and finding a good-bye letter from Calvin. It was so out-of-the-blue that she didn’t really believe it. At first she thought it must be a joke or perhaps she had read it wrong. After a second reading, she understood what he was saying to her.

Collapsing onto her bed in tears, Melody felt that overwhelming emptiness envelope her. What was she going to do? Cal meant everything to her. He was the first one she had spoken to about all her thoughts and ideas; all her dreams and wishes. He understood her and she understood him. It was as though the powers that be had made one for the other. Now that he was gone, whom was she going to turn to? Who was she going to tell all her innermost thoughts?

Melody met Calvin online. It was a funny thing because Melody didn’t really believe in meeting people online but she had been playing around on the Internet one day and his name popped up. There was something intriguing about that name; something that made her want to get to know this mysterious stranger. So, holding her breath and striking the right keys, she sent off a couple of lines of introduction and wondered if she would hear from him.

II

Calvin sighed as he opened his emails. There had been no way out; Melody was lost to him. “Why did they have to meet online?” he wondered to himself. “Why couldn’t they have met in the normal way?” He had been so happy with his wonderful new discovery. This woman who typed such intriguing letters had been everything to him. She was all he had ever hoped and wished for in a companion for life.

When his job brought him close to her location, Cal suggested they meet for dinner. Melody was happy to oblige. It was an hour’s drive to her hometown from his temporary place of business but with the thought of finally seeing her face-to-face, it was really no big deal. And so they met. Beautiful beyond compare, at least in his opinion, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her as they fell into a conversation as deep as the ones they shared online. When he left her, he immediately started to make plans to see her again.

Alas, his temporary job being just that, Calvin’s next assignment took him overseas. He couldn’t see Melody again before he left but he was anxious to continue the conversation. The first thing he did as soon as he reached his next location was to send out another email. Even though they couldn’t be together in a physical way, they were together mentally and intellectually therefore their relationship grew even stronger than normal.

III

Enjoying the deeply intellectual conversations she shared with Calvin, Melody still ached to see him again. They were so close yet so far away from each other. Everyday she longed to see him and clung to the emails that grew more intense as time went by.

It was absolute bliss when Cal announced that he would be back in the area. Although his assignment overseas was turning out to be a long one, he was still connected with his nearby office. Luckily he would have to return for short jaunts that would include time to spend with Melody. With alacrity, they made arrangements to have dinner together and visit a few local hotspots. Melody was overjoyed.

“Will you marry me?” Calvin asked, after dinner on their second night together. Melody was not surprised; she expected he would ask. Overjoyed, she didn’t have to give it a second thought. Being completely comfortable in his presence, she longed to spend her life loving him. Flinging her arms around his neck, she whispered, “Yes, oh yes,” into his ear. He held her in a tight embrace and kissed her with passion.

IV

All they could talk about was their upcoming marriage. How easy it was to plan everything out especially when they could weave their plans in writing before putting them into action. Cal was halfway to the moon as soon as Melody said “Yes!” His heart pounding with anticipation, his imagination whirled with thoughts of their finally being together in the same place at the same time. How lucky he was the day he opened his email to find that first letter from the love of his life. What could possibly go wrong?

At first his folks were happy to hear Cal was ready to settle down. There would be little grandchild to spoil and holidays to spend together. His mother wanted all the details so Cal happily obliged by telling her all about Melody and how wonderful she was. Naturally the question arose about how they met. As soon as he explained they had encountered each other online, the joy slipped from his mother’s face.

“You can’t marry someone you met online,” the mother vigorously complained. “You don’t know anything about her.” Calvin’s face fell as she continued with her objections. By the time she had finished, all his happiness was gone. Feeling shattered, he had no choice but to send the fatal email.

V

“Oh, why can’t people mind their business?” Melody wailed, full of rejection. She was happy with Cal and he was happy with her; they were in love with each other. Why should it matter how they met as long as they met? The decision to marry was up to them to make. Clearly it hadn’t been a light one. Their correspondences had been full of hopeful plans and ideas; they had discussed every possibility and made up their own minds. The mother hadn’t been a part of their private affairs therefore she could know nothing of all the details they had hammered out or the conclusions they had reached. Why should she have the last say in the course of their lives?

Calvin had always been a bit nervous about their online relationship. Naturally he had wished it to be more physical; so did Melody. All they talked about over the last months had been finally being together in the same place at the same time. The fleeting meetings hadn’t been quite enough. Yet, all of a sudden, every chance of a weekend together or a vacation had been trampled on. Cal was obligated to other plans and other destinations when it seemed he was getting too close to Melody.

And so Calvin finally ended it with Melody. There was no path forward, he stated. No way to make a plan, he explained. No, of course not, she agreed. How could there be when someone else was always standing in the way.

VI

Two o’clock in the morning, Cal’s phone rang. Late into the night, he had been sitting out on the patio. His head in a whirl, his mind was ravaged. How did something so wonderful end up being so awful? He hardly understood it. As joyful as his relationship had been with Melody, it had ended in such a tragic way. He couldn’t think; he couldn’t sleep; he barely felt as though he were alive. And now the phone was ringing. Something mundane to deal with at the office…something that could probably wait until morning. Oh bother…

At first Calvin thought he would ignore it. But no, it was his obligation to answer. As soon as he picked it up, it stopped. Oh well…couldn’t have been that important. He would just go get another drink. Slowly he walked inside to the fridge for another beer. As soon as he stepped inside, the phone rang again. Trudging back with the icy cold bottle in his hand, he reached down to pick the blasted thing up and it stopped again.

Finishing his drink, Cal decided to stumble off the bed. Sitting up or lying down, what difference did it make? He probably wouldn’t sleep anyway. Just as he started to stumble off, the phone blared out again. Grabbing it up and hitting the right button, he snapped, “What?!” He really wasn’t in the mood. “Cal?” Close to tears, it was Melody’s small trembling voice.

VII

“What difference does it make how we met?” Melody questioned as she attempted to control her emotions. “I love you. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“I love you too.” Even though Calvin’s response was automatic, it was heartfelt. He really and truly loved her.
“Can I come to you, Cal?” she asked over the distance. “When I think of you not being with me, it aches like crazy. I can’t stand this!”

“Yes…yes, come to me now,” Calvin whispered into the phone. “I want you here with me.”

“We won’t tell anyone, will we?” Melody sobbed into the phone. “If no one knows, they can’t stop us.”

“True,” he responded with new hope rising in his voice. “Come quickly.”


VIII

Calvin was waiting at the airport with a dozen red roses grasped tightly in his fists. Melody was amongst the first to deplane and made directly for her lover’s arms. It didn’t matter if the flowers were smooshed between them. They were together at last.


Meeting online was an excellent way to bring two people together. Many who believe it is impossible to get to know someone by chatting over the Internet may not consider it the best way. Calvin and Melody took advantage of the ability to converse and got to know each other in a deeper way than most. And, as long as they found joy in finding one another this way, who is there who says it can’t be done? They love each other and that’s really all that counts!

It would be a fallacy to believe they lived happily ever after. Naturally there were the families to face, but sooner or later all objections become things of the past. No one ever has a perfect marriage but, as long as Calvin and Melody were happy together, that’s all that really counts. Cal continued to travel with his job and Melody became a novelist, a career that allowed her to move about as she chose. There were ins and outs and ups and downs just like everyone else, but they were really and truly connected. As they say, Love Conquers All.

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