Excerpt:

On this bright day, Mark was sitting with Carl and Dara. He was an older man. In his mid-fifties. He had brought his grandsons to the park. And it seemed everyone there knew him except Ellie.
He quickly introduced himself and continued his conversation with another lady Ellie who didn't know. Every one at the table made pleasant small talk for about an hour. Ellie didn't join in much. For some unknown reason she felt quite shy and out of her element that day. Then the conversation turned to Mark.
“I was so surprised when you and Lisa broke up.” Dara said.
“That was a long time ago.” Mark looked hurt. “You know she's been married 4 times since she left me.”
“She was an idiot.” Carla chimed in. “You should find yourself a nice girl and settle down.”
“Yeah you should.” Dara added. “Are you ever going to get married again?”
“We should fix him up.” Carla smiled and looked at Ellie “You know anyone up for the job? Nice girl that needs a man?”
“Well,” Mark's eyes twinkled as he looked at Ellie “I'm not taking applications but I'll give physicals. You want one?”
And the girls all giggled. Not many people got the best of Ellie and she quickly recovered. Her comment “Just make sure you wash your hands and wear your gloves.” brought a fresh round of laughter.
That memory was so real, Ellie could feel herself turning red and smiling at the thought.
The next weekend Mark was again sitting with Carla and Dara. When she sat down across from him, he pulled a pair of purple latex gloves out of the bib pocket of his overalls and laid them on the table. Dara and Carla started giggling like little girls again and moved to the other end of the table.
After that, Mark met her in the park for a few minutes before she went to work every afternoon. They sat at the picnic table and talked. Dara and Carla were always there too but gave them their space. He asked her out every day for 52 days after that. She told him no every day. He was too old for her.

It was Carla and Dara who had given her the push she needed.
“Who cares if he's seventeen years older than you?” Dara said “You obviously make one another happy.”
“He could be my father. I'm nearly 40 and he is getting ready to retire. I want some one be old with. I don't want to fall in love then lose him in ten years.”
“Look, you two are already good friends. You are already happy and you know that you will be happier if you let things develop.” Carla spoke in earnest “If you are happy with him you have ten years of happiness in your life. Why throw it away based on the fear that he may die in ten years. We all are here by grace and may die at any time. You could just as well be with a younger man and lose him to a car wreck or a heart attack.”