I am about to embark on a ridiculously random adventure. It’s like a ‘choose your own adventure’ book, except someone else has chosen my path for me. Out of nowhere, a boy whom I have known for years through mutual friends has decided to fly me over for a first date. The thing is, is that he is currently residing in France. We are at polar opposites, and yet he has taken the gamble and is willing to risk a week of potential awkwardness for new love. I find it difficult to comprehend this outlandish decision on his part. Don’t get me wrong, I am a bleeding heart and always will be, but to actually step up to the plate and do something as wonderfully romantic as this for a virtual stranger is, well, rather dreamlike. And I don’t use the term ‘virtual’ lightly. You see, our humble beginnings saw each other emailing back and forth a few times a week. These emails soon gave way to longer and more personal online chats, and by the time I could day ‘Oui oui Paris’…I was already falling love.

When I fall in love, it usually happens quite quickly. I see someone I like, we share a couple of dinners and then bang, I’m smitten. I am a low maintenance modern-day Juliet. Make me a meal and I’m forever yours. However, this time is completely different for me. Is it possible to fall in love with someone’s thoughts before you actually fall in love with them as a whole? Well, that is how it happened for me. You see, my Romeo is a writer. He has a way with storytelling that is not only rich with description, but is also rife with hilarity. The funny guys always get the girls. For all you single men out there, I highly recommend taking a short course in Hilarity: 101 and then sit back as the ladies flock at your feet. Not only did he make me laugh, but he made every single part of me sing. His words are a time machine. He can teleport you to any point in time as if you were actually in amongst it. It takes courage to expose your most intimate thoughts.

Love really is the province of the brave.

So these emails soon gave way to instant chatting and I found myself going online more than I would like, just to catch a glimpse of his day. I could feel something shifting within me ever so subtly. I found myself smiling more and worrying less. I started thinking about him before I went to sleep. In the world of Jules, this means that he has begun to get beneath my skin.

And so in one week’s time, I will be in France.

Grandkids really do deserve grand stories.

And lovers really do deserve love stories.

This is by far the craziest thing someone has ever done for me. A gesture so powerful and telling, it leaves me weak at the knees. Something tells me that a simple ‘thank you’ just won’t do. Not unless it’s coupled with a bear hug, a tackle to the ground and perhaps that type of kiss that is undeniably addictive.

I’m not sure if this will be the beginning of something significant for me. All I know is that for once in my life, someone is courageous enough to step up to the table and bear it all. And for this alone, I am endlessly grateful.