Two Squeezes

One time while seeing a movie in the theater, Andy grabbed my hand and gave my hand two little squeezes. I turned to him with a look that asked, What? His reply was simple: This goofy little smile of his. He wasn't watching the movie at all. I smiled back and turned back to keep watching the movie, the smile still stuck on my face.

The next time we went to the movies, he held my hand and it happened again:
[squeeze squeeze]
What?
[smile]
[I smile back]

But this time, when I turned back to watch the movie, it immediately repeated.
[squeeze squeeze]
Yes?
[smile]
This time he got me to laugh.

The third time we went to the movies, I was not surprised when it happened.
[squeeze squeeze]
What?
[smile]
[I smile back, and turn back to the film]
[squeeze squeeze]
...
[squeeze squeeze]

At this point, I'm deliberately ignoring him, but laughing the whole time. The squeezes keep coming, and he's slowly training me to laugh every time he does it. I finally cave and through a smile, mouth the word Stop. Did he? Of course not. This is Andy.

Over time, [squeeze squeeze] automatically triggered my laughter. He knew he was being silly, and I loved it. [squeeze squeeze] happened regularly in the movie theater, on the street, out with friends, and on the couch. Every time I laughed. It was our very own secret language.

Independence Day

In early June, Andy and I were discussing our plans for Independence Day. I suggested we go to Mount Vernon- a new place to see DC fireworks. We could bring the dog we would be dog-sitting that week with us. The conversation was casual, even when it opened up the discussion of how we should call it Independence Day -not July 4th- to recognize and not forget the actual significance of the holiday and the reason we have all these BBQs…

Independence Day also marked our half-year anniversary. I don’t think we would have celebrated half-years otherwise, had it not fallen on a holiday. But then Andy passed away unexpectedly on June 25, 2015, and July 4th came and went.

Independence Day 2013 at Gravelly Point Park