So I was finishing up our taxes today – yes I know – thrill a minute. But I was sitting there finishing up the taxes earlier today and a memory surfaced that I hadn’t thought about in a very long time. This memory made me laugh out loud and I had to pick up the phone to call my husband to remind him of this shared memory and I got to be highly entertained by his laughter.
So What’s So Funny?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away … wait, that’s the wrong story. More than a decade ago and only a few short weeks after my husband and I met for the first time, a man came knocking on my apartment door rather frantically at about 10 p.m. on April 15th. At the time, my job required me to be up by 4:30 every morning so I stumbled to the door and peered through the peephole. There was my new friend juggling a pile of paper and stepping from one foot to the other.
I opened the door to see his hopeful smile trying to hide his worried grimace. “I know it’s late, I didn’t think I’d wake you, I didn’t wake you did I?”
“Uh huh.” That was the most erudite thing that came to mind and I watched his grimace deepen and then he offered another small, however apologetic smile.
“I need some help. You mentioned you were good at numbers and taxes and well …”
I stared.
I goggled.
“It’s April 15th.”
“Yes.”
“It’s 10 p.m. on April 15th.”
“Yes.”
He was really wincing now and then he offered another smile. I don’t know if he had any idea how attractive he looked with that dopey, hopeful grin on his boyish face or how much like a kid stuck with his hand in the cookie jar he looked like at the same time.
“You want me to help you do your taxes at 10 p.m. on April 15th?”
“Well, help might be a polite way of putting it.”
I groaned and turned to go into the kitchen to put the tea kettle on. He took the open door as an invitation and came in. I got out my cup and my tea bag and I set them up. He started to say something and I held up a hand. “Put your papers there and go watch something in the living room.” He was a very smart man. He did it.
I waited until after I’d brewed my tea and woke up before I started going through the paperwork. It took me thirty minutes to fill out all the appropriate blanks. Luckily, he didn’t have a lot of exceptions or addendums or deductions that needed going over. When it was all said and done, I walked back out and handed all of it to him.
I got a hug, a kiss and a little shout of joy as he took off to rush to the closest post office still open accepting mail that late in the evening. I went back to bed and passed out. The next day, I got flowers at work and a great lunch delivered to my office from him. A few years after that, I got a marriage proposal – I guess nothing really says love like taxes.
What’s your favorite tax or dating story?
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