Smile, look away

Allow a minute or two to pass

Make sure she’s still there

Go up to her

Say hello, introduce yourself

Learn about her

Continue the conversation, but ask more than tell

Get her number

Walk her out (if she wishes)

Call her the next day

Spend the day learning more about each other

Hang up, grinning giddily

Repeat the previous three steps, sometimes texting instead

Plan to meet again

Talk for a few days, the plan another outing

With flowers, ask to be together

Feel the butterflies when she says yes

Continue to chat, to meet, and to gift her (not too extravagantly)

Celebrate the moments you spend together

Meet the parents (politely, charmingly, calmly)

After enough time has passed, ask her father for her hand

Sigh with relief as he accepts and blesses you

Propose

Hug and kiss her when she says yes

Plan the wedding (let her have her way, it doesn’t matter much to you; all that matters is her happiness)

Become husband and wife

Love each other endlessly

Go to the doctor’s office

Get the tests done

Wait for results

It’s a girl!

Baby-proof the house

Assemble the crib, paint the nursery, stock up on supplies, attend classes…

Wait in the waiting room, fiddling with your hands as you hope all goes well

Be called in

Quietly enter, as they’re both softly sleeping

Hold your new child, gently and with all the love you have

Raise her with all the love you have

Protect them with all the love you have

Attend graduation

Help her pack for college

With teary eyes, say goodbye

Meet again on holidays, over vacation, etc.

Receive the card

“You’re grandparents!”

Celebrate with misty eyes

Meet your grandson

Enjoy family Christmas, only a month after his birth

Propose a toast: “To life!”

Endure the chest pain

Ignore the burn

It grows, it fades, but pay it no mind

Sit and chat, but it will come back

Enter cardiac arrest

Drop your glass

Try to stay standing; stumble back into chair

Keep eyes open

“Squeeze my hand if you can hear me”

Tell them you love them

Tell them goodbye

Hear the panic

Sight fading, try to stand

Fall.