First Love

By: Jocelyn A. Uy

	When I go back home, I think of my first love. His name was Paolo. 
He was a strapping young Spanish lad. He was always visiting his relatives 
who lived next door to me. I met him the summer after my Junior year of high 
school. He was doing some yard work in the hot, sweltering sun. I was 
walking my dog, "Forrest." I saw him, and he looked good! He saw me and 
said hi to me. I said hi back to him. We exchanged names and then he asked 
me how old I was. I told him that I was 17. Then I asked him how old he was.
He told me that he was 21. At that moment I had a quick thought about dating
an older man. That thought was really nice! He told me that he was visiting
his uncle for the summer. I asked him if he needed anything and he told me 
he was kind of thirsty. So, I went back to my house and got him a tall glass
of ice cold lemonade. When I came back, he was just finishing his yard work.
He took the glass from me and gulped down the lemonade. Some of the lemonade
spilled on his shirt. The liquid revealed a very good body under the shirt. 
I just stared at him for a while. I finally shook out of my trance and told 
him I had to go. He bid me farewell with a smile on his face. I felt weak 
in the knees when he did that. I walked back to my house extremely in a 
happy mood. That night, as I was setting the table for dinner, I heard a 
ding-dong from my door. My mom answered it, and in came Paolo, his uncle 
(Pedro Juarez), and his aunt (Katrina). I was flabbergasted! My dad invited 
them to dinner so my family could meet their young, handsome, and extremely 
dreamy nephew from Spain. Pedro introduced Paolo to my parents while I ran 
upstairs embarrassed! I had no idea that he was coming over. He looked 
really nice in the suit he was wearing. It looked like an Armani. I began 
changing clothes frantically looking for something nice to wear. I really 
wanted to impress him! I found a really pretty blouse and skirt. I put my 
clothes on as fast as I could and then I fixed my hair. From my point of 
view, I looked very nice! I walked down very slowly and casually. As I came 
down, I noticed that my dad and mom were looking at me. Then I saw Paolo 
looking at me. I could totally tell that he was checking me out. As I said 
before, I looked good! My dad began introducing me to Paolo when I told him 
that we had already met earlier that day. When we sat down for dinner, I 
tried to get the closest seat next to Paolo. I succeeded! I began talking 
with him to find out his background. He was born and raised in Spain His 
father (Pablo Juarez) and his mother (Luisa) immigrated from Mexico to 
Spain. At that time, he was a student at the university. He was into many 
sports. His favorite sports were basketball, soccer, tennis, and swimming. 
He was a swimmer and a basketball player at his school. He was also an 
accomplished scholar. This guy did not seem real! I was completely 
infatuated with this guy. After dinner, I asked Paolo if I could see him 
again, and he told me yes. Through the entire summer, we became really good 
friends. The last week before Paolo went back to Spain, I fell in love with 
him. I had to let him know somehow, so I asked him out. He said okay. I 
planned a very romantic date so he could see how much I loved him. Before 
the date, I tried to make sure that everything was perfect. I had a very 
pretty dress that I had just bought that day. He came over to my house in a 
very handsome suit. He looked like a million bucks! We went to a nice dinner 
and a movie and then we came back to my house. I thanked him for the 
wonderful night and he thanked me back. At that moment we stared into each 
other's eyes. I swear we had a connection. We then closed our eyes and 
kissed each other. It was the most heavenly experience I ever had. After 
the kiss, I went back into my house. I felt extremely happy! Throughout the 
rest of that week, we became an "item." We went everywhere together, until 
that dreaded day in late August. Paolo had to go back to Spain to complete 
his studies. He told me that he could not come back to visit because he had 
to study for the entire year. As he was in the airport, I kissed him good 
bye. I told him that as soon as I finished college, I would look for him. 
He gave me one last kiss, and then he walked onto the plane. I have never 
seen him since that day. Now it is 1998 and I just graduated from college. 
I must now go and find Paolo and we can fall in love all over again . . . 
	She went to the airport and bought a plane ticket to go to Spain. 
At that moment she thought about how she could find Paolo in a country she 
has never been before? She realized that her love for Paolo would guide her 
through the unknown streets of Spain. She checked into a nice hotel and 
decided to vacation while searching for Paolo. She began looking at the 
sights and taking pictures. She walked into a little cafe, ordered a coffee 
and a pastry, and asked if they had a phone book (in high school and college 
she studied Spanish and became a native speaker). They did, and she began 
searching for Paolo Juarez's name. Unfortunately there were two names that 
matched: Paolo Raul Juarez and Paolo Enrique Juarez. This was confusing! 
Which one was the Paolo that she fell in love with those 5 years ago? She 
wasn't sure. After she wrote down both addresses, she drank her coffee and 
ate her pastry. She then asked the waitress if she knew any of the Paolos. 
She replied that supposedly everyone knew who Paolo Enrique Juarez was. He 
was a very famous and well known Spanish basketball player. So, with this 
newly found knowledge, she decided to buy a ticket to watch a game. She went 
to buy one, but it was for the next day. She accepted and took her ticket. 
Since the game wasn't today, she decided to see if Paolo Raul Juarez was her 
man. She visited the address and knocked on the door. A little old lady came 
out. She then asked why the young girl was there. She replied that she was 
looking for Paolo Juarez. The old lady told her that he was here. She became 
excited as the old lady went into the other room to get him. The young girl 
looked around the house. It seemed very old fashioned. She was about to pick 
up a picture when the old lady started saying that he was here. She smiled, 
then turned around assuming her love would be standing there. Once she 
turned around, she almost fainted. There stood the little old lady carrying 
an URN! The old lady replied the Paolo was her husband and that he died a 
few years ago. She then showed the young girl a picture of him, and it was 
NOT the man she fell in love with 5 years ago. The young girl then paid her 
respects and left. She went back to her hotel and rested. She had to prepare 
for the game tomorrow. She slept with the thought that her love was sweeping 
her off her feet. The next day came and she was excited. The game wasn't 
until the afternoon, so she decided to go shopping. She found out that the 
team Paolo was playing for was called the "Barcelona Barons." She decided to 
buy some "Baron" merchandise. She bought a hat with the "Barons" logo on it, 
a letterman jacket with "Barons" logos all over it, and a T-shirt that said, 
"I LOVE PAOLO!!! I LOVE ‘THE BULL!!!'" It seems that Paolo was a very 
popular player. Then the afternoon came. She went to the basketball game, 
and it was packed. She went to her seat and the announcer began calling out 
the starting lineups for each team. After the away team ("The Madrid 
Matadors") was announced, the crowd went crazy! She tried to look over them 
to see if she could spot Paolo. His name was called out, "Paolo ‘The Bull' 
Juarez!" Then everyone started screaming. She looked out and saw him. It was 
the man she fell in love with that one summer. She smiled and began 
screaming. During the game, Paolo was the best player. He had the most 
points and the best skills. After the game, she rushed to the court to see 
if she could catch him. She fought past security and ran up to Paolo's face. 
He was in shock as she kissed him passionately right then and there! Then 
she whispered into his ear that she remembered her promise. Paolo then 
stared into her eyes. He regained his memory and kissed her back just as 
passionately. He lead her to his private locker room and hugged and kissed 
her. Luckily for her, he was not seeing anyone. Yet, he was the most sought 
after bachelor in Spain. They talked about what had happened over the years. 
She told him that she earned a degree in History with a minor in Spanish. 
He told her that after getting his degree in communications, he joined the 
professional basketball league in his hometown of Manresa. From there he 
joined the national ranks and became famous. After a while they left and 
Paolo took her to his estate. After that, they lived together and loved each 
other forever after.


THE END!!!