THE LETTER:
Dear Charisse,
This is the email I promised you. I hope it explains my position concerning Michael.There is a reason why we met as we did and at the time we did.
I know you are torn about your decision between Michael and me. My machoism is like this. The other night when I told you I hoped to prevent you meeting him in person, I didn’t intend to hurt your feelings. I know you care very much for him. That was a very macho statement. I view that statement as a tactic that I will support with the following saying: What if there were a war and nobody showed up to fight it. If Michael never met you in person because he found someone else, there would be no battle for me-only for you as I know you would be deeply hurt In the sometimes very competitive world of men seeking ladies for wives or even just lovers, a man will try his level best to win the lady of his choice. He can be very conniving and sometimes very unfair. That’s machoism. Some men will brag about their personal attributes in order to gain favor with the object of their affection. Others will resort to lies. Most will go to great lengths to woo the lady of their choice. I don’t brag and I don’t lie, but I will go to great lengths to win you over. I have a definite advantage over Michael because you and I communicate nearly everyday. We have the resources to tell each other how we feel in Ecards, Emails, SMS’s and personal phone calls on a daily basis, while Michael is stuck in a far away place with almost no means of communicating for long periods of time. If you think about it, I hope you come to the conclusion that all these things are available to you and me for a reason.I don’t want Michael to be hurt either. That’s why I’ve been praying that God would provide some alternative for him. You see, I have come to love you very deeply and will try everything on a level playing field to gain your favor. There is a saying that, ‘all’s fair in love and war’, but I won’t fight dirty even if it means I come up the loser. I’m too much of a gentleman for that. My machoism ends at the point of using lies, deception or other forms of what I call dirty fighting just to win. If I had to resort to those tactics I would be winning under false pretenses and would have difficulty living with my conscience. Besides I believe any thing I might use unfairly has the potential of creating a schism between us in the future. I know it will be difficult for you to pick one over the other. I also believe that when that decision is made that you will whole heartedly give yourself over to which ever one you choose. I never thought I would be engaged in a battle for the heart and soul of anyone, but here I am in the middle of the fray. If God answers my prayer, you will soon become my wife or we will at least establish the long term relationship we both yearn for providing nothing upsets the apple cart when we meet in person and I don’t anticipate that happening. I believe we get along too well for anything to overturn the wagon. I also pray that you do not perceive me as cruel for my statement about never meeting Michael in person. The difference between tactics and strategy was once explained to Midshipman at the US Naval Academy like this. Tactics are what the man uses to convince the girl of his choice to accompany him to the dance. Strategy is what he does after he gets her there. That statement was only a tactic. My strategy is to make both you and me very, very happy for the rest of our lives.
Shall we dance?
I expect this extensive letter will make you cry. For that I am sorry. But once again it is a tactic I must employ in an attempt to gain your favor.
Very lovingly yours,
Paul
Note: To be continued. . .
