Chicken Soup For The Soul Stories
The Fortune Cookie Prophecy Part 1

The Fortune Cookie Prophecy Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I was married three times before I was seven years old.

My older brother Gary performed the ceremonies in our basement. Gary was good at entertaining the family and neighborhood kids with his creative ideas. Since I was the youngest boy in our group, I was often on the receiving end of his creativity.

What I remember most about those weddings is that all the girls were at least five years older than I was and they all had beautiful eyes that sparkled when they laughed. Those weddings taught me to imagine what it would be like to find my soul mate one day and to be sure that I would know her by her beautiful eyes.

Puberty hit me late. I was still afraid of the opposite sex when I was fifteen and yet I prayed every night for the girl I would marry. I asked God to help her do well in school and to be happy and full of energy wherever and whoever she was.

I first kissed a girl when I was twenty-one. From that time forward, I dated many beautiful and talented young ladies, searching for the girl I had prayed for in my youth and still certain that I would know her by her eyes.

One day, my phone rang.
"Don," it was my mother.
"You know I told you about the Addisons, who moved in next door to us. Well, Clara Addison keeps asking me to invite you over for cards some night."
"Sorry, Mom, I've got a date that night."
"How could you? I haven't even told you what night it is?" My mother responded with exasperation.
"It doesn't matter when. I'm sure the Addisons are nice people but I'm not going to waste an evening socializing with people who don't have any eligible daughters."

That's how stubborn I was. I was positive that there was no reason for me to go to visit the Addisons.

Years passed. I was twenty-six and my friends were getting nervous about my prospects. They kept lining up blind dates for me. Many of these dates were fiascos and they were interfering with my social life. Hence, I made up a few rules about blind dates.

The Fortune Cookie Prophecy Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4