Finding my First True Love
Written by Felipe Cisternas
Acknowledgements: To my mom and sister, who both always believed in my dreams and ambitions.
Chapter 1: Family Life and How I Grew Up
It was June 1992 in the Upper South in sweltering Tennessee. In college, I would go to class and, once the day ended, I quickly recluse back to my house down the street. There, I would stay several hours a day after class either to finish my homework or watch movie marathons on weekends. I lived adjacent to the main college campus. Although i would say, I liked living in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. My mom, Susan and I moved to our current house when I turned 12. I took Mom's last name because I didn't wish to be associated with my father in any form.
“John, are you ready to go? Do you have all your things?” my mom asked.
The blue sky day was painted on like a canvas, while the sun rays bounced off the concrete pavement road causing heat and humidity to rise up in the air. The trees swayed gently from side to side, causing a gentle breeze. Birds chirped and it looked like it was going to be a good day.
We had moved around quite a lot, six times in the past three years, and not too long ago my mom didn’t hesitate to pack up our belongings and move out to a new house. Downtown Memphis was rambunctious, it was crowded because of the many bars and saloons one could go to on weekends.
The city was always loud and always crowded, we lived in the suburban part of the city. Still, it was a short drive to downtown. There was always something new to do. Downtown Memphis was filled with a bar or saloon on every block, and there was something for every person to do and enjoy. Some bars had line dancing and square dancing, others had live music playing, these ranged usually from a brand new artist to a country artist performing cover songs by George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Willie Nelson.
Who could forget Old Cowboy Jones with his square dancing who put on quite a show each Friday night at the local saloon for a crowd of screaming fans?
Or the spit contests that happened between contestants in a local bar, which caused hollering men to cheer for one another and declare victory over one another. just plain old fun for every resident of Memphis.
My two brothers, Justin and Ryan, lived with their own families, and there was a 22-year age gap between the youngest and the oldest.
“Hey bro, how’s it going?” “Do you want to go to the baseball game today?” Ryan asked. The three of us talked about everything together and shared moments that made us bond more as siblings who cared for each other and had each other's backs.
There was one point in my studies, I fell behind in a lot of college assignments and I was always struggling to get my concentration in check. Justin helped me out in finding motivation so that I could finish working on those assignments so I could pass my classes.
But something changed later on as I grew up into a teenager that sparked my heart and I became interested in finding a partner in my life. I felt lonely deep inside and I felt I needed to find my better half to console me through the nights and be there to make me smile during the day.
Like I was telling before, I never had friends of my own.
That is until the day I went to the video rental store, rented a movie, and on that visit I met the one person who made me unload a heavy burden off my shoulders and she made me ; my future significant other.
Chapter 2: Love at First Sight
I walked inside of the video rental store "VHS All Day" and headed straight for the “Summer Releases” section of the store. Top Gun caught my eye. I handed the copy of the movie to the checkout girl. As she looked at me, we exchanged glances. At that moment, all I could notice was her long wavy brown curls, her dazzling smile, and dimples on her cheeks. The checkout girl was beautiful. Her facial features made her shine, from her crinkly nose to those gorgeous eyes, and it made me draw closer and closer to her without saying a word, letting my actions speak for themselves. Her eyes ignited like two bright stars, and the moment her eyes met mine, two souls instantly connected right there and then and we both felt butterflies in our stomachs, we had become infatuated with each other. We casually glared at one another as she was finishing completing my purchase and briefly flirted. She tried to make it not seem obvious, but I could see right through her, and I think she did the same to me.
Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” played softly over the built-in store speakers. “Would you like me to apply your coupon to this order?” asked the girl. Her name tag read Chloe.
“Y.yeah … sure” I stuttered, my hands twisted the coupon nervously. I folded the coupon twice, then unfolded it, then folded it again. I couldn’t stop looking at her. Every time I wanted to speak, I froze.
My shyness stopped me short. I fought internally with my timid nature clashing with her outgoing personality. Because we were so different, I didn’t connect with her at first.
The first exchanges that day were awkward and fell apart. I tried to talk to her but some inner voice was saying in my head Don’t be hasty! Make her interested in you! But don’t be pushy!
“Are you okay? Do you want some water?” asked Chloe, her voice sounding comforting to hear.
“Most guys that come here take the three for one overall price sale we have on Fridays.”
“I’ll just take this movie and be on my way, I have to go.”
She looked effortlessly composed and handed me my movie.
I exited and headed out the door. I felt useless. I had messed up a really good chance to get a woman to go out with me all because I froze and did not engage in conversation with her.
I come back home and I pop in Top Gun to the VCR player. That scene where Pete Maverick first glances at Charlie and they exchange glances at the air base, and fall in love immediately. That is what it feels with Chloe when I see her. I could feel in my heart's desire to tell her how I feel, to have her by my side, to take care of her, to talk to her about my dreams and ambitions hoping she would get a hint I was interested in her. Only I acted cowardly and I missed a good opportunity to grab her attention.
The next visit, I arrived at the store to see if I could talk to her this time. What ended up happening when I walked into the store is I didn’t see her there at her spot at work and I saw a man standing there working the cash register, taking orders from clients. I turn around and I ask a security guard I see by the front door of the video rental store.
“Excuse me? There used to be a woman who worked here, she had brown curls and was petite, do you happen to know where she is?” I found out from a security guard, she had been transferred to another video rental store on the other side of the city after she completed her last shift.
I drove my car to the other side of the city using the directions the security guard gave me. Of course, I didn’t want to seem like I was stalking this woman. I just wanted to get to talk to her.
Once I made it to the new store, I walked in and I saw her standing taking customers' orders.
As I’m making my way over to talk to her, she sees me, stops me, grabs me by my arm, and slides a yellow sticky note directly into my pocket. It has her name and phone number written on it. Then her wrist brushes against my wrist and heat slowly races through my veins and the hairs in the back of my neck stand up.
“Thought I’d make this easy, my name's Chloe,” Chloe said. "Mine's John" I said. She gave me her phone number and told me she would call me later that night to talk more and to plan when we would have our first date. “Before I go, I’m curious, how old are you?” I asked Chloe. “22, just turned it 5 days ago” she answered. “I’m 23.” I said and I left the store. As I made my way to my car walking across the parking lot, my heart began to beat fast, because I was starting to have affection and an attraction for the woman I met.
After several minutes, I jumped into my Corvette and drove off to work.
Chapter 3: My Workplace and Family Life
I worked a part-time retail job at the clothing store “It’s Summer All the Time Here”.
“Hey Lou, how are you today?”
“I’m doing well, thanks for asking John,”
“These clothes need to be packed and shipped by tomorrow morning.”
I immediately got to work.
After my shift ended for the day and I had packed all the boxes and finished all my other responsibilities for the day, I said goodbye to Lou and headed out the door. He has been generous to me and a kind-hearted boss ever since I started working here 5 months ago. The night was pleasant as the stars shone bright in the sky.
That night, I got a call from Chloe. Are you free now? Do you want to meet at the pier and talk?
I run home and do a quick change of clothes and groom myself. In no time, I showed up at the pier to meet up with Chloe.
I sat across from Chloe, facing her.
We exchanged hellos and started with small talk, family life, our jobs, and about friends in the city. I’d ask her how long she’d be living in Memphis, and if she’d enjoy the big crowded city or prefer small towns.
"I prefer the big city because it's where I grew up and here in Memphis its where I have all of my friends living here, si o we see each other quite often," Chloe said.
"I worked at the cash register for about a year now. It's a minimum wage job but it gets my bills paid on time." Chloe said.
I admired Chloe's confidence and high-self esteem in a woman who was responsible and goal-oriented.
We’d chatted until late into the night and got to know each other more .
“You told me your brothers’ names. So, what was it like growing up with them?” she asked.
“It was fun. We would wrestle playfully, we would play video games together when we were young kids, and then we each studied a career in which we were interested in as we grew up.” I said to Chloe.
“I chose supply chain/operations, my second oldest brother chose law school, and my oldest brother chose economics and specialized in real estate,” I continued.
“Awesome” she said, playfully. She was really amazed how I had studied something I was really committed to finishing college and graduating with my degree. She said it showed commitment and dedication into building a steady life. I could possibly also secure a better job with my degree and I can quit my part-time job since I live paycheck to paycheck each month.
"I chose supply chain because it requires problem-solving and critical thinking skills," I said. "In high school, one thing I excelled in was complex word problems."
After this talk, we decided to just relax and end our day by going on a moonlight stroll on the shore at a beach close where we had our date. We talked, I kissed her a few more times, and we traded sweet nothings all night. The serene nature of the waves crashing, the moonlight, the silemce of night made it all so more romantic. The stillness let us talk about anything and everything. We were practically the only ones there at the beach.
Chapter 4: Childhood Trauma and More Dates with Chloe
(Flashback sequence to when I was 7 years old) I am the narrator: My father was never around when I needed him. On weekends when we were supposed to have more quality time together, my father would stay late nights out, drinking excessively and hanging out with his friends. I call them his bad influences because he was carrying demons and bringing them home every night. I’m pretty certain he had affairs with other women during his lifetime.
I also saw how verbally and on occasions physically abusive, my father would become with Mom. He became an alcoholic. I saw how as a husband he treated his wife badly. Mom could never stand up to him. He was manipulative and assumed assertive control over both of us like we were marionettes and he was the puppeteer of the house. I felt helpless and I truly wanted to help Mom, but she never showed discomfort in front of me. I did see it though behiind the scenes.
One late night, we found my dad had committed suicide in the bathroom after we heard a loud bump against the wall. He had tied a noose in the bathroom and hung himself.
Our house felt strangely still after the news had unraveled. I locked myself in my room and laid down in bed for several hours, not knowing whether to cry or feel relief because the tension felt over the years was finally over.
This traumatic experience shaped how distant I felt from my dad, and not only that but it affected me emotionally for years since I lacked a healthy male role model.
“I never had father-son bonding activities because this person was never around when I needed him to be and he was always violent the few times he was home with us. For years I would not seek help or socialize with other people. I became a hermit. Eventually, I sought help from a community mental health center,” I said.
I explained to Chloe how these sessions with Chris, my counselor at the center, helped me out a lot in seeking someone to talk to about past traumas and how to close dark times in my childhood. I wiped tears streaming down my face and tried to contain myself from breaking emotionally in front of Chloe. Chloe listened attentively to my backstory in a prudent fashion, yet she still showed charm in her personality, by showing a side of compassion and great concern as I could hear her voice breaking. Still, she only wanted to hug me tightly soon after, letting me know that it’ll all be alright. I broke down crying when she leaned in to hug me. She caressed my hands and let me rest my head on her shoulder.
“I can’t imagine what you went through. It must’ve been so traumatic and tragic to see your dad take his own life in that way so abruptly.” Chloe said.
Chloe sympathized with me after learning about my father’s abuse. She saw the hurt I carried, and it fractured something delicate in Chloe’s heart. In that moment, She reciprocated my feelings I have for her. We see each other quite often, and I had her meet my friends afterwards.
“Hi everybody, this is my new friend, Chloe.”
“Nice to meet you!” said Trevor, one of my oldest friends from middle school.
“Thanks!” Chloe answered back, with a big smile painted on her face.
I didn’t want to introduce her as my girlfriend, since we hadn’t officially asked each other the question of being boyfriend and girlfriend yet.
We had done everything together, with Chloe it felt different and brand new. She made me see things in a way I’d never seen the world before. She taught me a lot about new discoveries and findings she’d learn. She was smart and astute. At the end of the day, I was grateful to be by a woman’s side who brought the best features out of me.
“See, this is how you do this.” She taught me to cook good, delicious food, we’d spend hours in the kitchen-living room area of her house talking about her life, making jokes and laughing a lot together.
“My mother was a single mom who split from my dad due to not being her match. He abandoned us when I was four. I don’t remember him much, if so vaguely. At our house, It was just my mom, my sister, and me, us three living together in Knoxville, Tennessee” “I moved here to Memphis once I started college, I saved money and bought a car and moved here on my own, it was a rough transition but I was able to manage through.” Chloe said.
Chloe's story was full of sacrifice and resilience which is something that made me more attracted to her.
Her sister's name is Ashley. She has been studying for her nursing degree and is planning to finish medical school next year, after seven years of dedicating time to her studies.
"I joined a small group downtown to see if I could share my story with others, make a difference." Chloe said. Her story resonated and spoke favorably of women who were strong-minded and independent, those women who wanted to shape careers and be mothers who raised daughters with good values and charming personalities.
After that night of talking and getting to know each other more, we had gone steady. I pushed back her hair, leaned forward, and then I gently opened my mouth and met her lips with mine at her bedroom door for the first time. It was a kiss full of desire and love. Right there and then, we were enamored with each other.
For our second date, we went to the ice skating rink downtown and got popsicles and traded sweet nothings in our ears back and forth. She’d also tell me more about her life and in return I’d tell her how college is going for me. I was studying computer science. The first year of college had flown by quickly for me and it had gone well. I aced all my courses I had to take.
“Wow! A genius and a good looking man! You really have all the charm and wit, don’t you John?” she said, teasing me.
Chapter 5: The Big Fight
I came to pick up Chloe at her house after my shift ended at work, and the clock on the dashboard in my car read 6:45 pm.
My hands started sweating.
Chloe sensed something was bothering me.
"Is everything ok tonight?"
"Yeah it's just that I find myself hard to be have closure with you, and be direct and sincere about all my feelings toward you, and I don't know if I'm expressing all of my bottled up feelings with you the right way"
"What? Why? We've been on dtaes already where you've shown me the most amazing time. I've felt loved by you but I don't lknow why you would say something like that!" The comment I made about not having closure between us bothered her.
Tears poured down both her eyes to her cheeks as I said some regrettable words to her I take back now. "Well maybe wec should go back to being friends for a while until I clear my head up from work and also knowing in which direction we want this relationship to continue,"
We ended up fighting and not doing what we were going to do that night, go on a coffee date together. She opened the car door and she proceeded to slam it without uttering a single word to me. Chloe stormed off quickly that I barely could keep track on how fast she ran off. I tried to call her for several days after our fight, but I believe she unplugged her house phone so that she wouldn't get any calls from me.
That night, I didn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about the fight I had with Chloe. The next nights were hard to get by. I went into a downward spiral just in missing Chloe. I hung out with Trevor and a few of his college buddies the next day to make myself feel better but I couldn't forget her as every memory with her was still there in mind, but at the end of the day, when I would prop myself into bed at night, I found myself crying inconsolably.
Chapter 6: The Voicemail
The next date followed two nights after the second date. For our third date, I invited her to the dance hall located in Downtown Memphis. They played hits from the decades, seventies, eighties, and nineties music.
As soon as we heard the opening lyric to “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” iwe both looked at each other and it brought us both flashbacks to our first encounter at the video store and when we locked eyes for the first time. Look into my eyes. You will see what you mean to me. Search your heart, search your soul, and when you find me there, you’ll search no more.
Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for. You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.
You know it's true. Everything I do, I do it for you.
The song continued and as it went on, my heart started racing again. I had to make a move now. It’s the perfect opportunity to ask her to dance with me. Otherwise, I’d miss my shot and regret it for the rest of my life.
I stood up from my chair and invited her to our first dance. “Chloe, may I have this first dance?” “Sure, John, I’d love to.” she answered back. The dance floor was full of couples but for a moment, as we made our way to the dance floor and I’d pull her close to me and garb her by the waist and hold her firmly, feeling her minty fresh breath and embracing her tightly, for that moment it felt like we were the only two people gracing the dance floor.
The next day, I called her but she didn't pick up so I left her a brief voicemail:
"Hey Chloe, it's John. I don't know if you're busy or if this is a bad time. You don't have to call back right away. I just wanted to say last night stayed with me longer than I expected. I keep thinking about the way you didn't pull away from our dance when. I reached for you.
I'm not great at saying things out loud, so I'll probably regret leaving this message. But I also don't want to pretend I'm fine and go to sleep like nothing happened."
She called me back an hour later saying I could stop by her place at night and we could grab a bite. Later at night, I drove my car to the front of her house. She had a water fountain in her front yard and big porch lights that illuminated the walkway that led to the entrance to her home.
I knocked on her door and rang the doorbell. I was wearing a light blue button down t-shirt, slim fit jeans, and comfortable brown shoes. I held an orchid flower in my right hand, hiding it from plain view and in my left hand, I held the envelope with the love note written on it.
The biggest desire for me was to see her happy and comfortable in my arms.
“Hi John, how are you?” She opened the door and walked out. “Good. You look amazing.” I said.
I continued talking while hugging her and holding her close to me. "I missed you a lot."
Chloe looked happy and radiant with all the love I was showing her. She went inside and headed to her bedroom, where she placed the envelope and orchid in a vase on her nightstand.
Now on our fourth date, we each got comfortable sitting on chairs at her front porch and sipped wine and brought out the charcuterie board and sat, talking about life.
I got the courage to ask her if she wanted to settle down and start a family one day.
“I love you. Would you want to get married someday?” I asked gently.
“Yes,” she answered confidently.
Now knowing what her future plans were with me and now that I knew in which direction the relationship was going, I said “Sweet.” I couldn’t say anything or lead her on with the concept of marriage because of course I needed to surprise her the day that I will ask her to be my wife. At that moment, I made the decision that I was not going to wait any longer. We had gone on enough dates together and got to know a lot about each other. I will ask for her hand in marriage the following day.
Chapter 7 : Picking out the Engagement Ring
After our date from the previous night, I woke up happy. I went to the store and picked out a ring for her, with my savings I had.
“Excuse me sir? How much is that diamond ring?” I asked the store clerk.
“For this? It’s a fortune, my son. For who is this jewel for?”
“A very special woman in my life. My girlfriend who I want to ask to marry me, she’s no ordinary woman, she is extraordinary beyond every sense of the word, she is amazing.”
After making the purchase with the store clerk, I walked out giddy and happy as can be. I raced home and made preparations to ask her to be my wife. I call her friends first and then I called my mom, Justin, Ryan, and Trevor to share the exciting news and arrange for them to all be there together for the momentous occasion.
“Dude!! This is so exciting! Congratulations! Are you feeling ready?” Trevor asked.
“I never felt better prepared!” I said with confidence.
I invited her to the pier, where we had our first date, it’s where we talked endlessly into the night. I had called her mom and Ashley and a couple of her college friends to be a part of the special occasion.
Chloe was a bit skeptical as to why her friends were not picking up her calls during the day and why her mom had turned off her location. But she never expected what was to come next: the proposal.
Chapter 8: Be mine, forever?
With roses in my hand and boardwalk lights installed on the floor, I saw her arrive in a car that dropped her off at my location. All friends or family members were hiding. Surrounding nature of waves and rocks with a gentle breeze made the environment serene and perfect. She made her way slowly walking at a normal pace to the end of the boardwalk where I waited for her.
“Chloe, ever since I laid eyes on you the first time in that video store when you were so kind and graceful, I’ve been thinking constantly you are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. You are the woman I want to have kids with, the one I would like to buy our first house together, and the person I want to make endless memories with. You’re the one girl of my dreams and I knew it from the start.”
Chloe was crying and by this point she already knew what came next as her face got bright of emotion and she couldn’t contain her excitement from hearing my words.
“Chloe?” I bent down on one knee and pulled out the diamond ring from the ring box I had tucked in my back pocket.
“Will you be mine forever? Will you marry me?” I proposed.
Chloe was crying, and she only continued getting happier.
“Yes! A thousand times, yes! I love you John!”
“I love you Chloe!” I said excitedly. I kissed her one more time and then I placed the diamond ring on her finger.
“Guys! It’s safe to come out now! She said yes!” I yelled out.
My family and her family came out from behind the building that overlooked the pier.
Everyone cheered and hugged each other with excitement and joy.
“So happy for you both!” my mom said.
"I know it's really exciting," I said.
That day, Chloe and I learned what it meant to tear down each other’s walls and allow ourselves to be vulnerable with each other. We both learned over many dates and in being each other’s company that falling in love with each other and finding each other at the right time was just what each of them needed. We got married 4 months after I proposed. I had the woman of my dreams by my side.
Epilogue:
(12 years later) I am the narrator: Chloe and I have been happily married for 12 years now, and we have 5 kids together, 3 girls and 2 boys. They’re all in grade school and middle school. We still go on dates with my wife to keep our marriage alive. It’s been the happiest stage of my life and I’m enjoying every single second. I wouldn’t trade this part of life for anything in the world!
The End!
Copyright © 2026 Felipe Cisternas. All rights reserved.