Sharon Williams-Bennett, Contributor

She met him on a bus on her way to work. She met him at one of the lowest times in her life. She had just broken up with her boyfriend Matthew and was still stinging from the pain of betrayal.

She had seen him before at the bus stop and had admired his tight, compact body which was highlighted by the army-green shirt and tan jeans he was wearing. It wasn't lusting, after all, she was involved with Matthew, or so she thought! It was just observation and appreciation.

She saw him again in the bus she always took to work - she had seen him with his girlfriend and had even found herself envying the obvious closeness between them - he was always holding her. They had even spoken to each other several times in Spanish Town when she was on her way home from a movie with Matthew and they had taken the same taxi.

That fateful Wednesday morning she was sitting by herself on the bus, staring miserably out the window, woefully contemplating another failed relationship and vowing darkly to cross men off her list - forever - when he came and sat beside her.

She felt the person beside her and kept her head straight, hoping that it wasn't someone who felt the need to make conversation.

"You look sad," the soft, deep voice sent unwilling tremors through her.

Shereen turned to face him, fully intending to tell him in no uncertain terms that she was in no mood for conversation, when she saw that it was him! Tight, compact body, without the girlfriend. He was smiling at her - the gentlest smile she had ever seen and instead of rebuffing him, she spoke to him.

"I just came out of a relationship," she told him, surprising herself - she hadn't even told her sisters.

"I just broke up with my girlfriend, so I know what you are going through," he told her.

Shereen looked at him uncertainly, wondering if it was a line, and then she saw the truth in his eyes. For someone she had just met, she felt very comfortable with him. He made her feel cherished and protected. He told her his name was Ricardo, and Shereen, who had always thought of herself as shy and reticent with strangers, found herself warming to this man she had just met.

They talked all the way to Kingston and he even made her laugh several times. She didn't think she would be able to laugh again, especially not so soon, but he had accomplished that feat. They exchanged numbers and he promised to wait for her downtown so they could go home together.

He called her at work and the sound of his voice sent shivers up and down her spine. She had seen Matthew that morning and the meeting had plummeted her back to the depths of despair, but hearing Ricardo's voice had somehow made it all right.

Shereen had given up all hopes of ever having a real relationship - a spate of bad choices had left her with two children and a bad case of resentment against the male species. Ricardo was so different from all the men she had met, that she kept waiting for his real personality to show itself. He brought her little presents that she knew he really couldn't afford and spent every available moment with her.

Little by little, he broke down her resistance and Shereen found herself opening up to him.

"I want us to live together," he told her one lazy afternoon, after very passionate lovemaking that left her trembling from the aftermath and snuggling in his arms. They were at his friend's house; her's being too crowded and where he lived was totally inconvenient.

Shereen sat up abruptly. "I am not ready for that and we can't afford it."

"I want us to be together," Ricardo calmly pulled her back into his arms. He never raised his voice; no matter how provoked and Shereen wondered if he ever got angry.

"I can't Ricardo, I can't leave my children." She said decisively, nestling back inside his strong arms. She wanted to break up with him when she found out that she was eight years older than he was, but he had stubbornly told her that age meant nothing to him; he loved her and that was all that mattered.

"Let me make you happy," he whispered, pulling her closer to him, his warm breath fanning her cheeks. "Let me make up for all the bad relationships you ever had. I promise you that I will never hurt you or stop loving you. I want you with me all the time Sher, I love you with everything I have."

Shereen felt her throat ache with unshed tears and she didn't know what to say. She hadn't loved him at first, and never thought she would - but she wasn't able to help herself - he had showed her what it was like to be loved and cherished so completely that she no longer felt alone. Here finally was a man who didn't care how flawed she was - a man who loved her unconditionally and she didn't know what she did to deserve him. He made her feel like she was the only one in the world when she was with him and she suddenly realised that she had fallen irrevocably in love with him. She didn't care if he didn't have a dollar to his name - she wanted to be with him. He saw the answer in her eyes and he responded in the only way he could by touching his mouth to her's, taking her lips in a kiss so tender and passionate that Shereen felt the tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I love you," he whispered achingly, wiping her tears. "And I will do everything to always let you know that."

God in His wonderful mercy had given her a second chance at love!