I've been on the Internet for over five years now. For most of it, I was a bit of a MUDhead. Back then, I was married, with a child, and too young for either. The MUDs were my escape.

In the first couple of years, I made a lot of friends. Some of them helped me get out of my miserable and abusive relationship, and get a divorce. I still remember Dave. He was two years younger than me, and still in high school. He was also a lot of fun to chat with, role-play with, and a really nice kid. We had a lot of laughs - it was the highlight of my day sometimes.

A net romance gone horribly wrong caused me to drop off the net for about a year. The guy was married - I should have known better, but I loved him. It made me bitter and angry. After all, would the rest of my online friends be any better? Probably not. I severed contact with everyone. Changed my email address, quit MUDding, and pretended that that part of my life had never happened.

After a year, when I'd gotten my life back in order, I decided to try going back to that first world I'd ever played on. One or two people figured out who I was, but they kept it secret, just as I asked. When I went to a convention to meet them - and a number of my new friends as well, a mutual friend said, "You know, you should talk to Dave. He still asks about you now and then."

Dave. I hadn't thought about him in months. I'd written him off as another part of a past best left behind. As soon as I got home from the convention and logged in to the MUD for the first time, I sent him a message. I tried to be nonchalant, in case he didn't remember, or care. You know how rumor can be. To my surprise, he nearly bowled me over with his response, wanting to know where I'd been, and why I waited so long to tell him.

We chatted for hours that first night. I caught him up on my life - divorced, living with my son, making a living as a network engineer, and happy and stable for the first time in my adult life. He'd finished high school, moved to another state, and had a job doing technical support for a major PC manufacturer.

We settled back into our old routines almost immediately. Laughing, sharing our complaints and triumphs, talking about everything. I found myself looking forward to those hours between when I put my son to bed, and when I was ready to sleep myself. Before long, every chat ended with a hug and a kiss goodnight.

We talked on the phone at least once a week, still as the best of friends. It was like the year that I was gone had never even happened. We exchanged pictures, after the due warnings to one another that 'No, really, I'm not that attractive, you're never going to talk to me again if I show you this.' I even sent him a picture of my son, who he'd said hello to a few times. We joked now and then about meeting face-to-face, but I doubted it would really happen, especially since I lived in Denver and he lived in Austin.

Then one day, I found out I was going to have to go and visit my mom in Florida. She was sick, and might possibly even have cancer. She needed my help. So I made plans to drive to Florida, and it occurred to me. Why not go through Texas and meet Dave? We planned our meeting, and I spent two weeks with butterflies in my stomach, wondering what would happen.

We never did get together that time. I was in an accident in Dallas and was nearly killed. It was two weeks before I was able to reach him and let him know what happened. I don't think I've ever been so overwhelmed by emotion in another person. He'd been so angry, preferring to think I ditched him, rather than believe something had happened to me. I still have a hard time grasping this... that he'd prefer the pain of his own abandonment to thinking I was hurt. It touched me in a way I can't even describe. If I had to pinpoint the first moment that I knew I loved him... that would be the moment.

Fortunately, I had access from my mom's home in Florida. We still chatted at night and talked on the phone sometimes. My mom had a hard time understanding my 'computer boyfriend'. The first time I called him from my mom's house, I'll never forget... it was the first time he said 'I love you.'

We spent close to a month like that, then we decided I had to see him as soon as the cast was off my arm. I booked a flight to Austin for the day before Halloween. It was a five hour trip, all told. I couldn't even concentrate on the book I bought for the flight. I just stared out the window, thinking. Worrying. What would it be like? Would we really hit it off in person?

I stepped off the plane in Austin at 10:30 on October 30th. He'd gotten the day off work to meet me. I came walking down the jetway, suitcase trailing behind me, rehearsing in my head what I'd say. As soon as I saw him, it all went out the window. My best friend, someone I'd nearly lost, not once, but twice, was waiting for me, and that was all that mattered. I don't remember how long we held each other, standing there at the gate. I only barely remember walking out of the airport. I just remember holding his hand. Holding -him-.

I spent a week with him in Texas. Sleeping next to him at night will always be one of my most precious memories. We talked about our future together, about the distance, and our families, and whether he was ready to accept the responsibility of a woman with a child. I hated to leave. It seems like I always end up crying at airports.

But you know, I have family just outside Austin. And I hear the job market for techies is pretty good down there... We will be together again. Someday, we will. Don't ever let anyone tell you that net relationships never work. I believed that once myself. I thank whatever god was looking out for me that I had the second chance to find out I was wrong.

--Lynn