
It took three more days for the amorous darts to work, so that by the time a Sunday Beer Bust came along, never mind that it was at another venue, RAFI and Christian were ready to fall prey to Love. Christian remembers they “met eyes and were smiling…” However, it was Rafi who took the lead, literally and asked the “cute blonde guy from Thursday… ‘What’s your name?’” The cute blonde guy responded “Christian.” Rafi then made the move and said, "Christian, let’s go dancing…” It was a Shadow and as a dance a shadow can be rather seductive and can arouse (shall we say?) certain passions. After the shadow, Christian recalls they “raced outside… for [their] first kiss!” Well, one thing proverbially led to another and Rafi ended up giving Christian a ride to his apartment and (ahem) coming inside. That might have been it for our would be lovers, but as fate would have it, Rafi left his pager at Christian’s and had to return for it the following day; reunited they ended up on a proper date. Rafi says they “went for dinner and… became a couple after that.”
Christian described what followed as “a week of dates”during which they discovered that they had shared a deep love for cats, had mutual friends, and that there were a number of times when they just missed meeting each other. But he explains, “I think it wasn’t time for us, I wasn’t ready for [Rafi's] strong love…” That is, he “wasn’t ready to receive it until…” Oil Can Harry’s Cowboy Cupid brought them together and as a result they “fell in love hard.”

Just a word about Oil Can Harry’s before closing. This particular place had already been in a sense a kind of home first to Christian, then Rafi. OCHarry's has provided for them on many levels, even work -- Christian asserts he was the best barmaid ever! But above all else OCHarry's has been a place where, not just Rafi and Christian, but many of us as well (as a particular group of people), have found acceptance, camaraderie and even family. Fortune truly smiled as
it turned out that Rafi and OCH were a perfect pairing. From the start of their relationship, Rafi loved the many OCH friends he now continues to share with Christian. And, this community loved Rafi in return… continues to love Christian and Rafi both in return.
To this day I never find it too difficult to know where the two are as all I have to do is follow the laughter… or the flash of a camera. Love, Laughter and Light
follow these two wherever they go!
Photo credits: Claudia DellaRipa, Christian Bock (posted by) and Barry Jones.