Shakespearean in Love and Star-Crossed Lovers

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Just another stroll down memory lanes on the path of love and romance.

by Maria Concepcion Panlilio

(NOTE: This is a narrative for a radio show called “Love Songs” on KyXy 96.5 (San Diego) hosted by an Englishman (Tim Mudd) with a very sexy radio voice–just perfect for love songs request and dedication format as well as poetry readings and other love-related matters, to which some of my friends and I contribute on a daily basis.  So tune in to Love Songs every night (except Saturday) and enjoy the music and outpouring of love–love of different types; not just romantic love, but love for family, friends, animals, or even love itself.  My friend Erlyn wrote about her love for the process of writing, and she accomplished it in the most sensual way.  Imagine that.  This particular story is for the segment of the show called Sweet Mistakes, and this is about a mistake I made a decade ago that produced a stunningly romantic result, or in my own vocabulary: a “blessing in disguise”.  This is about a very intense love affair that only lasted three weeks, but will remain in my heart and mind forever — it was a mistake that Destiny turned into something wonderful, loving and romantic.  It’s about two Shakespearean lovers  who themselves epitomized star-crossed lovers in a Shakespeare Sonnet.  Enjoy.)

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By Maria Concepcion Panlilio

Introduction: It was January 1999.  Savage Garden’s Truly, Madly, Deeply and Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing were still burning the Billboard charts in Pop music.  In the movies, people were falling in love with Shakespeare in the desperately romantic and deliciously sexy film Shakespeare In Love—a movie that won seven major academy awards, including Best Picture. I was obsessed with the movie and saw it several times with different dates.  Unfortunately, not one of my dates sparked any romantic interest, and it was frustrating, actually.  There I was, falling in love with young Shakespeare all over again, hoping to fall in love with someone more real and sinewy, and, of course, still breathing, but no such luck. Having played Juliet in High School, I remembered many of her lines and would mouth them along with Gwyneth Paltrow who played Juliet and won the Best Actress Award for it.  I was new in Colorado at the time and had just joined a mountaineering group for single corporate professionals.  I was designated as the “call girl”, which meant calling the members occasionally about our events.

The Sweet Mistake:  One day, I called a member named Christopher (name changed) and left a long voice mail message about our latest meeting to be held in a downtown Denver restaurant.  I left my phone number in case of any questions. A few minutes later, Christopher called me and thanked me for the invitation.  But he sounded more interested in me than the meeting.  I didn’t think it was strange because that was the nature of the singles group: to possibly find a romantic connection.  Christopher came to the meeting, and oh, what a handsome Romeo, he was.  After apologizing to the other Christopher for borrowing his identity, he introduced himself to the group and explained that I had mistakenly called him, but that he was so enamored by my voice and just had to meet me.  The group thought that was so romantic, and since he met the age and professional requirement, he was welcomed as a new member.  Pheromones were flying all over the place; Christopher and I definitely felt an intense chemistry between us.  After the meeting, he and I lingered in the restaurant for another four hours till they practically had to sweep us away.

What could two people possibly talk about almost all night the first time?  Everything under the moon and stars, including . . . Shakespeare?  Yes.  Shakespeare—an unlikely topic of conversation on a first date.  Luck of all luck!  Christopher had played Romeo in high school as well, and still remembered some of his lines.  And guess what?  We both saw the premiere of Shakespeare in Love in Denver at the Cherry Creek Mall Cinemas, and after much discussion, we discovered that he and his date had taken the seats  on the next row in front of us.  I remembered this because his date had an extremely big hair that sometimes blocked my view, and she giggled a lot in that annoying high-pitch voice, which bothered me so much I wanted to decorate her hair with my buttery popcorn and beverage.  I also knew her because I used to go to the Tattered Cover Book Store across the mall where she was working at the time.  But I didn’t notice Christopher then because his date captured all the unflattering attention around us.

Star-crossed lovers. We were like star-crossed lovers in a Shakespeare play.  It was quite romantic to think that the positions of the planets had something to do with what was happening between us.  Indeed, Christopher and I were caught in a most intense love affair fit for a Shakespeare sonnet.  Unfortunately, like other star-crossed lovers, such as the legendary Romeo and Juliet, or Tristan and Isolde, our affair seemed doomed from the start.   Oh, but our explosive love and romance, though quite abbreviated, was one that would never die for it will be celebrated in my heart forever; and who knows. . .maybe even in books, movies, theaters, songs and poems till the end of time.

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Author’s note:  If you would like to read what happened to the star-crossed Shakespearean lovers, I have written a short story about the love affair, which I will start submitting for publication soon.  Thanks.

Maria