"Well, you do look different," he said when he took a seat at the table at the coffee shop.

"Told you I would," I said. "No wig, no makeup, not skirt, just me."

"Did you have a late night last night?" he asked.

It was pretty late. It was my night to perform in addition to waiting on tables.

"Of course," I said. "You missed my Gloria Estefan routine."

It brought a laugh from him.

"Wished I could have been there to see it," he said.

"No you don't, just be glad you're not a member of our regular clientele," I said. "Be glad you have a life."

He smiled, but said he didn't have much of one anymore.

"Meant to tell you, thanks for the flowers," I said. "They were the talk of the whole club."

Imagine my surprise when roses greeted me in the dressing room. All of the girls, the fake ones and the real ones, were wanting to know who the mystery person -- man or woman -- was in my life.

"I didn't mean to do something that was the start of a conversation," he said.

"Well, it was sweet," I said as I sipped my coffee.

I asked him how his day had gone. I learned a little about the world of construction, although most of it pretty much went over my head.

I hoped I didn't strike a nerve when I asked him about his wife.

But he seemed more than eager to open up about the woman that captured his heart so many years ago.

I found it interesting that like me, she was from a small Southern town. They met in college and married soon after.

She was a college professor who liked dance and yoga. She was also interested in art and charity work and played tennis and golf with friends from the country club.

She retired early, like he hoped to do, and just began to enjoy life. That was until she fell ill.

He sounded very much like a man full in love. It was a passion I appreciated.

He asked me about my relationships.

There wasn't a whole lot to tell, I said. Most of the relationships I was in pretty much ended up in disaster, although the women I dated were are fun to be with.

He asked me if I were ever tempted to go out with men. I guess because I was a crossdresser and a female impersonator, he thought I might fall into the stereotype.

Then he showed me photos of his wife. She was beautiful, even for one her age. She started off as a brunette, but actually turned gray at an early age, although the gray pretty much suited her.

She wasn't petite, but more on the athletic side. He showed me photos of them at formal events, one of her in a tennis dress and one of them sipping drinks on a boat.

They didn't have any children, although they wanted them.

"It just never happened," he said. "But it allowed us to do things together we probably never would have been able to do, or have the time to do."

One of the passions was boating. The photo with them sipping drinks was on a sailboat they owned at the shore.

"Been a while since I've been sailing," he said. "I haven't been since she passed away."

I told him I'd been to the beach, but had never actually been sailing.

"I was thinking about going Sunday," he said. "Are you off? It would be nice to have someone with me."

Sunday was the one off day from the club. I was a bit reluctant.

But he was so persuasive.