The What Ifs In Life

Do we dare ask all the What Ifs In life?

Suppose we do - - -

What if I did not get to Hong Kong in 1949? 
I most probably would not have survived under Communism. 
I would be long gone.

What if I did not meet Prof. Mary who encouraged me to overcome my problem at HKU?
What if I did not wish to start over at HKU after my failure in History?
What If Number Three Grand Uncle did not encourage my father to let me go back to HKU? 
I would not have met B.J. 
Then, I certainly would not have gone to Edinburgh. 

"It is better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved at all."

What if I did not go to Edinburgh, and What if I went to Paris with David when he asked me to?
Would we fall in love in the City of Lovers? 
Would we end up being married? 
I liked David, but not enough.

What if I had agreed to stay in Paris, when the attache asked me to? (He sent me two dozens red roses from Paris after I returned to London.) 
Would I become a diplomat's wife? 
Living in Paris?

What if Dum did not send her brother a picture with me in it?
S.C. would not have known that I existed.
What if Dum did not tell her brother to contact me?
S.C. would not have sent me the info on Rice University.
I would not have written him a thank you note.
We would not become pen-pals.

What if he had not persisted in writing me?
I would not be on my way to Houston to see him. Right?

Life works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?

So, I went to Houston - to check him out, so to speak.
I am sure both of us were nervous.
He passed the test.
He was good to me.
He introduced me to his many friends, including his buddy C.C.
He demonstrated his cooking skills to me (Show off!).
He took me to Austin to visit his Alma Mater.
We visited New Orleans . . .

We decided that I would return to HK.
He would go back to UT to finish his Master's Degree which he had started sometime ago. 
Then, he would return to HK. If we still feel that we both wanted to, we would get married.

I know, I know. You think that I was not romantic enough. Right?
I want to tell you that I was using my head as well as my heart on this. So you have it.