There was something about the little dark spot above Eric's left eye that Maggie absolutely loved. She became facinated with it on their very first date as they made somewhat akward conversation over burgers and milkshakes. The little dance the freckle did with every raise of the eyebrow or rolling of the eyes entertained Maggie so much that she didn't realize she was staring until Eric stared back at her. The look on his face coupled with the adorableness of the freckle was too much for a young Irish school girl and Maggie had burst into giggles, shrieking 'I love your spot!'

Of course, Eric hadn't the faintest idea of what she was talking about. She seemed to be a bit mad, to him, and he wondered if perhaps it would be a good idea to call the date short. That was when Maggie snorted. Both she and Eric gasped and Maggie clamped her hand over her mouth. Her cheeks gained the faintest tint of embarrassment and the two teenagers just stared at each other for a moment.

Eric broke into a smile and his freckle leapt on high. Maggie began tittering again from behind her hand and before too long both of them were laughing heartily; Maggie alternately snorting and giggling and Eric making his freckle dance with each chortle. The other patrons of the diner were undoubtedly confused and a bit frightened.

After that, many more dates followed and Maggie and Eric became enamoured with each other. They took to calling each other 'Spot' and 'Snort', something that confused their peers and, later, amused their children. Years went on, and it gave the couple great joy to introduce one another to co-workers and friends by saying 'This is my darling Spot,' or 'I'd like you to meet my beautiful wife, Snort.' The inevitable surprised moment of silence that always followed such introductions made many a boring function tolerable.

Maggie and Eric's children grew up and left the home to start families of their own. When their youngest left, Maggie kissed Eric's freckle and told him "It'll be just you and me now, Spot. A couple of old coots."

Eric patted his wife's hand and said "We've got a few more years before we reach the level of coot."

They spent those years traveling and telling anyone who would listen the meaning behind their nicknames. Even when Maggie began to get forgetful of everything else, she remembered the story behind her husband's Spot, and she still snorted with laughter when he reminded her how she had giggled as a young girl.

Then Eric had died and Maggie didn't laugh any more. When she finally joined her husband, and her children read their parents' will, they had to smile through their tears. For years after they would bring flowers to a grave under a tree that was marked "Spot and Snort~Forever Laughing."

Then one spring, Eric and Maggie's youngest child brought to the grave yard a smiling, skipping child whose freckle danced above his eye as he read the inscription of his grandparents' marker.