Monday, January 7, 2013

How we met..


In the summer of 2002, I was working full-time at a mall nearby in a cute clothing store. It was great, I got a pretty good employee discount and always had new clothes. Mall hours weren't always optimal, but it was really good money for right out of high school. I'd actually been working there for a few years and had a management position in the store. Yeah, over-achiever here. Lol. 


We hired a new girl, my mom knew her mom. We quickly became good friends and hung out often. Her boyfriend had a motorcycle. That's really the key to this story.. 

One weekend, we stayed at her house. My parents weren't really concerned what we were going to do. I was a good kid. Wink ;)  We got all dressed up, I even remember how I wore my hair. She had finally convinced me to go with her, ride with one of his friends on his friend's motorcycle. I was always afraid of getting caught and in trouble, so it took some convincing. "I swear, he's safe and a good driver. And he's really nice." We were going to meet them at a huge parking lot with grocery and department stores.  Her car wouldn't be noticed there. 

Oh yeah, one last thing she swore. "Your fiancé won't find out."  Did I leave that part out? Oops.  


She wanted to get some gum, we stopped at a close gas station. Her boyfriend saw her car and they pulled in. I heard the rumble and rolled down the window, my stomach in serious knots. Then, I saw his smile, his dark eyes, his hands. "Um, she went in for some gum. She'll be right out."  Really, those were my first words? Moron! I shouted in my head. I went back to playing snake on the old Nokia cell phone trying to avoid looking stupid, but in reality probably only making it worse. 

After what seemed like an eternity, she came back to the car. We drove out to the parking lot and I stepped out of the car. Cute boots, tight jeans, a v-neck shirt accenting the ladies... I won't deny I was working it a little walking over to him. I twisted my a little longer than shoulder length blonde hair in between my fingers. 


Hi, I said. Hi, I'm fireman (ok, he wasn't back then, but I can't put his real name!) Are you really a safe driver? Swear.  I'm probably way safer than anyone I know. Hop on. I climbed on and off we went. I'm sure there were more words, but that was 10 1/2 years ago!!

We went on a crazy long ride, half the time I had no idea of where we were. (I know. Super safe. I'm telling you, this is the one crazy thing I've done!)  We stopped at one point and he rested his arm on my leg and I kinda leaned into him. 

How are you doing over there, my friend asked smiling. Good! I said, beaming. (I'd only ever ridden Harley-type motorcycles. Never a sport-bike like these..) She's a trooper, squeeze. Omg, did he just squeeze my leg

For another hour or more we rode and he would rest his arm on my leg, squeeze my hand, or say something back in my direction. I was actually sad when the ride was over and we ended up back at my friend's car. 

We ended up riding one other time that summer, we went another direction this time and with more people. We climbed up some hill and looked out over from a huge rock. He was the only guy to hang back and make sure my friend and I made our way. I remember wondering where her boyfriend was and that it was so sweet that he did that for the two of us. 

And then, I didn't see him for a few months.... 

I knew he worked at the mall too, but I never saw him. He was also a college student (science/pre-med), so I knew he was really busy.  I would think he would be a customer in the store, but he never was. 

I think it was late February, early March when he finally came in. I'll have to ask him. And I'd love for him to add his details to this story! 

He laid his helmet down on the counter and I turned around. Hey! I said, with probably a little too much enthusiasm. We talked, exchanged some information, and ended up chatting online when I could. Then the phone. The one day, I went with him after work. He met me at the store, waited while I closed and we went to his friends' house. 

My fireman was a gentlemen even back then. He never kissed me or even tried to. He knew I was engaged to someone else, but I still don't know what made him keep talking to me. 


One day, I called him. I have good news, I said. I broke it off. I swear I heard him smile on the other end of the phone.  We were "official" not too long after that. We had some bumps in the beginning, but who would've known we'd be married 3 years later, end up with 3 kids, and be in a domestic discipline relationship?? 

Our dating life was amazing. We just talked. And talked and talked and talked. We were so close, so soon. I love you's were exchanged early. We spent so much time together. 



He's always been a magnet for me. He knows I don't function well when he's not here with me. I need him. 

I might have to edit this and add his thoughts. Or ask him to post his recount separately. 



It doesn't sound like much, but it's a wonderful love story to have lived be living ;) 




Xo, 
Elle 




11 comments:

  1. Oh you're quite wrong to say it doesn't sound like much. It sounds like everything good and I am envious. Wish more bloggers would post stuff like this.

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  2. Elle that is a beautiful story! I personally love a man on a bike! Thanks for sharing :)

    P

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  3. I agree with Malcolm, it sounds very lovely and romantic....still does :)

    (((hugs)))

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  4. Aww...i love it!! Such a great story!

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  5. Hi Elle, I always love hearing the how we met stories, thank you for sharing.

    I enjoyed reading this. It is a beautiful story and I agree with Malcolm, it sounds like everything good. You obviously made the right choice :)

    Hugs
    Roz

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  6. Aweeeeeeeeeeee - thanks Elle!
    Isn't it fantastic how those beginner moments stay with us forever?
    I would like to know why he waiting months to see you!
    We need to know!!!

    Hugs
    jack's jill

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  7. This is so lovely and romantic - we can forget these moments. Thank you for reminding us all of what it used to be like! What a wonderful way to meet!

    Hugs, Ami

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  8. Beautiful story. Cannot wait to hear his memories.

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  9. I'll fill in a few bits, for sure. I wasn't a rich kid, quite the opposite. My buddies were all buying motorcycles and picking up girls, but the only way I could afford it was to buy a wrecked bike and rebuild it piece by piece. Now, being a 22 yr/old nice guy, I'm here to tell you nice guys finished last. Over and over. And for a kid with no money, zero self confidence, and in the middle of undergraduate Chemistry degree, women weren't exactly beating down my door. But that night I met L, something was different. The reason I didn't peruse her right off the bat was that she was engaged. I was several months from a failed engagement by someone who kuckled me, and that wasn't my style to do to someone else. However, L's friend kept feeding me behind the scenes how bad her fiancé treated her and how she didn't really know why they were even engaged. It took me a few months to get the courage to go back and even say "Hi". But in doing so, I reaffirmed to me that there was something - like magic. Our text and online conversations just let her get to know me since we couldn't exactly hang out on a daily basis. But, what sealed the deal...

    A few months later, my friend and I rode down to a nearby town to watch a Friday night football game that I gave two shits about, but I had nothing better to do. Low and behold, there was L and her fiancé, and I saw them in passing by the concession stand. But when she saw me, I couldn't exactly go up and say hi, I didn't want to make a scene either. But when she finally saw me from a distance, I simply gave her a wink and a smile - thank you Mr. Sinatra. And for guys that may read this, I'm here to tell you I've loved three women in my life. None like my L, but the one thing that got me noticed, was a wink and smile. I guess my L was the only one meant to stick around. I spent much of my youth trying to convince girls that "being a nice guy" was a desirable thing. It took me a lot of heart ache to find someone to believe it. I'll be the first to admit I'm not perfect. I take great pride in trying to be, and have most of my life. That's my style I guess. But knowing we all fall short of the glory of God, I figure the best I can do is to be better than I was the day before. Surely that counts for something.

    But like she said, I literally was smiling thru the phone when she decided I was worth the chance. It hasn't been without our own heartache. Sometimes, I thought they made the movie "The Notebook" about our life!! Lol. I think those years have simply been growing pains on our journey of growing old together. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :-)

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    1. That's the sweetest thing I've ever read from anyone except my Ward. Welcome to blogland, Fireman. And if you keep talking about our friend like that, I hope we hear so very much more from you :)

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  10. Oh how sweet! Thank you to both of you for telling your story.

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