Might as well start where it all began.
April 8, 2000
This was the day my best friend, Jess was marrying her husband. I was currently in my second trimester of Bible College at a small private college in Southern California, far from the native Northwest where I grew up.
I had flown up a few days prior to the wedding to spend time with the bride and help however I could before the big day. She was the first of our group of friends to marry, but would not be the only one to wed in the coming months. In a period of 10 months, five couples from our college group bible study would get married.
As of my friends wedding day, I was so very single, recently having suffered a heart break of a long pined for friend whom I had quasi dated over winter break. Not even a potential male interest in sight.
That Saturday I was enjoying being involved as a bridesmaid with the wedding and helping out with many of the maid of honor duties, as well as singing a duet for the bride and groom during the ceremony. It was a blast getting all dolled up with my girlfriends and complaining about the high heels and how much they hurt our feet, and teasing the bride about all the naughty fun she was going to have that night.
I remember driving to the hair salon early that morning in her Honda Civic, blasting J.Lo’s “Waiting for Tonight” on repeat. Being so close to someone I loved who was about to take that next step into marriage and God ordained sex left me feeling envious.
I so longed to be married. And at barely 21 I felt my life was slipping by and it would be forever before I met The One. I was so young and so stupid and so utterly impatient!
Once the ceremony started the next few hours went by in a whirl and soon we were outside awaiting the send off of the glowing bride and her groom in a cloud of bubbles.
Soon after their departure, a large group of the wedding party and our other friends who attended were hanging outside goofing off and trying to arrange our plans for the evening.
During our conversation I noticed a blue sedan (total grandma car!) pull up and this guy get out. Sporting a shaved head, an ill fitting white shirt and black pants, I can see he is carrying in his hands a gift wrapped in TeleTubbies wrapping paper and walking towards our group.
Two of my long standing male friends, AJ and JR, turn and yell “Hey nice that you could make it!” And then continue to mock him for his late arrival and comic attempt at wrapping the gift ( a blender).
I don’t remember exactly how we were introduced, but I know we were. I remember before meeting him I knew of him. He was the guy that AJ and JR had gone to Bible College with and had asked to be one of their roommates recently. He had moved from out of state (New Mexico) up to the Northwest to live with my buddies.
I do know that I caught him checking out my cleavage and then whispering to AJ who chastised him with “Dude, that’s our FRIEND! You can’t say that!” It was a lower cut dress and well, I was being as modest as the dress would allow, but some things just can’t be hidden at times.
Needless to say, my first impression of this guy was NOT GOOD. Before seeing him I did what I think most every young woman does when going to meet a new guy “I wonder if he is… the One?” But after those first few glimpses of this seemingly sloppy man-boy I was sure he was so very NOT the One for me.
He seemed nice but immature, cocky yet unsure of himself, and in the looks department, not really my type. I guess that is a nice way to say I was not attracted to him, no love at first sight situation, and I easily dismissed him from the checklist in my head of possible husbands-to-be.
And so, this is how I, from now on known as M., met this man who would change my life in every way possible. I will call him J.
