For part one of Meeting, Marriage, and Memories, click HERE.
After our extra inning bickering, FringeMan and I seemed to often find ourselves thrown together. We didn’t immediately begin dating, but we played in the same social group and found ourselves gravitating to one another. In reality, I couldn’t escape him. He’ll tell you that I didn’t want to escape, but I’m not letting him tell this story.
He had decided to marry me early on and although he kept that decision to himself for a short time, he was on the hunt. I may as well have been covered in long brown fur with honey dripping from my mouth. He may not have gotten a bear on his hunting trip that fall, but he was determined to capture my heart.
I was hesitant. I planned to fall in love with a suit and tie a few years down the road and FringeMan was anything but a suit a tie. He was rough, slightly reckless, and very exciting. I never quite knew what to expect from him. Being seven years my senior, he preyed on my youth. At least that’s what I tell him. He said he needed to find a young wife so she could bare him many babies. Obviously he hadn’t yet experienced 2 am feedings.
After church one Sunday a group of us single and desperate adults decided to meet at a Chinese restaurant (this was before my chinese food aversion) and FringeMan quickly offered to give my cousin and I a ride home. FringeMan, Jenn, and I squished into the front seat of his work truck and he toted us 45 minutes out of his way. I must have been shot with one of Cupid’s arrows, because for some reason unknown to me, I told him to drop Jenn off at her house first, giving FringeMan and I an extra 10 minutes alone. He took that as a good sign.
I wasn’t sure I could ever ride his truck again. It was filthy, but I had yet to see his apartment. My first mistake is that I was wearing a winter white skirt and navy blazer. It made me afraid to sit anywhere. The local dry cleaners got rich after I began dating FringeMan. I didn’t realize electrician’s could get so dirty and that they transferred half their dirt to their trucks.
I don’t remember what my fortune was that day, but it should have said, “You will find love while wearing washable fabrics and hiking boots.”
Time was moving quickly. The world series game was October 26 and I had tickets to spend a long Thanksgiving weekend in Florida. I had attended college in Florida and was returning to visit friends. FringeMan was as convinced that I was returning to see a guy as he was convinced that I should stay in New York for Thanksgiving. He tried everything short of water torture to get me to spill this imaginary guy’s name, but I was having too much fun keeping him guessing.
The one thing he managed to squeeze from me was a promise to write him from Florida. It didn’t matter that I was only going to be away for 5 days and would probably beat my letter home.
A quick note sounded easy enough, but it was a decision almost as momentous as choosing a name for my firstborn. What would be appropriate? I didn’t want to write him an actual letter, surely not a love letter! Would a postcard convey wary interest? I flipped through ‘thinking of you’ cards, blank cards, postcards, notecards, and out of desperation, birthday cards. My friend convinced me the stationary from the hotel she worked at would hit the perfect note.
I was more than speechless, for once in my life, I was wordless. I don’t remember what I wrote in that note, but FringeMan still has it squirreled away.
I had hoped some time away from New York and FringeMan would help clear my head and I’d make a decision to date or not date FringeMan. It was a tough decision because I knew that casual dating wasn’t an option. It would be my whole heart or nothing. After all, I considered FringeMan an ‘older man’. Although he didn’t say it, I was certain he had marriage on the mind.
I left Florida undecided…must’ve been a hanging chad, but I think my actions betrayed my heart. Despite FringeMan’s fears, I didn’t go to Florida to see ANY guy; however, there was one guy I secretly hoped to see at least one more time. I got a message saying he wanted to see me and to give him a call before I left for New York. As I made the decision not to see him, I think I also made the decision to see FringeMan. I just didn’t realize it at the time.
to be continued…
This post is part of a Meetings, Marriage, and Memories carnival at Musings of a Future Pastor’s Wife. Go visit for more love stories!
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22 Comments
July 12, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Oh my gosh, that last paragraph gave me goosebumps!!! I can’t wait to hear more!
You guys are such a cute couple!
And my LOL moment of the post was the “hanging chad” – hilarious!
July 12, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Can’t wait to read more!
July 12, 2009 at 9:52 pm
The plot thickens…
July 12, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Well, you’re clearly a cute couple now. I like to know the ending and then hear how it all came to be. I can’t wait to hear the rest
July 12, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Love this! I love how he hunted you down, like a piece of young meat!
July 12, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I love this carnival.
You made me laugh out loud all throughout this!
Can’t wait until next week.
July 12, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Excited to hear more.
July 13, 2009 at 8:33 am
Your posts always make me laugh. Can’t wait to read next week’s installment!
July 13, 2009 at 9:50 am
i feel ya on the letter/note/card drama! mr. right’s birthday was on our 3rd date – it was tough choosing a card/gift.
July 13, 2009 at 10:41 am
It’s great to read a love story that we already know has a happy ending. For some reason, I can’t see the “siete-baby” photo on either computer. I just get the dreaded red x. I like the sepia picture of you and FringeMan!
July 13, 2009 at 11:02 am
How awesome!! Haha, how weird is it that the reason Superman did not want to date me at first is because I was a little rough and reckless? LOL!!
July 13, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Knowing the ending doesn’t make this story any less exciting! Heck, I know how Gone With The Wind ends, but I’ve reread it a hundred times! It’s the “getting to” that is the fun part. Can’t wait to read all the twist and turns.
Debbie
July 13, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Oh – I love a good love story, with a happy ending!
(I’m assuming the ending is happy, right?!!!)
July 13, 2009 at 7:26 pm
You two are absolutely beautiful together!! I can’t wait to read more!
July 14, 2009 at 6:53 am
And then……..
July 14, 2009 at 11:41 am
I can’t wait to read the rest! and, could we get a pic of his current dirty truck?
July 14, 2009 at 5:05 pm
oh, you can’t leave us hanging like that!!
July 15, 2009 at 11:54 am
Yes, she enjoys leaving us hanging.
Dropping me off first gave you more like 20 extra minutes aloooooooooooooooooone!! ha ha ha I wish I had a camera for the expression on your face when I climbed out of the truck. And Fringeman’s too. It’s so much fun reading this, it brings back sooooooooo many memories.
July 15, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I think my favorite thing to learn of people is how they met the love of their lifetime. I love to hear how people met and how and when they fell in love. So I can’t wait to read on.
July 15, 2009 at 10:14 pm
July 17, 2009 at 2:22 am
i may have mentioned this already, but i find it so interesting hearing how people find each other and the process that leads them towards marriage. like in your story, how you wouldn’t think the two of you would “stick,” but obviously, there was something there. looking forward to the next installment.
September 13, 2009 at 9:08 pm
[...] Part 2 [...]