here we go
[people's names have been changed to protect their identity]
Sunday July 11, 2004 at church my best friend {at the time, we'll call her "Brook"} told me that she met a guy that would be *just perfect* for me. One to get me over some guy I had been hung up on. You know, the kind of guy that leads you on when they are around but never actually commits. The guy that will call your phone until he gets you. The guy that expects you to wait on him forever. The heartbreaker. Anyway, I was hung up on this heartbreaker but Brook was tired of seeing me be all melancholy & shiz. I tend to over think things, over analyze, let them affect everything that I do. All conversations led back to the heartbreaker. Brook invited my brother & I to lunch with her family, boyfriend [let's go with "Rob" on this one] & a few other people after the morning church service. She was the pastor's daughter. We went to Maria's in Roger's Arkansas {how in the world do i remember that?!}.
Now don't get lost here: The day before, Brook had gone to Carthage, Missouri with Rob to celebrate his sister's birthday {my now sister-in-law, we'll call her "Tammi"}. At that small party were Tammi's in-laws [my sister-in-law's in-laws, my now in-laws] & her husband's brother-in-law, Mathew. Got it?! Well Brook told me that she had talked to Mathew quite a bit & that he seemed so sweet & nice, the kind of guy that "would treat you like a princess". She said that her & Rob had told him about me because she'd asked if he had a girlfriend & he had said no. Then she asked, "well what kind of girl do you like?!" to which {she said} he replied "a girl like you". GAG!!! This should have been a hint of how shallow she'd become. Anyway, all she wanted was for me to say that it was ok for Rob to give him my number. I told her I'd have to think about it. She wasn't crazy about me being so standoffish about the idea.
We all went our separate ways after lunch. I thought about it.... I mean I needed to get over this guy, & we'd only be talking. I was leaving for college in about a month so... what the heck?! that night at church I told Brook to go ahead & give him my number. She smiled her big happy smile & acted so excited for me.
I expected him to call that same night.
He didn't & I forgot all about it.
Then Monday came and went.
Tuesday July 13th, 2004 at around 9pm my phone rang with an unknown number.
"hello?"
"hi, is this Emma?"
"yeah! who's this?!" {i'm rude sometimes. no surprise there huh?}
"Mathew, Brook gave me your number"
THREE hours later my cheeks hurt. I smiled almost the whole time. We just asked each other easy questions. He told me about how he grew up on a farm, I told him about how I didn't know anything about that. I'd moved from California 4 years earlier, still missed it & still went back once a year. We talked about our likes and dislikes. We talked about our beliefs {that's a biggie!}. But most importantly, in the end he told me he'd like to come down and visit me. Take me out on a date. I couldn't say no right? Well, I didn't want to say no. I found my mom & told/asked her about it. She was very surprised, but acted like if I wanted to go for it then she was happy for me. Mostly I think it was because I wasn't all sad looking at that moment.
Mathew & I talked on the phone every night the rest of the week. I'm sure that a couple times I fell asleep on the phone & he probably did too. He worked a ton back then. He made me laugh, made me happy every evening. One night after he'd made me laugh I said, "you're so funny! I love you!" then I gasped. I didn't mean that... right? I cared about him already, we'd probably spoken to and knew more about each other than me & some of my closest friends did.... but now it was out there & I almost hyperventilated. Mathew though, didn't miss a beat. He kept the conversation going because he knew I was embarrassed & unsure of what I'd said. It just slipped out!
On Saturday, my mom had to work & I don't remember where my brother was, I think he spent the night with a friend. I woke up early, showered, & fixed my hair. I also took forever trying to decide what to wear. I wanted to look nice, but not too dressy & not like I had tried very hard. I'd talked to this guy for hours & hours the last 4 days but had never met him in person, so I didn't want to over do it but yet wanted to be fabulous. I didn't know exactly what we were doing anyway! It was a long process but in the end I wore a denim skirt that came to my knees, a pink polo & some flip flops. I sat in a chair by the front door & waited.
Now don't get lost here: The day before, Brook had gone to Carthage, Missouri with Rob to celebrate his sister's birthday {my now sister-in-law, we'll call her "Tammi"}. At that small party were Tammi's in-laws [my sister-in-law's in-laws, my now in-laws] & her husband's brother-in-law, Mathew. Got it?! Well Brook told me that she had talked to Mathew quite a bit & that he seemed so sweet & nice, the kind of guy that "would treat you like a princess". She said that her & Rob had told him about me because she'd asked if he had a girlfriend & he had said no. Then she asked, "well what kind of girl do you like?!" to which {she said} he replied "a girl like you". GAG!!! This should have been a hint of how shallow she'd become. Anyway, all she wanted was for me to say that it was ok for Rob to give him my number. I told her I'd have to think about it. She wasn't crazy about me being so standoffish about the idea.
We all went our separate ways after lunch. I thought about it.... I mean I needed to get over this guy, & we'd only be talking. I was leaving for college in about a month so... what the heck?! that night at church I told Brook to go ahead & give him my number. She smiled her big happy smile & acted so excited for me.
I expected him to call that same night.
He didn't & I forgot all about it.
Then Monday came and went.
Tuesday July 13th, 2004 at around 9pm my phone rang with an unknown number.
"hello?"
"hi, is this Emma?"
"yeah! who's this?!" {i'm rude sometimes. no surprise there huh?}
"Mathew, Brook gave me your number"
THREE hours later my cheeks hurt. I smiled almost the whole time. We just asked each other easy questions. He told me about how he grew up on a farm, I told him about how I didn't know anything about that. I'd moved from California 4 years earlier, still missed it & still went back once a year. We talked about our likes and dislikes. We talked about our beliefs {that's a biggie!}. But most importantly, in the end he told me he'd like to come down and visit me. Take me out on a date. I couldn't say no right? Well, I didn't want to say no. I found my mom & told/asked her about it. She was very surprised, but acted like if I wanted to go for it then she was happy for me. Mostly I think it was because I wasn't all sad looking at that moment.
Mathew & I talked on the phone every night the rest of the week. I'm sure that a couple times I fell asleep on the phone & he probably did too. He worked a ton back then. He made me laugh, made me happy every evening. One night after he'd made me laugh I said, "you're so funny! I love you!" then I gasped. I didn't mean that... right? I cared about him already, we'd probably spoken to and knew more about each other than me & some of my closest friends did.... but now it was out there & I almost hyperventilated. Mathew though, didn't miss a beat. He kept the conversation going because he knew I was embarrassed & unsure of what I'd said. It just slipped out!
On Saturday, my mom had to work & I don't remember where my brother was, I think he spent the night with a friend. I woke up early, showered, & fixed my hair. I also took forever trying to decide what to wear. I wanted to look nice, but not too dressy & not like I had tried very hard. I'd talked to this guy for hours & hours the last 4 days but had never met him in person, so I didn't want to over do it but yet wanted to be fabulous. I didn't know exactly what we were doing anyway! It was a long process but in the end I wore a denim skirt that came to my knees, a pink polo & some flip flops. I sat in a chair by the front door & waited.
Ok, fine I'll write our love story. This is so much fun to read!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh this is fun! I think I want to write ours. Ours is CHEEZY OVERLOAD.
ReplyDelete