A Love Story

Once upon a time, I met a very intriguing guy at a party.  He was very attractive with his long, luxurious, dark hair and a scruff on his chin.  His voice was a bit intoxicating.  We didn’t really talk too much as he somehow managed to irritate the owner of the house, who asked him to leave.  It got a little ugly when he wanted to take the beer that he had brought with him.  In the end, he took the beer.

Fast forward a few months and we met again at another friend’s house.  He was there with his girlfriend so we chatted briefly on a few occasions and I didn’t think any more about it.  Fast forward a few more months and I was out with friends dancing.  By chance, Chris was our server.  As we finished our evening, one of my friends propositioned him.  He looked at me and then looked back at her and, without missing a beat, nicely told her that he had to go walk his dog.

Not too long after that, I ended up going to work at the same restaurant.  Chris was my trainer.  We started casually talking at work and became friendly.  One night, I offered him a ride home as it was on my way.  Before he got out of the car, he invited me in and told me that he wanted to get to know me outside of work.  My answer was I had to get home to my boys.

Before we knew it, we did start hanging out outside of work and were quickly becoming friends.  One day he mentioned that he was looking for a place to live if I knew of anything available.  As the end of the month approached, he was having no luck finding a place.  I had a large home with plenty of room so invited him to move in until he found something else.

Neither one of us was looking for anything more than some fun and friendship.  I remember at one point him telling me that he couldn’t fall in love with me because I had kids.  He was definitely not looking for a ready-made family and I was not looking for a serious relationship.  As the months went by, we grew closer and closer until one day he casually introduced me to someone as his girlfriend.

Over the years we have been on many fantastic adventures, survived a few tragedies, and had a few triumphs.  For most of the last ten years, we have worked together.  We are pretty much together 24/7 and we like it that way.  While I don’t recommend that much togetherness for everyone, it works for us.  This does not mean that we live an idyllically perfect life where we are always in agreement.  We just really enjoy each other’s company and so always work through our differences of opinion.

We have never done anything for our anniversary but decided that 10 years together is a milestone worth celebrating.  We went out to dinner with our good friends, Chris and Maeve, at Cochon on 2nd, where Chef prepared an amazing 6-course tasting menu for us.  It was a beautiful way to celebrate our beautiful life together.  I am looking forward to many, many more years of us.

Update April 25, 2020

Over the years, any time the subject of marriage came up, Chris has always made it very clear that he does not believe in marriage and has no intention of ever getting married.  Imagine my surprise when last month, on my birthday, he asked me if I could keep a secret.  After I assured him that I could, he said, “Let’s go get married tomorrow.”

With the pandemic in full swing, I pointed out that government offices were all closed for the time being.  We did not tell anyone about the engagement.  We reveled in the pleasure of sharing this amazing secret.

While in St. John, our first vacation together, Chris bought a larimar pendant for me to coordinate with the larimar shark’s tooth he wore.  I love the necklace.  The only time I haven’t worn it in the last 10 years is while waiting to replace the chain when I have broken it.  When I thought about a wedding ring, my first thought was that I would love something made with larimar.  With a search of the internet, I was quickly able to find a beautiful and unique wedding band.

Last week I came across an article about New York allowing online marriage licensing during the lockdown.  As I was researching whether Virginia offered anything similar, I discovered that the Clerk’s Office is open for marriage licenses.

We made arrangements to meet with a Marriage Commissioner and we had the date.  I ordered a red-velvet cupcake, stopped by Michael’s for some cute engagement embellishments for a “wedding cake” topper and even found a handful of beautiful pink wildflowers to serve as a bouquet.

It was a beautiful ceremony, just the Commissioner, Chris and myself, in a small courtyard in front of the courthouse.  We held hands and looked into each other’s eyes while the Commissioner spoke.  As we said our vows, a sunbeam broke through the clouds above, bathing us in light.  It was a perfect moment.  Today is the day I married my best friend.