Our Story, Just Like Us

After reading my cousin Kaycie's blog detailing her love story with her new hubby (my actual cousin, I inherited Kaycie in the deal), reliving that old spark, that wonderful, gooey, makes-everyone-else-sick-to-their-stomach story sounds like a great idea. This is the first challenge @www.mommyfriend.com called Project Marriage.

So here it goes...

Shea and I are both pretty laid back creatures. Well, okay, I'm not so much. I tend to spaz at times but when it comes to things I'm still very que sera sera. And so our love story is very much the same.

Easter weekend 2004. I had just gotten home from a year long deployment to Iraq and Shea was visiting his parents in our hometown of Comanche. I went to one of those has-been parties where everyone who graduated from Comanche in the last ten years went to catch up with friends. I bumped into a friend of mine who proceeded to borrow my phone to call up some of his buddies. Shea was numero uno.

I could hear them chatting; Shea asked who all was there and Scotty ran down the list, completely leaving me off of it until I gave a good blow to his ribs. I should mention here that I knew exactly who Shea was. He was the high school senior that we all had crushes on in junior high. The football jock. The guy with the cool car that worked at the local grocery store. He. Was. A. God. (in our eyes) So when Scotty (finally) threw in that I was there, Shea's tone mysteriously changed and said he'd be there in a few. Hmmm...

For the next five to ten minutes I tried positioning myself all over the house trying to look inconspicuous but at the same time, well, conspicuous (I didn't want any of the other hoochies snatching him up, darn it!) He walked in and I played it cool. Oh yes. I played it cool. As best I could with failing anti-perspirant. We started chatting and I did my best to relate to him in some fashion. Sadly, the military slant was all I had. He had just gotten out of the Navy so we had some common ground there.

Finally, at the end of the night he got a little awkward and said, "So, would you like to hang out some time?" Aaahh, the line to end all lines. But it worked so I guess I can't judge. I gave him "digits" and four days later (stupid, rackin frackin, bleepity bleep guys) he called.

We talked for hours. And hours. We had our first date the next weekend. I drove to Edmond to see him and just didn't leave. I was supposed to go to Stillwater for another friend's get together and had to drag myself away, five hours late, to go to it. I drove away, wishing I hadn't, missing him already, and when I stopped at a red light, a 'crossroads' if you will, I decided not to go to Stillwater. I turned right, instead of left, and went home. And as I drove south, I said right then and there, "I'm going to marry that man."

I called Shea later that night. He was surprised to hear from me. He then surprised me by showing up back in Comanche the very next day. For the next three months, we were burning the highways to see each other. One day, he was getting ready to leave my house and said, "Man, I don't wanna leave." We were tired of living in different towns and were thinking of options. I said, "Let's just get married!" And he said, "Okay." First laughter, then silence. We looked at each other and realized we were both serious.

We got married a month later on the beach of Jamaica with only a dread-locked white woman in a bikini and a Jamaican Sandal's employee in attendance. That was almost eight years ago. We've definitely had some kinks to work out that comes with getting married so fast and so young (well, on my part. Shea robbed the cradle just a bit.) But I don't see it ending any time soon.

When you know, you know, right?