Our Story

One of the best things in life are events that make great stories. We have one of those stories and I absolutely love to tell it. I can feel my cheeks turn flush and my heart beat turns up a notch every time I think about it.

 

Freshman year of high school, 1999 we attended John Dickinson high school. I had my best friend, Jen from middle school by my side and I was ready for the big league. I remember I had english class first thing in the morning with Mr. Starkey. Jen wasnt in this class with me and I was nervous. We made sure to try to get every class period together but this one wasnt on the list. I dont remember details, but I do remember that I was nervous to make new friends. This is where I met Anthony. He was cute and I figured, why not, I need some more friends anyway. We instantly became friends and spent that entire year in Starkeys class chatting each other up. We used to listen to 2pac music and hate the world together like all teenagers do.

 

Sophmore year came and we were best buds, him and I. He would spend his days in Auto Shop and I would be upstairs in HomeEc with Jen. Our class took a trip to SixFlags and we decided to go. I remember being on the bus on the way there, thinking how much I actually liked him. He was cute, tall, and he was always so sweet to me. I was the tomboy in my class and Jen was the pretty blonde. I assumed that everyone always thought she was the pretty one and I was the sassy side kick so I just let the notion go. We get to SixFlags and I really felt like I was going to tell him but for some reason, I didnt. I figured if he felt anything for me, he would have said something.

 

Junior & Senior year came and I saw less and less of him. He worked a lot and did the coop program at school. When your in high school, stuff like that happens all the time and you move on.

 

There is a place called Tyler Fitzgeralds Bar in our area that my friends and I would always go to for happy hour. Throughout the years I would always think about him when I would pass his parents neighborhood on the way to Tylers. I had heard that he went into the military right after school and always wondered where he was.

 

It has been 10 years since I saw him. One night, Jen and I were in Tylers for happy hour and I get a tap on my shoulder. It was him. He was so much more handsome then I remembered and he had the most amazing deep voice now. He pulled up a chair and we started talking. One of the first things he said was "remember our pact?" How could I forget. We agreed when we were kids that if we werent married by the time we were 30, we would marry each other. Well at the time I had a bf (nothing serious) and he was single. I laughed and said we were only 2 years away from that 30 year mark. We agreed to get together over lunch and catch up since he would be deploying in 5 months. I looked at Jen and she gave me that look. When he walked away she said everything was written all over my face.

 

I broke up with my bf a few weeks later. Anthony was all I could think about but it took me a few weeks to contact him. I was so nervous. There were so many doubts swirling in my mind. I knew he would be deploying soon and I didnt know if that was something I was up for. If I dated him, it would break my number 1 rule- never to date military. With both my brothers in the service, I knew the way the game was played. I knew how much cheating went with it, all the lonely nights, and all the tears. I was not up for that but something wouldnt let me let him go again. I waited a few weeks and one night when I was at happy hour with Jen, I texted him to come have some drinks with us. He lived right around the corner and said he would be there in a minute but couldnt stay long since he had poker night with his friends. One beer and just a few minutes turned into many beers and well past midnight at the bar. We chatted about how our lives had been the past 10 years. We chatted about his upcoming deployment. We were like old times, just two friends hanging out. The entire night, the bar was playing old school music, our music. Music that we used to hate the world together listening to. We reminisced about the good old days and made plans to meet up again that weekend. Throughout the entire night, I had that knot in my stomach. That knot that said, you must tell him how you feel. You cant let another 10 years go wondering where he is and what he is up to.

 

I got home that night and sent him a text. I told him that I regretted not telling him a long time ago how I felt, and I wasnt about to regret another 10 years. I told him how I felt about him and I wanted to take our friendship to another level. He said he felt the same way in high school and felt the same way now.

The next day we had planned to get together, but it felt so different, so perfect, so comfortable. The way he looked at me spoke volumes and I fell hard for him. Every day that we are together, we learn more things about each other, we get closer and I fall even more in love with him. He has opened me up to a love that I never knew I could feel for someone.
 

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