He Said

I’m sure that Nora will cover Round 1 sufficiently.

I will say that even after that moment in the years that followed Nora was always someone who I really wished things would have played out differently. I think everyone has people they have met or been interested in which didn’t work out and we look back and wish we would have had an opportunity to explore things a bit more. Nora really was that person for me.

So the day I went into her office, I thought I was just going to visit some friends, get some lunch and have a good time. I was shocked when I turned to the left and Nora was standing there, huge smile on her face. I gave her a big hug and she said that she couldn’t go out to lunch with everyone. I was SO HAPPY she couldn’t go. I hate to admit it, but, I was not interested in going out to lunch with her. She suggested that we get together to catch up and I agreed, but, deep down I was actually hesitant to do so.

After lunch had completed I was driving back to my office and I was thinking about her. I was surprised at the level of emotion I had thinking about seeing her. I didn’t really know what to make of the whole thing since I was thinking so much about it. It is a very strange feeling to have so much bundled up after so much time. I decided that I was going to ask my friend for her email address and catch up. To my surprise, when I got back she had already emailed me. At this point I was terrified and intrigued at the same time.

Alright, we’ll go out.

So we set up a time and I met her at the Brewery. I was a bit late. When I walked in the door, she was:

- Dressed to impress.
- Touching her face a lot during dinner.
- Lots of eye contact.
- Taking every chance to touch my hand or arm.

Uh oh…I felt like a fish in a barrel! I thought to myself “alright, let’s talk and see if there is some good chemistry.”

There was some awesome chemistry. After round 1, a wise person said to me. “Dan, I have no idea why she isn’t jumping at the chance to go out with you. If she decides she wants to, you need to make sure of two things: 1) She is serious and 2) She needs to go WAY out her way to prove she is interested.” Now, I drew some conclusions from this. Firstly, I’m remembering a quote from someone 8 years ago about this woman. Secondly, I need to step back and let her really make up her mind. Not because I’m playing games, I’m thinking my logic was more once bitten twice shy. So immediately after our date, I told her what a great time I had and I look forward to doing it again. I wanted to give her the right impression. I then went quiet. I think a week and a half passed before she called me again. I thought to myself “Ok, she really is interested”. In talking with Nora, this was a torturous week and a half and I am a terrible person for doing it. I don’t really see it that way! Date #2 she made it very clear she was interested and the ball was definitely in my court.

Many have asked me when I “knew”. This is an interesting question and I’m not sure how to answer it. I can say that after I had my appendix removed and she was in the hospital making sure I was cared for --that might just be the moment I knew that I was going to marry this woman. It is possible it had more to do with the morphine though! The reality is I knew long before I had body parts removed that she was the one.

So I bought the ring. I proposed and she said yes. How she was not scooped up sooner is beyond me. Every morning I wake up and feel like I won the lottery.