{Just joining us? You can find Part 1 here}
Professor and I didn't see much of each other between prom and the end of the school year. We only shared one class, speech was over, and everything about the end of senior year is crazily hectic.
But there was one afternoon that our paths crossed.
A friend and I were waiting until the parking lot traffic thinned before going to our cars. She was talking to some friends when I saw Professor in his track uniform heading toward the drinking fountain down the hall. I had to walk that way anyway, so maybe I could hope for a close encounter.
(I have since learned he was thinking the same.)
We fell into step halfway down the hall, went through the usual how-are-you's. Then he asked, "Do you want to get together again sometime?" I knew Professor to be shy, reserved, quiet...but here he'd asked me out, his voice confident and calm, with people milling around, listening and everything.
I said I would then rushed toward my car while he rushed off to practice.
Graduation came and went. We attended each other's parties; I made him promise to call me as he left mine. And he did.
The summer passed with dates for ice cream or bowling or just grabbing snacks at the convenience store, watching a movie, and filling the rest of the night with talk. Oh, did we talk. On those summer nights, we solved all the world's problems and shared our deepest secrets.
One night, I could tell something was up. We sat on the picnic table in my parents' backyard, and I told him to spit it out.
He was flustered, shy like he was asking me to prom all over again.
"Do you think," he asked quietly. "You would ever marry me someday?"
"Yes." The word came without thought or realization. But something inside me unclenched and I knew it was true.
"Really?" he asked, somewhat stunned but pleased.
I reached for his hand and nodded.
Why did he ask so soon? Because Professor isn't the type to kiss a girl or tell her he loves her unless he knows it's for life.
And both those things happened on that starry night. And the stars seemed to align in our favor: we were headed to different colleges, but they were both in the Twin Cities.
The only question that remained? How would we make it work across two cities, on campuses that were separated by an ideological ocean, with no cars and no idea how to get to one another?
Michelle. I LOVE these posts. You two have such a great story - can't wait to read more!
ReplyDeleteHope life is treating you well! :)
Lezli
Thanks, Lezli! Hope you're enjoying newlywed life!
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