Chapter Fifteen* I Almost Love You (Part Two)

This is the story of how The Hubster and I met, fell in love, and were married withing 8 months…

….and lived happily ever after*

As I’ve been telling our little love story, I’ve tried to include the Hubster’s version of events from time to time to give you a well-rounded perspective. Well, as it takes TWO people to be in love and to say those scary little words, I thought I’d let him tell you his side of the story. So, without any further ado, I give you… The Hubster. :)

Hello people.

It’s the so called Hubster here now, intending to shed a little more light on ‘our story’.

Shop Girl tends to be a tad more detail oriented than I am with regards to romance (or any other guy on the planet) so I will attempt to describe the events that occurred as best as I can remember them. As young as I still am and feel, it has been 3.5 years since these events took place, which is a enough time to have some details escape you.

So Valentine’s Day, eh. Not really my favourite holiday but that year (and everyone since, sweetie! [suck up points haha]) was a special one. I had been dating the same girl for a few weeks and wasn’t bored with her personality and she didn’t seem to have high maintenance issues. I foresaw the problem of the approaching Valentine’s day and knew I had a decision to make. Being somewhat sensitive to the female emotions, I felt like Valentine’s day was a time where a ‘gray area’ of commitment wasn’t really acceptable. As far as I knew at the time (and I am still not 100% sure) women like to be clear on where a relationship is headed if you intend to be ‘their valentine’.

So here I was, dating a girl I had met only recently. I did really enjoy spending time with her but wasn’t sure if I was ready to make it more serious or if I even wanted a ‘valentine’. So I guess I did some pondering as well as talking to some people close to me about what I should do. Should I risk putting forth a ‘we just started dating’ effort into Valentine’s day, or did I see this as something that could last a tad longer? HMMMM. It is a little unfair as you already know the end.

I don’t really remember the details of the following conversation, but I remember where I was and who said it. I was at my parent’s home sitting at the dining room table. Who knows what I was doing–probably making fun of my Mom’s stupid reality TV shows or a lame Dr. Phil guest. I voiced my concern about the upcoming Valentine’s day dilemma to my mother, who at the time was my best source of information about understanding the female mind.

Forgive me for not remembering the exact wording or for describing the following conversation in the usual eloquent manner you have come to expect from reading here– let me be blunt. My mother said something like:

“You are in love. Buy her something special.”

Now I have a very good relationship with my Mother. We share the same sense of humour and good common sense. I respect my mother greatly and do not mean disrespect when I describe my reaction to her statement:

“Is my Mother smoking crack?”

haha. Yes. It is what I thought and I guarantee it’s what I said. Nevertheless my Mother proceeded to point out tell tale signs that I was indeed infatuated with this “Lady Bug Girl” that I had only started to get to know. What kind of mother suggests this so soon?! I thought she must really want those grand kids.

Well, I certainly thought about it as my mother knows me and my demeanor well. My mother can relate to me well and obviously recognized something I had yet to or had refused to at the time. I had some thinking to do and decisions to make. Even a compromise or two. Shop Girl was not the “tall blonde volley ball player” I had been so set on finding, but I really liked her. I wondered if this crazy Green Giant felt the same way about me?

So I continued to visit her a couple nights a week as well as a date or two on weekends. Maybe Mom was right, I sure did have fun with Shop Girl. But what is this love she spoke of? How the heck was I supposed to know what that was? Was it that I had finally found someone I could stand for more than 3 hours at a time? Is love not getting bored of spending time with someone after 2 weeks? Who the freak knows. I was 21 years old at the time and about to make the craziest decision I had ever made.

My Mom was right. Yeah, I can admit it. I am usually right all the time too [haha] but in this situation I didn’t want to trust myself. Often emotions can cloud your judgment (and so can something else a man possesses too if you know what I mean hahahah) so I took the time to think it over. Yep. I like her. A lot. So I guess I have to go all out this Valentine’s day. And I did…

Flowers? Check, I was good at that so far…. Candies and stuffed bears and other crap, you bet…. Card? I am a pro at getting those happy tears flowing from a well crafted card. But to top it off I got her a nice bracelet with a Lady Bug charm. It was pretty cute if I do say so myself. A little early for jewelry perhaps but who cares. I had fun buying it and I was making good money at the time. No problem. Well, giving it to her and having it tossed back might have been. Lucky for the both of us it didn’t happen.

Valentine’s day came. We had a nice dinner and quiet time afterward. I gave Shop Girl her little gifts and trinkets, and she seemed thrilled. Seriously, who wouldn’t be? I was spoiling this semi stranger but the weird thing was– I enjoyed it. We enjoyed the evening together conversing about anything and everything. No awkward moments, no silent pauses. Oh Mother, you were right, I am in love with this girl but didn’t know how to admit it out loud. I almost said it that evening but I did not. Sorry to burst your glorious climax of romantic bliss ladies, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I had put a lot at stake already with the Valentine’s preparation but before I went past that point of no return I wanted to make sure that she would be coming with me…

The Hubster