Chapter One: There He Was*

In truth, M actually noticed me first.

In October of 2004 I was 19 years old, and living on my own in Toronto for the first time. I was living in a tiny little residence house on campus with five roommates that I was slowly getting to know.

In less than two months I had gone from being terrified of living on my own and attending university to absolutely loving it. It didn’t take long for me to meet some phenomenal people, and in between my heavy class load I found that I had the social life I had always dreamed about.

I felt like I was really figuring out who I was for the first time in my life, and I liked what I found. I felt confident. Happy.

It was… amazing.

I was also absolutely dirt poor.

Thanks to my lack of planning (and my shoe obsession), I had more shoes in my closet than I did money in the bank. I lived as frugally as possible, and may or may not have done a few questionable things to keep my grocery bills in check. I went on a few dates just for the free meals (I’m not terribly proud of that) and even participated in a research focus group to earn some grocery money.

Despite not having two nickels to rub together, I was having the time of my life.

As September rolled into October, I began to meet people outside of my little campus block. At a party one evening, I met some people down the “block” from where my house was. My housemates and I found out about a Hallowe’en event happening the next Friday evening and decided to go.

I had already made plans for Saturday night with my best girl friend, so now that I had TWO Hallowe’en events to attend, I knew I needed a costume. After bumming a ride to Walmart, I rummaged through their costumes looking for something that I could afford. There, on the kids clearance rack was a cute Ladybug costume–for $5. Thankfully it fit, and the price was right.

I wore it first to the campus Hallowe’en event on Friday. I went with friends and had a marvelous time.

The next night I attended a regional Young Adult (YA) church dance with my friend Telly. She is vibrant and fun– full of the kind of enthusiasm and excitement that you can’t help but be drawn to. I donned my lady bug costume for the second time and met her downtown, ready for a night of fun.

After excitedly greeting each other in the lobby, she and I burst into the dance, with the kind of confidence only a 19 year old can possess.. The building was packed with friends, and she and I danced our hearts out.

There, leaning against the wall near the doors, was a boy I had never seen before. He stood out a little as he was not in a costume, but instead was casually wearing a collared button down shirt, nice jeans and good shoes.

(If it wasn’t already plainly obvious, I was a sucker for good shoes.)

He seemed a little aloof, but I was instantly drawn to him. He was so good-looking that I found myself too nervous to go talk to him, even with my ladybug disguise. As I danced with Telly, I found my eyes continually following him around the room, looking to see who he was talking to, and if I knew anyone who knew him.

At one point I looked over and he was gone, and I found myself disappointed that I had absolutely no idea who he was. I went home that night thinking about the cute boy I had seen, and wondered if I would ever see him again.

At the time, I didn’t know that he had also noticed me. From his spot at the side of the room, he saw me burst through the doors as I entered the dance, laughing and dancing with Telly. He wondered who this “Lady Bug Girl” was, but neither one of us worked up the courage to approach the other that night…

…and it was almost two months before our paths crossed again.

<<PREVIOUS CHAPTER: The Prologue*
>>NEXT CHAPTER: Good Shoes & A Good Smile*

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Original Post: http://lifeisgoodblog.ca/2008/03/chapter-one-love-at-first-sight.html/