Just Me…And The Voices

Part 1 and Part 2

After the magical midnight make-out session, I figured I had a romantic relationship with Nature Boy in the bag. But back at work, he retreated to his cautious “we really shouldn’t be doing this” attitude. Not only did he have a problem with having a relationship one of his direct reports, but he also was concerned that my divorce wasn’t yet final. 

We exchanged many emails and letters about this, and had some short conversations in his office. But we never really got to sit down in a private setting and just talk about it openly. So, I suggested that we go out for dinner to discuss it. Reluctantly, he agreed.

I had deemed this “The Breakup Dinner” before it had even started. This was when he was officially going to give me the boot. And I wasn’t going to stop him. Because did I really want to have to skulk around and hide my relationship? No, I wanted to be able to tell the whole world how I felt about him. So, I went into this “date” with apprehension and a twinge of sadness.

We arrived at the restaurant during a 2-for-1 happy hour, so we ordered beer, expecting to get one for each of us. I’m not much of a drinker, so one would be plenty to calm my nerves. When the waitress brought FOUR beers, we just laughed it off. As we drank our beer and ate our dinner, we talked about religion, politics, our children, and all the usual stuff. The more I found out about him, the more I liked him. Too bad he was going to dump me.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when he told me that he really enjoyed kissing me that night at the bar, and how he’d really like to kiss me some more. (Thank you, happy hour). “CHECK PLEASE!”

The night ended pretty much the same way as the night at the bar. Lots of mind-blowing kissing and…(none of your business).

Then it was back to work. Again. This time, I knew I had to do something to try and prevent Nature Boy’s certain relapse into listening to that damn angel on his shoulder telling him to be cautious. So I came up with The Plan. I wrote him a letter, telling him that we could compromise. We would go out to dinner once a week until my divorce was final, so we could get to know each other better until he felt more comfortable about the situation.

He wrote me back with a counter-plan, which was that we would enact my plan AFTER my divorce was final. After reading his letter, I walked into his office and closed the door. I told him, teary-eyed, that we could do it his way. That I was willing to wait for him, for however long it took for him to be ready. He was pleased, and said, “OK, we’ll go with my plan. But before we do, can we have just one more date — at your place?” HA! I could practically see the devil on his other shoulder dancing with joy, just as I was.

“The Last Date Before The Implementation Of The Plan” was the Friday after Thanksgiving. We were both so excited that he ended up coming over around 4:00, because we just couldn’t wait any longer. We greeted each other at the door with a big hug. I dazzled him with my ability to put a take-and-bake pizza in the oven for the right amount of time, and he brought the beer. It didn’t take long for things to take a certain turn. I mean, come on. We were all alone in my house, with no one to hide from. Eventually we ended up in my bedroom, and you can imagine the rest.

A bit later, he looked at me very seriously and said, “I have something I need to tell you.” (Oh God, what NOW???)

He looked straight into my eyes and said, “I love you.”

To which I wholeheartedly replied, “I love you too.”

Epilogue:
We threw all of The Plans out the window, and started dating, spending as much time together as possible. We kept it a secret at work until I could find a new job. After work, we’d meet in a church parking lot (I know, we’re going to hell) to smooch before going home to our respective houses. I met his kids, and he met mine. I finally found a new job in March, and we came out of the closet to our co-workers. They were all shocked, and had no idea that we’d been dating secretly for almost six months.

Nature Boy proposed in December of 2006, in the infamous church parking lot, and we were married in September of 2007.  It’s been a wild ride so far, and of course we’ve had our share of ups and downs. But I wouldn’t trade them for the world. We have a wonderful blended family, and our kids get along swimmingly.

During the many months of my pursuit I learned a few things:

1. If you want something, go after it. Don’t wait for it to come to you.
2. Patience is a virtue.
3. True love is worth the wait.

The End (for now). I know this has been a long story, but I really wrote it for two people, Nature Boy and me. So I wanted to get it just right, even if it was like War and Peace.  Thanks to everyone that’s stuck with it, which is such a nice bonus!!!

Dear Nature Boy,
Guess what? I started a blog! You’ve always encouraged me to write “our story” so we wouldn’t ever forget, and so I did, for the whole world to read, if they so choose. I know this makes you all squirmy inside, because you don’t like having a presence on the Internet. But to respect the privacy of all of our family, I’m writing this blog anonymously. I’ve been nervous about showing this to you, but I thought this story would be the perfect way to tell you. I hope you love it. You are my soul-mate, always and forever.

I love you,
Me