A sharp blow to the side of my face startled me and woke me up from my peaceful slumber. I jumped to attention, fists balled up, ready to fend off my attacker. Sprawled out right smack in the center of the bed was the culprit, my 9-year old daughter, the bed pig. On the other side of her is her big brother, the man of our house, sleeping like a newborn baby. We'd all fallen asleep while watching a movie. I tried to push mini-me closer to the other side of the bed, but she just smacked her little lips together and made a snarffling noise, just like her daddy used to make when I would try to push him to his side of the bed. Unable to get comfortable in my tiny space, I propped myself up on my elbow and watched my babies sleep.
Oh. My. God. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting at a stop light on Sahara and Maryland Parkway on Valentine's Day of all days, 1989, when I happened to glance over at the Ford Bronco II sitting next to me. At the exact time I glanced at him, the driver looked my way and our eyes locked. And as if Cupid himself had shot an arrow right through my heart, I instantly and forever fell head over heels in love. I know, I know, it sounds like a bunch of hobber-knocky now, but that's the way I remember it.
I was hard to miss on that brisk morning in February. I had the top of my little white convertible Rabbit down and a dozen red roses were safely belted into my passenger seat. As I smiled ear to ear, batting my lashes and flirting shamelessly with the handsome driver, he smiled back and then nodded his head in the direction of the roses. I glanced at the beautiful bouquet that I'd just received from my then-boyfriend, Steven, who had sent them in a lame effort to get himself out of the doghouse for not remembering that my birthday was in just six short days and he had nothing special planned.
He had said, "Geez, Sonja, it's not like it's your 21st birthday or anything, what's the big deal?" He could be such a jerk sometimes, and now, looking at the mysterious driver next to me, I thought, "I should break up with Steven once and for all and free myself up for someone who would appreciate me."
Suddenly the light changed and he sped off ahead of me, giving me a little wave as he did. Unable to take my eyes off of his vehicle, I said a little prayer out loud promising the Lord that I'd start going to church and cut way back on my swearing if only he could arrange for me to meet the gorgeous stranger with the thick, dark, wavy hair and charming smile.
One week later, my prayer was answered. I was standing in the entryway of Carlos Murphy's Mexican Irish Pub talking to my friends about how I'd just broken up with my jerk-face of a boyfriend because he ruined my entire 22nd birthday. I was in the middle of my story when the door opened and he walked in. I didn't recognize him as the gorgeous guy in the Bronco II right away, but somehow he knew exactly who I was. He made a beeline for me, boldly stepping between my friends and me and giving me some cheesy line.
"Can I buy some radio advertising from you?" he asked.
"How do you know that I sell radio ads?" I was more than a little bit surprised.
"Because I'm the guy who sent you the roses on Valentine's Day," he said sarcastically.
I thought my heart would fall right out of my butt I was so excited when I realized who he was. "You most certainly are not that guy, but how do you know what I do for a living? Are you some sort of stalker?" I asked.
"No," he said, smiling that charming smile I'd seen only days before. "I have a confession to make. A couple of weeks ago, my roommate came home from work and told me that he had some good news for me and some bad news. He said, 'Andrew, today I met the girl of your dreams. She is a beautiful Latin girl with long, dark hair and big, brown eyes. She drives a white, convertible Rabbit and she sells radio advertising at the station in the office complex next to mine. The bad news is, I met her first and she's going out with me.'"
I blushed as he spoke; I had just met a guy in the office parking lot who had asked for my card and offered to take me to lunch. I'd only accepted because I thought he might be a good business contact. There had been no magic between us.
"Well of course, I had to at least see what the girl of my dreams looked like so I just made it a point to drive through that parking lot hoping to catch a glimpse."
"And? Now that you've seen me, what do you think?" I asked coyly, my girlfriends giggling behind me.
"I think he was wrong," he said. At that point, my heart did fall right out of my butt and I think I heard it crash into a million pieces on the floor behind me.
"I see," I mumbled, looking down, embarrassed. I knew it was too good to be true. A guy like this would never fall for a girl like me.
Then he took his finger and placed it under my chin, gently tilting my face up so that he could look me in the eyes as he said, "You may have misunderstood me. What I meant is that he may have met you first, but you won't be going out with him first."
And that is where the story begins ...
Sonja is a writer who covers the ins and outs of relationships. Or is it the ups and downs?