The Engagement

Previously, I wrote about how B and I met. I was talking with some friends and I haven't shared this part of our story.

A little backstory first: when B and I started dating, I didn't have a car. He technically didn't either. B bought a car, a 1993 Cadillac DeVille with a gold grill. Fancy, right? That car became Betsy. She thought she was a truck and he bought her in November 2009. We weren't together very long but he had me put the car in my name. So we shared the car until February 2010 from different residences. Weird right?

We were living together after that and sometimes he would borrow a car from a co-worker, the night in April, I had Betsy and he had a borrowed truck. He called me to invite me to dinner at a pizza joint he liked.

I showed up and we were across the parking lot from each other. He calls me and says he thinks he burned a hole in the seat and could I come look at it? I thought this was weird because he doesn't smoke. I went anyways.

He steps back from the truck, mind you, we are in the middle of a parking lot. On the seat is a box. He coaxes me to hold it, but I don't open it. The next moments seem to have lasted a lifetime.

I am standing at the driver's side door holding a ring? box. While he is dancing by the truck bed on the same side. He says "I've just got one question." more dancing. I say, "uh huh." still holding the closed box. He repeats himself and so do I, this goes on for another time except I say, "yea?"

He responds, still dancing," will you marry me?" I actually say nothing. Instead, I open the box to find a diamond solitaire ring and slip it on my finger. I hug him, I kiss him and while still embraced, he says, "so, is that a yes?" Doh! I hadn't said anything! Of course it was a yes!

I still laugh at that day and that moment. He never saw me slip the ring on my finger. We were in a dim parking lot at night. I still laugh that I married a wonderful man, who proposed marriage in a parking lot! If you ask him, he says it's because that is who we are, we are one of a kind. We had late night meals, met up with each other. It has been crazy and fun and we wouldn't have it any other way.

XOXO
Jes

How We Met

So, I have posted about how we got to where we are now, but how to we come to be an "us"  is just as important.

I used to wait tables in the downtown area of my hometown. I had been there for a while and I made decent money. It was August 2008 and I was preparing for a trip to New Orleans for Oxford House. I was going to the world convention and my trip was paid for by the state board.

So, I had the patio section and a few servers from the high end Steakhouse across the street sat at one of my tables. Not to miss out on a major tip that I knew was coming, I kept them. I continued to do my closing duties while they occupied my table. Their table grew as time went on.

I don't remember but, I think they were talking about their new chef. Lucky for me, he showed up. I would say the rest is history, but that isn't how it works.

He sat in my way that night. I either had to walk all the way around the gate or practically crawl over him. I did a little of both. I made a nice tip that night. It was his first week in my hometown.

B continued to patron the restaurant until June. He took a brief break from it during the winter months but it is normal for that restaurant to slow during the winter months. We would talk occasionally, as acquaintances.

One night, in June 2009, he said to me" if you ever want to hang out, let me know ". He didn't come back for almost a week after that. Kinda hard to let him know I wanted to hang out if I had no way of getting ahold of him! I said as much to him when I finally saw him again.

I should note, the book and movie He's Just Not That Into You was pretty popular during this time. After seeing the movie, I was reading the book. And the book told me... He wasn't that into me. I refused to call him.

I got a text from him. It said," hi are you". That was it. I was in the middle of navigating construction on my way to buy a computer part a few hours away. My best friend, A was texting him back. Finally, before I lost service, I just called him. I told him if it wasn't too late when I got back, I would give him a call.

We talked for 3 hours that night. We made plans to meet downtown for our first date.

The date, it's another post entirely, but that is how I landed my chef. Even though we both worked a lot at the time and he worked 50 to 70 hours a week, he still found me.