The Big Dance

*** Some names and identifying information have been changed to protect those I do not wish to hurt or embarass. ***

Johnie unknowingly earned major bonus points when there was a second e-mail in my inbox that same evening.  A hardcore player would have never made such a move.  There was a sweetness about him in those first e-mails that I still can't quite put my finger on.  One of the things that I admire most about my husband is his "what you see is what you get" attitude.  You may not like it, but you always know how he feels.

We talked through e-mails and instant messages for hours each evening that first week.  By the end of the week, we had exchanged phone numbers.  I was determined not to make that first phone call.  Whenever he would bring it up, I would always say I felt he should be the one to call me first.  His reply was always that he was too shy to call.  My determination wore thin as the weeks went on.  After several weeks with no phone call, I received an e-mail from Johnie letting me know he was home sick from work.  I think if Johnie were telling this part, he would say that I gave him a call that day because I was worried about him.  While I made it clear that I was calling as a concerned friend, not as a girl, the truth is I was dying to hear his voice.  I couldn't wait any longer and jumped at the chance of using an excuse to call and check on him without technically being the one to make the first phone call.  (We both loved each other's voices, by the way.  I kept my opinion to myself for many months.  He told me right away. :) )

While I pressed during those weeks to find out which direction he wanted our "friendship" to go, he seemed oblivious to my not so subtle hints.  I thought then that he was just playing it cool.  I know now he just had no idea.  I thought maybe there were other girls he had similar friendships with, whom he also ignored when they said things like, "you know Gary was setting us up, right?" (To which his actual response was, "I don't know.  It doesn't matter though.  Doesn't hurt to have another friend.")  I didn't mind just being his friend, but I did want to know whether or not he was open to considering any other type of relationship with me.
So, not seeing any signs of anything other than a friendship, I continued my life as I had prior to January 8th, and didn't hide it from him.  I actually went out at least once during that time with my ex.  I met a neighbor who had a motorcycle I wanted to ride and went on a couple dates with him (there'll be more about him later).

In February, EKU was having what I've decided to call "the big dance" for purposes of this post.  It was the type of dance that you bought a special dress for.  And I didn't go to prom in high school, so this would be my first dance that required a special dress.  My roommate and I decided to go - without dates.  However, someone did offer to set us up with two guys.  Without knowing anything about them, I convinced Sarah to do a double blind date with me.  We joked that it may be amazing, or we may have a great story to tell.  I jokingly said we may be getting two hairy imbeciles.  Below is my (edited) account written the week after the big dance:

 

They were late, to begin with.  They did bring corsages, but Sarah's had a stain on it.  Only my date, Charlie, came upstairs to our apartment and said that Michael didn't like coming up stairs.  After about two minutes, Michael does come up the stairs.  HE DID NOT SAY ONE WORD... I asked him a direct question, and he didn't even say anything.  Michael is in the car with it running before the rest of us are out the door.  The first words Michael says are when we pull up to the stop light at the end of my road.  It was starting to snow, and he says, "I hate the snow."  After a bit of a pause... "Because it's not rain."  Another pause... "Because its not enough to need the windshield wipers, but it's enough to need the windshield wipers."  Then after a great story about how their rooms are messy and their mom gets mad at them for not cleaning their rooms, Charlie says, "Michael's irritable."  Michael's reply, "Well, that means I'm alive... Things that are irritable are alive"

Charlie: "I'm not irritable, and I'm alive."

Michael: "Well, if some one poked you with a pin, would you jump?"

Charlie: "Depends on where they would poke me."

Michael: "Well, if you jump, then you're irritable."

So, we finally make it to campus - they park on the other side of campus, so Sarah and I trek in our high heels and fancy dresses through the snow and nasty slush.  Michael is walking way ahead of us the whole time.

We finally get inside, to the actual dance, and meet up with some friends.  We all get a table and sit down, except Michael.  He just stands there.  We ALL invite him to sit down - he still stands.  After a couple minutes, a swing song comes on, and a couple of people at the table could really swing, so they go out on the dance floor and we follow to watch them.  Michael then sits down. 

Okay, taking the attention off Michael for a moment and switching it to Charlie, my date.  Shortly after the swing song, a slow song comes on, and he invites me to dance with him.  I do.  So, it is just really awkward... I can't dance, but he just really didn't know what he was doing.  Then, the dance floor gets crowded, so he's like, "maybe we should dance closer."  DON'T THINK SO!!!!  And NOT smooth AT ALL.

We return to our table and try really hard to be sociable to Michael.  We asked him what his major was, he told them Environmental Health Science.  Then he says, "I could tell you things about food that would make you never want to eat again."  Cindy says, "well, I love to eat, so I doubt that."  He says, "Do you like chocolate?  Chocolate has maggots in it!"  Then, they talk on and he says, "I hate music... I'm just trying to block people out... I'm not very social, this is the most social I've been in years."  Not knowing how to respond to that, Sarah says, "Oh, well, I'm really social."  His reply, "You could call me.... anti-social." 

Charlie tells me we can go outside to cool off.  (It was hot upstairs.)  It's snowing outside!  So, I say no.  He says we can at least go downstairs.  I agree because I'm thinking like 5 minutes in the lobby area.  No, he walks down into this foyer, and sits down on this couch so that when I sat down beside of him, we would be sitting really close. I walk all the way around to the other side to sit down.  Like right out of a cheesy low budget movie, he slides closer, and I slide further away until only half of me is sitting on this couch.  He told me about himself (by the way, among the things that he likes are power ballads and Japanese anime).  He asked me what type of music I like, and when I answered contemporary christian, he clarified for me that he meant what type (his two examples were ballads and power ballads... again power ballads are his pick). 

So, we do finally make it to the end of the evening, and he says that I was so much more than he ever expected.  He goes on to ask me what I expected.  I said, "I don't know.... a hairy imbecile..."

As far as Michael.... his mom ended up taking him home early, and he left without telling any of us goodbye... not even Sarah.

It was a crazy night, but we really did have so much fun.  The whole date thing seems a bit like a nightmare though.

Sarah and I joked afterward that God was testing our character to see if we could be nice to these boys, and we were.  We passed.  So, now we've decided that we definitely will be blessed with two great husbands after what we endured.