Wednesday, June 13 5:53PM is when it all began. The four following days were so monumental I want to share them with whomever so chooses to know.
The 13th marked an exact year since my ex-fiancé and I were no longer engaged. Because of this fact I had no desire to talk with anyone. After I got off of my shift at Victoria’s Secret I finally made the decision to head to a Starbucks, at which I had become a regular in the previous two months. The barista who took my order recalled my name for my cup, even though I could only remember seeing him twice in all my ventures. I took a seat outside and immersed myself in the story of a prostitute and a man who came into her life, forgiving her for everything and loving her as she is (Redeeming Love). After half an hour or so the barista came outside and asked me what I was reading… 45 minutes later his break was long over and I had learned a lot about him and his heart, but I had to be on my way to meet a friend. The barista and I exchanged numbers and planned on meeting later that night to continue talking.
It was 11 before I made my way to our meeting location. As I walked in I reminded myself that this was just a man who wanted to talk with me, he wasn’t interested in me and I didn’t have to worry about anything like that. But still, there were small butterflies in my stomach.
All night we stayed up. Talking, sharing stories and facts, laughing at whatever random thing came up. 6:45AM on Thursday the 14th he looked at me and asked if I was hungry – I was. He asked if I liked French toast – I do. Without hesitating he then said “We’re going to Philly.” and I found myself in his front seat. He didn’t know, but for the last month and a half I had been craving French toast and never made it for myself. Why’d we have to go to Philly? Because he knew of a great cafe which served amazing stuffed French toast. The 14th was spent in and around Philly. We found ourselves at the KOP mall and after I walked around a store I took a seat next to him on a bench and laid my head on his shoulder. All day long we would look at the clock and remark at how early it was – time was moving so slowly and we were enjoying every second. That afternoon we were seated in a restaurant for an early dinner when I received a text message from my dad – my 4 month old nephew in Austria was not feeling well and they didn’t know what was wrong. Upon relaying this information, the man who was just a barista to me, pulled me out of my chair, took me out of the restaurant, put his arms around me and began praying. My heart skipped a few beats. The rest of the afternoon was spent together. By the time we parted ways it had been 23 hours straight with each other. We had seen each other cry and laugh, we shared our heartaches, triumphs, and the majority of our life stories with one another. He asked me before I got out of his car if he could take me on a date the following day. I said Yes.
Friday, the 15th, we met and he took me to his hometown, stopping in first to meet his mom and sister at the family’s cafe. It was a brief meeting, but monumental nonetheless. He had never introduced a girl to his family. He took me to a grotto, which has a lot of meaning to him. As we sat there, we couldn’t help but recognize how natural everything felt. As we took a hike up a hill to overlook the town I immediately took the lead. About halfway up he took over. The entire way we talked. Talking is something we did a lot of. Looking out over the town for two hours we got lost in each others words, the natural beauty we were surrounded by, and how much we understood one another. He took me to a little Italian restaurant for dinner – where for a moment he felt as though he was back in Italy, but this time not alone. We closed the restaurant and decided to walk around the area for a while. Rather quickly we found ourselves on the steps at the back of the Capitol building. Staring up at the night sky and chatting for a few hours felt like no time passed at all. He told me that he wanted to see me every single day. I wasn’t about to complain at the notion – I desired to see him as often as possible.
Saturday, the 16th, both of us had to work. We weren’t sure when we’d see each other, but we knew that it would work out. As I was finishing a customers transaction I looked up and was surprised to see him standing there. He dropped in before his shift started to say Hi and bring me a drink, which I needed after the very small amount of sleep I managed to get. That evening I had plans to go downtown with a friend, so when he got off of work and she and I hadn’t really started our night yet I invited him along. The night was still young when my friend went back to her house so he and I walked around only to find ourselves at the Capitol for the second night in a row. We discussed fears and feelings that night. I knew the moment would come and I’d have some things to say, but I didn’t want to scare him and share too much too soon. After taking a few deep breaths I knew the time had come. Trying to prepare him for what he was about to hear I said “I don’t want to freak you out, but there’s something I need to tell you…” Moments later 3 very important little words floated out of my mouth and it was perfectly okay. He had been feeling the same way. For the first time since meeting I finally allowed him to stare into my eyes – like he had tried to do so many times. That night lasted forever – until the sun started to creep above the horizon.
Sunday, the 17th – day four. He wanted to hold strong to his desire to see me every day, but I was in no mood to get in the car and leave the house. To my surprise and delight he asked if he could come up after he got off of work. I said Yes. In the afternoon I realized that a man was going to be entering my parents house and my parents had no clue he even existed. So I began telling my mom a little about what had happened up to then, and then my daddy came home and I told him. They both were willing to stay up a little and meet this guy who I rather liked. The meeting was so different from any other meeting I had ever been through (for those interested – there were two other meetings which involved a guy and my parents). He was comfortable, honest, and in a good mood which my parents reacted to. At one point my daddy asked him what his intentions were and he responded “To see your daughter every day.” When my mom followed up by asking “Do you think that’s feasible?” and my dad responded “Yes” before anyone else had a chance to say anything, I just sat there silent. It was the meet that I had always desired. A man who felt comfortable in my parents home, meeting them before he and I discussed anything long-term, not thrown off by any question, honest and not wishing to hide anything. After my parents went to bed he and I walked around the park and eventually laid in the field. I was astonished by how things were going and still amazed at how natural everything felt. He felt comfortable and unfazed by his first meeting with parents. As we laid there recounting the evening we saw a shooting star.
In the 9 months I had been going to the Starbucks he worked in, I had never noticed Bruno. He had noticed me every time I came in while he was working though. I have a feeling that if I had noticed him, our relationship would be entirely different.
Our greatest feats to this point are that we have seen each other every day and each day we love each other more.
Individual Odyssey 