Trust Your Crazy Ideas (Part 4)

Continued from Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3…

It actually took us over a month to plan our outing for “grub.”  In the meantime, the emails were flying and it was starting to become obvious to those around me that my life was changing.   September 18, 2001 was a rainy day.  I was wearing orange swishy pants and an Olney Tigers sweatshirt and Mike offered to share his umbrella with me as we walked to our cars in W lot.  As we were walking along, my friend, Jamie, drove by.  I waved and we continued on our way.  On my way home, I had a flat tire (horrible experience) and emailed both Mike and Jamie about it later that evening.  Jamie’s response had nothing to do with the tire – “Who was that guy?  I’ve never seen you look so happy!”  Jamie was right and a few nights later when we met for dinner, I told her about Mike.  She still claims that she knew immediately that he was “the one” and when I wrote the first part of this series, immediately texted me to say that she still remembers those first conversations.

Mandy was the only other friend that I told about Mike during the very early days, mostly because I felt very guilty about the entire situation.  I’d been dating Jason for what seemed like forever and it seemed cruel to fall for someone else while he was away at school.  That said, I revealed my secret one Saturday morning when Mandy and I were alone printing orders at Spieth’s.  Mandy was supportive and when I questioned her repeatedly regarding whether it was cheating if I went to lunch with him, she helped to persuade me that having lunch with someone wasn’t objectionable.

I continued to show my crazy stalker side by walking outside when I was released from my Health Econ class early to watch for Mike’s Jeep and even sitting in my car, pretending to study for the LSAT (how could I focus, Mike would be there soon!?!) waiting for Mike to arrive.  Of course, as soon as Mike saw me, he came over to my car and walked with me back into Coleman Hall.  It was totally worth the stalking to have those few extra minutes together…

Mike’s name shows up for the first time in my day planner on October 18, when we both skipped our afternoon classes (it should be noted that I had NEVER skipped, or even missed, a class before this day!) and went to lunch at Damon’s.  I followed Mike to Champaign, parked at his house, and we rode together to the restaurant.  After lunch, I was driving to Davenport to visit Jason for the weekend.  There are numerous aspects of our first lunch together that I remember.  Mike was wearing an Eastern sweatshirt, a hat, and had scruff. I was wearing a strange turquoise and khaki striped sweater (we still have these outfits, I can’t bare to part with them…).  I ordered chicken tenders with honey mustard, no fries, and a Diet Coke.  Mike ordered a beer, hamburger, and fries.  I let Mike pay, which was a shock for both of us (especially considering I didn’t let him pay for more than half of anything again until we’d been married for months, but that’s a whole other story…).  Mike gave me a tour of his house, which wasn’t exactly tidy (surprisingly enough) and showcased that Michelle was practically living with him.  Just the thought made my stomach lurch, even then.

I remember sitting in the passenger seat of Mike’s car as we drove to the restaurant and making the conscious decision to tell Mike that Jason and I were having problems.  We weren’t really having problems (what problems can a couple have if they never see each other and barely talk?  oh…), but I already knew that if I felt this strongly about someone else, we weren’t long for the world.  I won’t go into explicit details, but let’s just say I was detailed enough to plant several seeds in Mike’s mind.

As we parted ways in Mike’s driveway, Mike gave me a hug.  There are many moments during these first few months that stand out, but this was one where everything collided.  It was the perfect hug – I was standing on my tip toes – Mike was broad shouldered and strong.  In that one moment, I knew I wanted his arms around me for the rest of my life.  Now, I just had to figure out how to get them there…

To be continued…