The Epic Love Story of a Stalker and a Drunk.

PREFACE:  Jeff and I were going to make a wedding website.  (I hear you giggling at us, trust me, we giggled at us too.)  BUT, it seemed like a good idea, because you can do things like electronic RSVP’s and list all your info and vendors and put up a bunch of nonsensical pictures and information about yourself.  And then I realized, assembling another website would take TIME, of which we have none.  So we scrapped that idea and went back to focusing on more important things like the kids’ sporting events, and eating dinner together as a family even if that means waiting until 9pm.  However, There are a few pieces we wrote up that I felt could not go unshared…  So I will share them here as I see fit…  On deck for today…  The TRUE story of how we met…

HE SAYS:  There are several different versions of the story of how we met that have evolved over the years, with varying levels of embarrassment for both of us. But, I am pretty sure that the true version is long overdue and It will likely paint the groom as a stalker, and the bride as a drunk, but here it goes…  The story begins many many months before we even met, with our mutual friend, Amanda, attempting to play matchmaker…

SHE SAYS:  I had no idea Amanda was plotting something.  It was a weird period of my life. I was wrapping up my divorce, getting back on my feet, shopping for a new apartment, adjusting to a custody schedule, and coming out of a season of sadness in my life…  A chapter had ended, and a new one was just beginning…

HE SAYS:  This was back in the day of MySpace…remember that website??  After a subtle hint from Amanda to “check her out” I indeed did so.   And, to be honest, I was quite taken back, from the moment I first laid eyes on her profile picture… I remember thinking, “now that is a girl I could fall in love with.”  And I am really not the type to have thoughts like that ever.  But alas, in my “research” of her over the next half an hour (through MySpace and her Blog) I discovered that our paths may not be quite as aligned as I had hoped.  She was fresh off a divorce and apparently already pursuing another guy.  Being several years older myself (okay, okay 5.5 years) and many more years removed from my own divorce, it just didn’t seem like it was something that I should be pursuing.  At least not then. The timing just wasn’t right.  So, I opted not to contact her and simply moved on…..  But not before saving the link to her blog in my favorites…..  Which would turn out to be the best casual decision I ever made.

SHE SAYS:   It’s true.  I had a rebound boyfriend.  But timing is everything, and I know it was not the time for Jeff to come into my life…  I spent that entire summer rediscovering myself, adjusting to my new life, and just having a good time at every available chance.  I look back on that time fondly…  It was one of the best summers of my life…  I drank a lot of tequila, and have a lot of embarrassing karaoke stories.  But I truly have some of the best friends a girl could ask for.  My heart was healing, and lucky for me (though I hadn’t a clue), Jeff was patiently waiting…

HE SAYS:   From time to time over the next several months I would stumble over that link and would drop in to see how my friend’s friend was doing.  Low and behold, I discovered that she had moved to Concord, and somewhere in the South End.  ”Hmmm”, I remember thinking, “I wonder if that is a sign….,” for I lived in the South End of Concord as well.  But, it would not be until several months later, on an early September afternoon in 2007, that fate would deal me the card that I needed.    I happened to check out her blog that day…. it had probably been a good couple of months since I had last “checked in”.   Interestingly enough (although somewhat sad) it appeared that Steph’s other relationship had ended.  And, in hidden code that apparently only a stalker could decipher, was a message saying that she and some friends would be at the Barley House that evening.   Well, as luck would have it, I was planning to go out for few drinks that evening with a couple of friends as well.  So, I suggested the Barley House.  Without a doubt, somewhere in my mind was the thought that I may run into the girl I could fall in love with.  “We’ll see”, I remember thinking.  “If fate is going to tempt me, I will bite, what do I have to lose?”

SHE SAYS:  It was Girls Night Out!  Angie, Carrie and I had decided we’d meet up at the Barley House (our favorite bar downtown) for some drinks!  We met up with several friends in the downstairs lounge, and after a couple margaritas, shots seemed like a good idea.  (Oh, sure.)  I need to make it clear that I had absolutely NO IDEA that Jeff had been watching the blog.  Amanda had casually mentioned him once or twice, but I had never even seen a picture of him, so I had no idea what he looked like… 

HE SAYS:  As I sat in the downstairs bar with my friends I looked out into the lounge and recognized a face.  It was Stephanie.  Sure as day, there she was with a whole group of people, and boy, did they look like they were having a good time.  At one point in the evening I was waiting in line at the bar and I heard a female voice from behind me exclaim “man, you are tall.”  I turned around to see a girl standing there who I didn’t recognize.  “Thanks, I try my best.” I replied.  She would introduce herself to me as “Angie”, and moments later she would introduce me to one of her friends who was walking by.  “This is Stephanie,” she said. “Hi, nice to meet you,” I greeted her as we shook hands briefly and made eye contact for all of a half second (granted her eyes were a little glazed by that point in the evening.)  I offered to buy them a round of drinks…

SHE SAYS:  Angie and I wandered in the direction of the bar for another round , as we joined the line, I remember that there was a very TALL guy standing in the line in front of us.  Angie tipped her head all the way back and said  “WOW!  YOU ARE TALL!” to him.  I was completely distracted by something else going on at the bar, but I do remember shaking his hand and very briefly craning my neck to look up at him.  I thought he was hitting on Angie, so I went back to whatever was distracting me…  I overheard them make an arrangement and I thought “sweet, free drinks.”

HE SAYS:  A few moments later, with their two drinks in hand, I headed back towards the lounge.  But, I noticed that they were very much engaged with the group that they were with, in fact Ms. Stephanie was holding a beer in each hand as she laughed with another dude (excuse me, gentleman).  So I decided to put their drinks down on my table and wait for a few minutes before I brought them over.  Apparently I waited too long….for when I got back up to try again, they were gone.   As in gone.  Left the bar.  Gone.

SHE SAYS:  Whoops.  In all fairness, the blow-off was completely unintentional as heads were slightly foggy by this point in the evening…  I had no idea that the Tall Man was Jeff…  And in all honesty, I was still swearing off love, so I wasn’t really interested in the Tall Man or the beer he had bought me…

HE SAYS:  And, that my friends, is the true story of how we met. 

SHE SAYS:  Oh STOP!  It doesn’t end there…  Two days later, my persistent TALL stalker sent me an email.  He explained who he was, and that we shared a mutual friend, and proceeded to tell me that I still owed him that chance to actually buy me a drink.  He signed the email “Jeff with a J” which made me giggle.  I wrote back, sincerely apologizing for the snub at the bar, and politely declined his suggestion that we try again for that beer.  (Swearing off love, remember?)  Several exchanges of emails later, I had to admit – he seemed pretty awesome.  We wrote back and forth for a couple more weeks, and he never pushed the issue…  I cynically convinced myself that he’d disappear eventually…

HE SAYS: It was clear from our initial email correspondence that we were meant to be together (two dorks in a pod, as I call it).  But Steph was playing a little hard to get.  Once our emails turned into text messages, I knew that she would not be able to hold out much longer and that we would have to meet.

SHE SAYS:   Finally, on a whim one Thursday afternoon in late September, I decided to email him last minute and see if he’d like to go for a walk after work.  He won’t admit it, but I am pretty certain he had to completely rearrange his schedule just so he could say yes… 

HE SAYS:  I had to cancel plans, and rearrange a bunch of meetings, but come 5:30 I was on the sidewalk outside of my apartment.

SHE SAYS:  I could see him walking down the street toward the spot where we agreed to meet.  He had a big giant smile on his face as he approached, and somewhere in the back of my head I was thinking “oh crap” as I realized I would have to throw in the towel on this fight I was fighting.   I didn’t want to like him.  But from that moment, I started to realize that I couldn’t be without him…  

HE SAYS:  I remember seeing her walking towards me and I was thinking, “this girl has no idea what is about to hit her.”  I’m not a cocky person, but at that point in my life I had certainly developed a true sense of self-confidence.  And I honestly felt, no I knew, that I was going to fall in love with her.  So why in the world would she not fall in love with me?

SHE SAYS:  See Mom?  Putting all of my personal info out there on the internet for stalkers to find, not such a bad idea afterall… 

HE SAYS:  I am pretty sure that I had a huge smile for the whole time we were walking.  And when it was over….it had just begun.