"Another Halloween party. I'm getting too old for this!" I thought to myself. At the last minute, though, I decided to don a tourist costume and hit the road for the 2003 Uptown Singles Ward party. Little did I know that decision would change the rest of my life!"Oh my gosh! AAAAHHHHHHHH!" A tall, dark, and handsome hefty fellow barreled across the party as I walked in the door, tackling a shocked mini man (in comparison) to the ground. Well, you don't see that every day! This was my first vision of Jonathan, who was thrilled to see a fellow Elder from his mission. He definitely caught my attention, and that intrigue was only enhanced later that night when we quietly attempted to out-cheat one another at the Uno table. Those poor, unsuspecting folks at our table had no clue why Jonathan and I would suddenly chuckle in sync for no apparent reason. After the game, we spoke our first real words (apart from a cursory introduction.) Jonathan asked me out right away. For that night! Within a few hours of meeting, we went to see "Elf" for our first date.
Unfortunately, even though he was interested in me, Jonathan got the impression that I was inactive in church because he didn't see me for several weeks afterwards at the ward. He decided to follow his mission President's advice and only date active young ladies, so I was out of the running and he pursued other options. Meanwhile, I was attending the family ward with my mom so she would have some support. I wondered why this guy just ditched me so suddenly! Still, I couldn't get him out of my mind, he had gotten under my skin, and fast!
When I started back at the singles ward a little while later, we became fast friends but never dated. He soon moved to Milwaukee, though, and I thought that was the end of the story.
Until a Halloween Party in 2004. I was lounging on a Love Sac, chatting with a werewolf, when the hairs on my neck and arms started to rise and I got tingles throughout my body. The first time in months, I thought of Jonathan. I turned around, and he was standing there in the doorway! I had felt his presence! He had come back to the Cities for his niece's birth. During his brief visit, we went on our second date to the Lava Links and out to dinner. At the end of the night, as I started getting out of the car, he said, "Wait a minute. I want to see something." So I closed the door, curious, and he pulled me into his arms for the most magical kiss of my life! He suggested we spend some more time together, but I knew he was just going to leave the next day, so I said no. Apparently, that answer was the right one in the long run, despite the self-critique I gave myself the rest of that evening, because it gave him a lot of respect for me. As I gripped my steering wheel in the parking lot and watched him drive away, I thought I'd never see him again or get a kiss like that again.
Fate thought differently, though. Jonathan moved back to the Cities the following January. Now we became best friends, spending hours together every day, but Jonathan made it clear, repeatedly, that this was the extent of our relationship. Out of the blue he would announce, "You know I'm not into you that way, right?" Right. Still, I was in love with him and kept trying to convince myself otherwise. He coached me on my dating, and I coached him, and we even set each other up on dates. All the while, he kept me just interested enough with sweet words, little demonstrations of his care for me, etc. Then he'd push me away and I would "break up" with him in my mind.
Until Halloween of 2005. Seriously. Our group of friends spent the night carving pumpkins and helping JJ Loden in his proposal to Joane. Romance was in that Fall air, I guess, because as Jonathan and I sat alone by the fire on the lake, he started talking about "US." What if? He got very serious, and my recently closed heart gushed open at the possibility. The magic of the moment was intense, but shattered crushingly when Andy came to join us and Jonathan brushed the whole thing aside with this horrible conclusion: "I'll just ask out Sandy."WHAT?!?!? That was the end. I wrote him a letter, telling him that I was in love with him and I knew he was in love with me, so he either needed to face it or we could no longer even be friends. Ultimatums don't sit well with him, so he furiously ignored me. We didn't speak for over a month.
In that time, I moved on and started dating Dane McAllister, a fellow student in my grad program. He wasn't a member, but he was wonderful. An Irishman, with the accent and everything, who was so romantic and kind and thoughtful. Once, while he was on a trip, he gave me a rose for every day he'd be away. When he returned, he sent me on a scavenger hunt to find him for our first chance to see each other again. He was awesome, and was even texting Andy to set up double dates.
Jonathan just got madder. He stormed around his house, was irritable to everyone, and was generally a bear. Andy (his roommate) finally had enough of it and asked him why he cared so much that I was dating someone if he wasn't interested. DUH! Jonathan realized the truth. He showed up at my house out of the blue, and asked if I wanted to go to a movie. I knew he was aware of me dating someone, and we hadn't talked in ages, so I assumed it was a group thing. Darren and Megan came along! Afterwards, though, Jonathan pulled me aside and he told me that I needed to break up with Dane and start dating him. That same intense air from the fire was back, but I told him I wouldn't break up with Dane for him.
Still, a few days later Dane and I argued over attending a party with alcohol, and realized that even though everything else was great, our religious differences would be too much to overcome. We broke up, and I told Jonathan we could try. We went on a date for New Year's Day. This was the first time he held my hand.
We were engaged in April, and married that July. One year later, close to our anniversary, Jonathan held me close and told me he had a confession. He was so upset about Dane that one night he and Darren sat outside of my house when they knew I was supposed to be out with Dane so they could check this guy out. He felt so bad because he was essentially stalking me! He just couldn't handle it. I blushed, and not because of his confession. "Honey, I have a confession of my own. Dane never existed. I totally made him up!" Jonathan was shocked, and amused, and mostly just laughed. I explained that I knew he would never come to terms with reality on his own, and at some point in our friendship he had told me that men need to have the chase. They don't go after the easy targets. So, I invented a way for him to go on the chase. It worked! I had fooled him, and all my friends and family, to make it as real as possible.So, some might say our marriage is founded on deception (don't forget our efforts to out-cheat each other at Uno!) Nonetheless, I knew it had to be done and we are now happily married and looking forward to the rest of our adventures together!
That's my love story!
