How We Met: Greg’s Story

She looked so cute standing there in the middle of the path, bathed in the harsh light of the sodium lamp high up on the apartment building.  I walked slowly towards her, down the concrete towards a destiny I’d never imagined.

It was the first time Rachel and I met.  Well, in person, anyways.  I had been using an online dating site, and a few days earlier, an instant message had popped up on my computer: “Thanks for looking at my profile and not messaging me, jerk.”  Needless to say, I was instantly intrigued.

We chatted over the course of the next couple days over IM, phone, and video chat.  I was waiting tables at the time, and Valentine’s Day was coming up so I had to work an all day shift at my restaurant.  But I asked her anyway if she’d be my Valentine.  She said yes, and of course we had to meet after that!

I had another long double shift the next day, but it had to either be then or after another week passed because of a work trip she had to fly out for.  I was determined to see her then.

I excitedly got off of work, changed, and headed out into the icy February night towards Tacoma Park, supposedly an hour and a half drive from my house.  Of course, I had little idea where I was going because I didn’t have a GPS at the time.  I got turned around somewhere in Southeast before pulling into a gas station parking lot to call her for better directions to her apartment.

After an extra half hour of attempting to navigate unfamiliar streets, I finally pulled into the complex to find her waiting for me.  Despite the late hour and the time it’d taken for me to get there, she was incredibly gracious.  She led me up to her apartment where I met her roommate, Gretchen, and even made me a turkey and cheese sandwich since I hadn’t eaten dinner in my rush to get out the door.

We stayed up into the wee hours of the morning talking.  My goodness, did we talk!  Everything from religion to favorite color as the hours passed.  If the air had literally sparked between us, I wouldn’t have been surprised in the least.  From just our chats online, I’d gotten an inkling that something was different about her, but now…Now it was completely clear.  In that moment, I was completely taken with her.