A Whirly Girl Love Story, Part 2
In case you're new here, read part 1 before continuing.
After settling into our new seating arrangements, I finally introduced myself. Our conversation from the wrong row continued in the right row, and we chatted through the take-off, beverage service, and the duration of our flight to Chicago.
We both loved reading and talked about our favorite books and authors. I mentioned a series written by Ralph Moody about his life growing up in Colorado and Massachusetts that I loved. He just happened to have a copy of a book by Ralph Moody in his bag. Cue the music.
We talked about our faith and growing up in the church. We shared about adventures we'd taken, favorite birthday memories, and so many other things along the way.
As we began our descent into Chicago, I took a deep breath and held it. Thoughts were racing through my head, and I wondered if this spark I felt was mutual. How was this flight going to end? Should I ask for his number? Amid these questions, he bumped my elbow gently and told me to take a breath, that everything would be ok. And then he asked if I had a pen while we pulled out his wallet.
Adding his name and number to the back of the card, he handed it over with instructions to NOT call Bob Utter. (Bless you, Bob Utter, for providing the card, pretty sure I have it tucked away safely somewhere).
We left the plane together and went to find our connecting gates. With two hours to kill and gates that were miles apart, we wandered and visited and told more stories. Stories of moving and careers, heartbreak, and healing. Just before dashing off to catch our flights, we gave each other a hug and parted ways.
I called my sister as I headed off to tell her I'd met that dark-haired, curly-headed guy with a beard and glasses she'd mentioned last week. I wasn't sure if I'd ever talk to him again, but we'd enjoyed the travel time together.
The following day I received a message via Facebook from Nate, and after a few pleasantries, we scheduled a phone date. Did you ever talk to a crush on the phone when you were in Junior High? Was it awkward? Oh man, that was the most uncomfortable phone date of my life. It was hard to recreate the physical chemistry we experienced in person over the phone, and we'd exhausted most of the more natural topics during our long travel day together. When it was over, I thought I may never hear from him again and wasn't too worried about it. I had a great story to tell and figured it was more practice talking with strangers and testing out the spark.
A few text messages led to more text messages, and by the end of a week, we were back on the phone. I was working late on a wedding in my studio in Boston while he traveled back to Wyoming, and we kept each other company. Three days, eight hours on the phone and so many things said, we realized this was more than just an interest in friendship and agreed to see where it would go - with all 2,142 miles between us.
Captured by Christian Gideon
