The Story: But First A Little Detour

The Detour:
Like Charlessa said, our families got together this Sunday, but I must be wired a bit differently because I didn't start worrying until an hour or two before. And then, I worried! And what does the wise friend mean?! This is NOT just like meeting some other person that I don't know! I've met her parents on our Ireland trip, but that was before I started dating their eldest daughter! Toss in that I was just meeting her brother and youngest sister for the first time and that this was the first time any of our parents have ever even talked with each other! I was a nervous wreck on the drive over. It turned out really well though, thank the Lord!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program:
Previously, I probably glossed over the years that I spent driving down here to see Jeremiah. While I never had any specific plans about Charlessa, the thought that maybe something would start between us, would periodically go caroming through my mind. And looking back, I did seem to come up with excuses to see Charlessa pretty often. She was working without any help in the library, so of course I would offer to help her move books or sort magazines or box ILLs. I would have a free evening and want to do something, so I'd call her up and see if she knew of any plays or anything going on. Of course, every time was totally reasonable and sensible to me! I preferred to work all night with her than go read at Borders. And for me, THAT'S love!

Hindsight is usually pretty close to 20/20, and I can recognize now that I was starting to view Charlessa as a bit more than a friend. Maybe not romantically, (I viciously squashed any thoughts that way) but, well, I'm not sure how to describe it. Definitely one of my best friends, but that still falls short. Maybe it was the potential of being more that made the friendship different. Hmmm. Oh well. If I come up with some better way to describe it, I'll try to get it down on electrons.

Things were very good. Then the job down here in Virginia popped up, and things became even more so!

I had tried a couple times to get a job in VA, but nothing seemed to come together. Then, around October 2004, I really started feeling that I should make another try. I talked it over with the folks but never did anything serious about it. Then in the beginning of December, I was walking into the Library to help Charlessa with ILLs and saw a little job posting on the wall for a research assistant in Purcellville. I stuck it in my pocket and left a message Sunday afternoon. Thankfully I "happened" to have a three-day weekend, so when they called me on Monday and asked me to come in right then for an interview, I was able to literally stop by the Salvation Army to buy a shirt and tie on the way to he interview. They called me back Thursday to say I was hired! Housing fell into place, and I moved down here on Jan 1st, just like that!

Wonderful! I'm now down here only a couple miles from Charlessa, we're good friends, we're doing activities and going to church together, and our relationship is going to take right off, right?! Well, it didn't quite work out that quickly. We still had a bit to go.

Continue: The Story: Not Yet