August 23th 2002 was a special day. It was my first day of Cégep. (Cégep is a school you attend in Québec for 2 or 3 years between High School and university. There are Cégep in most cities in Québec. See the description of Cégep
HERE.
) It was a Friday and when I got up that morning, I had no idea my life would change forever!
It was the end of summer, just before some of my friends were getting back to university, out of town! On this particular Friday night, I was invited by my friend Jo to join her and some friends at a friend's apartment to have some drinks before going out to the local bar! I was 17 at the time, how illegal! (18 is the legal age here.)
I got there around 9h00 pm, my friend Jo was not even there yet, but
THERE HE WAS... Sitting on a chair, facing the front door of the apartment (he was the first person I saw when I got in the room!), wearing a dark blue shirt with some yellow stripes on the sleeves, he had a big smile on his face...
I will always remember these details! He also remembers what I was wearing that night and he has a very bad memory, so it means something! I actually still own the top and the jeans I was wearing that night, I'm so sentimental! I would like to take pictures of these clothes but they are in a box somewhere! (By the way, Jo didn't even know B was going to be there that night, funny thing. In fact, B was not supposed to be there in the first place, he had other plans but it got cancelled at the last minute! I'm so glad!!!)
I was introduced to B and there it was... Love at first sight! We talked all evening long! He was making me laugh a lot and he even tried to convince me that he was shorter than me! I was believing him until he got up! He was so tall, 6'4, and I'm about 5'5. How naive I was being back then haha! (He always try to convince me of things that are impossible and sometimes I believe him!) The evening was going well and with our friends, we went to the bar where we danced all night long. It was a very fun evening! But the time flew by and it was almost 3h00 am and it was the time for the last dance, a slow dance, of course! I'm not sure what was the song (I think it was Nothing Else Matters of Metallica, but I'm not sure! How sad!) and he doesn't remember either but I remember feeling so great in his arms! We didn't kiss that night but I knew something was in the air! He was holding my hand and I just knew that it was love!
The following day, a Saturday, I was working a night shift at the store. I was done with my shift by 9h00 pm and when I got out, there he was, in his old car (a 1990 Ford Taurus station wagon!!!) I was with a coworker, a friend, and we were going out for a goodbye party for a coworker! B was there and he asked me out to the drive-in movies! But I could not go because of that party I was going to attend. He looked a little bit disappointed! (So did I and the goodbye party turned out to be very very boring!)
In the following days, I tought a lot about him! And I was too shy to call him! I didn't even had his phone number, he was not in the phonebook (I learnt later it was because his father had died years ago and his number was listed under his mom's name! And there was no Facebook at that time!) And I was too shy to ask my friend Jo his phone number! (Looking back, I don't know why I was being so shy! I'm kidding, I know why! It was because of the first boyfriend thing! I was 17!)
Finally, he called me on Friday (August 30th), almost a week later! We talked a little bit over the phone and he asked me if I would like to come to his house to help him to do his robot costum for his initiation's day in university! I said yes, of course! He came to my house to pick me and when we got to his house, he told me that his parents and his uncle and aunt were there too! Wow! I was going to already meet his extended family?!? This time, I had a reason to be so shy and so intimitated!!!!! Everything went well but of course he didn't introduce me as his girlfriend because things were not at that point!
We had his costum done and then, we left to go to a friend's house. We had a good time with those 3 friends and we left around 12h00 am! We decided to walk! We had to walk like 45 minutes and it was freezing outside (about 5 degrees Celcius, in late August! It was so cold! And I was wearing sandals, can you imagine, my toes were almost blue when I got home! ) We finally got to the place where we had to go different ways. It was at this moment that we kissed for the first time! And what a kiss! I will always remember it! And I will always remember where! It was just in front of my former babysitter's house (when I was a little kid, of course!)! And now, each time I see that house, I think of that night! And I often see that house because it's near of my parents' home! (I have to get a picture of that house someday!) (So, August 30th 2002 is our official date! And the funny thing is that B's parents got married on this particular date, August 30th!)
On the next day, Saturday, we had an other great afternoon and evening together! We finally went to the drive-in movies. We only watched the first movie (Mr Deeds with Adam Sandler) and during the second movie, we talked non-stop without paying any attention to the movie! (It was Men in Black II.) After that, we went for a car ride to see the stars in the sky in a beautiful dark place juste outside the city limits! We had the feeling that something really special was going on between us! I was feeling so close to him like I had known him for a long time! I came home pretty late that night! We had a great time and I will always remember this day!
On Sunday, he had to left town for university. I was sad saying goodbye! At this moment, we only knew each other for about a week! 8 days in fact! But it was only the beginning for us!
For the two first years (2002-2004), we were in a very long distance relationship (he was 850 km away). We only saw each other on special holidays and a few weeks in the summer. We exchanged phone calls and emails regularly. That was hard but we made it through it because we really believed that we were a special couple. In August 2004, it was my turn to left our hometown for university (our universities were not in the same town), but we were just about 175 km away from each other, we could see each other on some weekends also! I was so happy to have more time with him! We did that for about 4 years.
In the fall of 2008, after his graduation, he got a job in Québec city and he moved here (where I still live) and he lived in a apartment with a friend. We didn't want to live together right away because we were so used to be in a long distance relationship! We needed some time to adjust and to do things right! In the spring of 2010, we finally rented an apartment together and things were great! But he recently found a job in our hometown, so he moved away (850 km away, remember!) this past weekend. I will be moving with him in March and our life together will go on!
THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW I MET B!
I WAS 17, HE WAS 20.
THIS IS OUR LOVE STORY!
IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!
