Three letters and a period. That’s all it took to change our lives forever. Three letters and a period.
From that first impersonal message on Scruff we immediately clicked. We were from different worlds he and I. We spoke two different languages, ate different foods and even had different definitions of love. Somehow though over the course of the past three years we have managed to stay on course towards on the journey to love. For that is truly what love is; a journey. I believe that to be in love is to forever be falling. To be in love is to forever want to get to know more, to be more, to trust more, to give more, to cherish more, and to respect more. There is no end to love. It’s enduring. Through trials and tribulations it’s one thing that will hold true. And boy, has ours been a journey.
We started as two guys who shared an interest in the others profile. Yes. I’m talking Scruff. We messaged for a few days before moving onto bigger platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. Now for anyone in the 21st century dating world, you know this is a hue step. To get off the more commonly frowned upon ‘dating’ app and onto a more mature platform like Facebook is big.
We continued to talk, interested in getting to know one another. We inquired about likes, dislikes, families, cultures, religions, hell even politics (though I’m glad to have found out he and I share a mutual disdain for this category). Though everything in me wanted to pursue something with him, I always kept saying to myself, “He’s in a completely different country it’ll never work”.
Because of this shared doubt we chose to remain friends and therefore in each other’s lives. I went off to Afghanistan to defend my country’s way of life and we continued to develop our friendship. I returned and we plugged on. We even dated and though in my heart I always would wish it was me, I was supportive and always there for him and him for me.
About three years into our friendship he came to me with some amazing news. He had finally gotten into the exchange program that would make one of his biggest dreams come true: he’d be in school in the United States. Suffice it to say we were both thrilled! I remember we talked for days about prospective schools. I was in Kentucky at the time and he set to work finding schools that would put him close to me. I never told him but that touched me more than I think he knew. Maybe one day I will get the chance.
Maybe about a week after that I came down on orders to PCS. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be far from him. I was wrong. My orders were for Germany. It seemed we would yet again be kept apart after coming SO CLOSE to being together for the first time since we became e-friends.
It was rocky when I told him the news. He told me that because we would still be in different countries that we should be friends and just friends. I understood. He wanted to save the inevitable emotional downfall that would ensue if we kept it up. It hurt like hell. So much so that I couldn’t bear to talk to him for a while. A few months. Just the thought of him, or not having him rather, was too much. I deleted him from social media in order to avoid that ache I felt when I saw his face, the pain I felt when I heard his voice, the sadness I felt knowing I’d never get to feel his touch.
During the time apart we both dated someone new. Neither worked out. For me it was because I just don’t think anyone would ever be what he was for me. We hadn’t even made it to first base yet in my mind we had already made a home run. On Dec 31, 2017 I found out that i wasn’t alone in having this thought for the past year.
It was to be our first meeting. Real life! Face to face! I was nervous. I was excited. I was terrified! I phoned two of my best friends immediately and we all convened that should things go bad they would be there to catch me. So it would be New Years in Atlanta for all of us.
On Dec 30, picking him up from airport was nerve wrecking. I was sweating and doing that annoying pacing thing I do when I have too much on my mind. I think I might’ve walked a permanent ring into the ground around the baggage claim area. When he finally came out and made his way to me it was like something out of a dream.
There he was smiling at me. That dazzling smile that lit up everything in me. He had on a simple puffer jacket and jeans with a plaid shirt on underneath. His neatly combed hair was expertly combed over beneath a loose fitting cap. He walked up to me, not taking his eyes off me and did something that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. He kissed me.
It was a gentle kiss that was over much too soon. It was however a kiss that spoke everything for him. His kiss said to me “Finally! We meet. You are as sensational as I know you from online. I’m just as nervous as you so don’t worry. I want this to be perfect”. And it was. That kiss was all I needed to know that we had never truly left one another’s hearts. We made it to the airport parking lot before I knelt on one knee.
It was funny that I chose that day. We drove an hour back to my moms place and he reciprocated. It was like a dream come true. I couldn’t believe he had the ring on him. The whole time! It was almost too much. I don’t think I’ve cried so much my entire life. Over that weekend we broke the news to my family and everyone was in love with him. Of course most of them already knew of him but it was great.
2FEB we decided to make it official. We had waited long enough. Almost four years enough. He flew me out to Denver and there in the cozy courtroom a judge wed two friends together in holy matrimony.
If you had asked me all those years ago if I thought we would be here, I would have told you it was impossible. If you had asked me all those years ago if I had known that I had just found my partner, I would have said no. If you had told me that on December 15th 2014 my life would be forever changed...
To you my beloved. I love you. Whenever I think of how our lives have brought us here I can’t help but be thankful to the man upstairs. If I didn’t believe in a God before I met you, I definitely do now. I see him in your eyes. You are more than a man like me can ever ask for in a partner. In a husband. This is just the beginning love. Because the story of us...
...is forever.
