First Date.

By another request, here is the story of the first date.

It depends on what you count as the first date. Technically, we have three different "first dates." The very first was in the spring of 2008. We met in Institute choir in January. It was a very small group of around 10 singers, so we went around introducing ourselves. Jim began by telling us a story about how he realized that he felt weak every time he walked passed his bedroom closet, and discovered a small piece of kryptonite hiding there. I remember wanting to ask him out, or be asked out by him in the first few weeks, but he procured a different girlfriend. I was disappointed, but more or less undeterred. He was telling people about a project you could do for a Professor who would then give you free movie tickets, and I asked him for the information so I could get his email address and chat with him. We became friends rather quickly. I told him about a gelatto shop he should take his girlfriend to, but as this other relationship was not working out, he asked me if I would show him where it was. Thus, we set up a date. Since he lived in Boony-ville, we went during lunch time. The date was....

SUPER AWKWARD!!!!!!

I don't really know what it was, but we both felt incredibly awkward sitting there eating gelatto. It was fantastic gelatto, but for some reason conversation just wasn't on the same page that day. This didn't stop him from asking twice more before I tried to set him up with a friend who lived in Provo.

The "second first date" was two years after that. We had both been through relationships that ended poorly and unexpectedly. We supported each other through everything. The relationship had grown to a point where we trusted each other explicitly, and the only thing that kept us from being a couple was the romance. We had made it clear to each other that we were "not interested." I decided in March/April 2010 that this was dumb. So, I mentioned interest to Jim, who then asked me out. We went to La Caille for appetizers and desserts. My fears and insecurities got the better of me, and after two more dates I bailed. He told me that if I ever wanted to attempt again, I would need to be more sure.

A few more months went by and.....I became more sure. Poor guy. Again we went out to Red Mango and took a walk around Sugarhouse Park. It was our plan to just discuss what had happened and if I had ruined my chances. He told me no, but he was planning to keep an open mind about other females.

....

He kissed me later that evening. \o/

As Per Request...

A friend requested I tell the ring-picking story. It's really not all that exciting...but here goes:

Some people have commented, wondering what took Jim so long. Many were expecting an engagement even before we were dating. But just to clear things up, it was ME who took so long. We were going to go ring shopping at the beginning of January, but I panicked and asked if we could wait a little while. It was just a week and a half later than planned, but my nerves appreciated it.

The night before we went I tossed and turned in anticipation. I couldn't stop thinking about what the heck I was doing the next day. That night's snow storm had also made the roads very slick and the news reported many accidents, and I hadn't heard from Jim since before he left work so my mind went crazy with worry, 'I agreed to marry someone that I'm not going to get the chance to. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!' But that was all in vain, he was perfectly warm in his own bed.

My Mom offered to pay for my nails, so she and I went just before Jim came to get me to have manicures. "Gotta have pretty hands for a pretty ring!" she said.

So, with great feeling hands we headed to Shane Co. Then to a custom place that we ran from pretty quickly, then to Williams Jewelers. At Williams, we were chatting with the jeweler, and another woman walked into the shop. I glanced behind my shoulder and my eyes went wide. I nudged Jim and his eyes went wide. I said "Denise!" and she turned around in surprise. This woman is the mother of a childhood friend of mine, my voice teacher and was also played Mrs. Fairfax in Jane Eyre, where Jim stared as Mr. Rochester and I played Lady Ingram. She gasped and said "WHAT HAVE I CAUGHT YOU TWO DOING?!" .... "ooooh....nothing...... blush." During the play she would come to me and say, "Have you thought about dating Jim?" And she would go to Jim and say, "Have you thought about dating Erin?" At that time we were not yet dating, but had been close friends for over two years. So, needless to say, she was ecstatic.

We stopped at Fred Meyer Jeweler and found another choice there also. We decided to call it a day. Jim asked me several times over the next few days, "Have you thought about the rings any more?" I decided on the one at Shane Co, but we went back a few times to make sure it's what we wanted. It was, but it needed to be re-sized. The jeweler told us it wouldn't be ready until February 1st. I was sent away for a moment so Jim could talk to her about his plans. We went back to purchase the ring, and our jeweler followed, handed the tag to the clerk, then said "I need that back," and ran away with it. Over the next few days he would say to me "It won't be ready until February 1st" and I would just nod and say "ok." But since you've read the preceding story, we all know he didn't want to wait that long. ;)

My Side of the Story

The story. The whole story is rather long and starts just over 3 years ago when I first met Jim in Institute Choir. I will save that long novel for another day.

I was kind of expecting it because Jan. 25th was 6-months since we were "officially" a couple. But Jim kept telling me the ring wouldn't be ready until February 1st, so I decided to just not ask questions and go with whatever happened. He picked me up just after 6pm and drove me to a look-out spot on the mountains, a place we had been before a few times. He was recreating a night back in August when he asked me if he could do anything in the world for me and I jokingly had responded, "Pearls, Jim. I want real pearls." From which point he proceeded to get a small silk bag from his car holding a real pearl necklace. Of course I was shocked, I had been kidding!

This night was just after it had snowed, so there was a gentle cloud cover over the city. It seemed the sky was upside down, the gray being the earth and the city lights were floating in the sky. We sat on the hood of his car and he asked me the same question. "Erin, what do you want?" I said to him, "I have my pearls, I am happy." ... "What else Erin?" "Not to slip on the snow." "What else?" "Um.....Clean house, good kids and a million dollars.....and a good husband." "I think I can help with that one." He walks back to his car and brings me a long stem, gorgeous red rose, a heart shape box of chocolates (the tasty kind) and a small box. I grinned as he handed them each to me. I had trouble taking the ribbon off the box and he said "hurry!" Finally it came off and I opened it. Inside was the ring box which he took from me, opened and got down on one knee. It was really slushy on the ground, but he was down there anyway. I thought "Wow, this must be love if he's on his knees in the snow." He said that he couldn't imagine his life without me, that he loved me and "will you be my eternal companion?" I stared at him, then nodded and said "Uh-huh!" He stared at me for a minute before standing up and putting the ring on my finger.

Even though I knew it was coming, and even though he knew I would say yes, I still felt like a deer in the headlights and he was still super nervous (aka super cute!).

After we called all our families, we went to Epic Casual Dining. FANTASTIC FOOD by the way. Highly recommended. It was a bit of a shock every time I looked at my finger, and yet as Jim said, "It feels like business as usual." It seemed as if nothing else in the world could have happened but this.