How I Met My Wife (pt 2)
Copyright 2010 by Vernon W. Harmon. All Rights Reserved.
PART 2: THE OTHER SIDE
In January of 2000, ten years ago, Wendy was living in a house of her own in Pittsburgh with 4 cats. She wasn’t dating anyone at the time. In fact, she had practically given up on dating entirely.
Wendy had dated many guys over the years. She had had both long term relationships and short term relationships. She had headed off a marriage proposal at one point. Her dating past was filled with men of all nationalities and ethnicities - her family had even dubbed one era of her dating life “The International Period” - as she had explored lots of territory in her quest for a soul mate. She had even thought about switching to the other team, just to leave no stone unturned. She had kissed a lot of frogs and had realized she wasn’t willing to settle, or waste time on relationships that didn’t click right away.
In short, Wendy had reached the point where she had given herself permission to be happy being by herself. She didn’t need a partner. She has an aunt who has never been married and is quite happy, so she knew that she could lead a long and happy life as a single woman. She thought she could very well end up being the old spinster lady with the house full of cats, but she was ok with that. Despite all this, though, she had at one point indulged in a prayer that she would find the right person for her and who would know she was “the one” right away, would “adore” her, and wouldn’t smoke.
Wendy worked at PPG Industries. She had a number of friends there, including one girl named Christina. Coincidentally, Christina had worked in the same chemistry lab in grad school at CMU that Wendy had also worked in a few years earlier, so they had a sort of instant bond. Christina also happened to be a social butterfly who organized outings for the young, single (mostly) people in the office. Every week it was something different: a bar, a party, a movie, whatever. The outing for Friday, January 21, 2000, was bowling.
Wendy had plans that Friday to go to the movies with a friend. When she got off work, she called her friend to finalize plans, but her friend wasn’t feeling well and said she thought she was too tired to go out. Wendy told her it was fine if she wanted to cancel since she had friends from work who were going out that night anyway. Her friend decided to cancel.
Wendy ended up at Champs Bar in Squirrel Hill with Christina and her PPG friends. They were having drinks and chatting, waiting for some lanes to come open in the Forward Lanes bowling alley, on the second floor above the bar. They were sitting around a long table toward the back of the bar and Wendy was sitting on the side facing the door. She noticed a bald guy walking around the bar at one point. He was wearing a San Diego Chargers winter jacket - in Pittsburgh! - and when he got a few tables away he started waving in her direction. She did a double-take, leaned closer to one of her friends and said “boy, I hope that guy knows somebody!”
By now the guy had walked all the way over to their table, when suddenly Christina stood up, gave him a big hug and said “Hi Vernon! Glad you could make it!”
to be continued…
PART 2: THE OTHER SIDE
In January of 2000, ten years ago, Wendy was living in a house of her own in Pittsburgh with 4 cats. She wasn’t dating anyone at the time. In fact, she had practically given up on dating entirely.
Wendy had dated many guys over the years. She had had both long term relationships and short term relationships. She had headed off a marriage proposal at one point. Her dating past was filled with men of all nationalities and ethnicities - her family had even dubbed one era of her dating life “The International Period” - as she had explored lots of territory in her quest for a soul mate. She had even thought about switching to the other team, just to leave no stone unturned. She had kissed a lot of frogs and had realized she wasn’t willing to settle, or waste time on relationships that didn’t click right away.
In short, Wendy had reached the point where she had given herself permission to be happy being by herself. She didn’t need a partner. She has an aunt who has never been married and is quite happy, so she knew that she could lead a long and happy life as a single woman. She thought she could very well end up being the old spinster lady with the house full of cats, but she was ok with that. Despite all this, though, she had at one point indulged in a prayer that she would find the right person for her and who would know she was “the one” right away, would “adore” her, and wouldn’t smoke.
Wendy worked at PPG Industries. She had a number of friends there, including one girl named Christina. Coincidentally, Christina had worked in the same chemistry lab in grad school at CMU that Wendy had also worked in a few years earlier, so they had a sort of instant bond. Christina also happened to be a social butterfly who organized outings for the young, single (mostly) people in the office. Every week it was something different: a bar, a party, a movie, whatever. The outing for Friday, January 21, 2000, was bowling.
Wendy had plans that Friday to go to the movies with a friend. When she got off work, she called her friend to finalize plans, but her friend wasn’t feeling well and said she thought she was too tired to go out. Wendy told her it was fine if she wanted to cancel since she had friends from work who were going out that night anyway. Her friend decided to cancel.
Wendy ended up at Champs Bar in Squirrel Hill with Christina and her PPG friends. They were having drinks and chatting, waiting for some lanes to come open in the Forward Lanes bowling alley, on the second floor above the bar. They were sitting around a long table toward the back of the bar and Wendy was sitting on the side facing the door. She noticed a bald guy walking around the bar at one point. He was wearing a San Diego Chargers winter jacket - in Pittsburgh! - and when he got a few tables away he started waving in her direction. She did a double-take, leaned closer to one of her friends and said “boy, I hope that guy knows somebody!”
By now the guy had walked all the way over to their table, when suddenly Christina stood up, gave him a big hug and said “Hi Vernon! Glad you could make it!”
to be continued…