It was late August of 2003 (I think) when I drunkenly found my way into some random AOL chat room. If I remember correctly, and I’m sure I don’t, there was an event in the world of sports that had pissed me off, so I drank and made an ass of myself online. Wouldn’t you? Anyway, I spoke to a couple of different people, angered a few more, then got bored and went to sleep. Little did I know what I had started that night.
There was an email waiting for me the next day from a nice young lady with whom I’d spoken with. She explained that she’d had a good time chatting with me and was looking forward to doing it again soon. She used my real name at the close of her email, and I could only assume that she had told me hers as well. Of course, I had no idea who this random, but very sweet girl was. I emailed her back admiting my state of mind when we spoke and apologized that I was unable to remember her. To my surprise, she accepted gracefully and still insisted on chatting more.
Soon, screen names meant nothing as we were on a first name basis. I made sure to use her name often to show her I wouldn’t forget again. We began to chat online a couple of times a day, and after a couple of weeks she mentioned that she was a bit of a singer. I, being a great fan of a woman with musical skills, said that I’d love to hear her sing sometime. I added that I would really just like to hear her voice. And as simple as that, I had her phone number. Calling her, however, was not as simple. For weeks I’d stare at my phone with butterflies in my stomach, more nervous than I had any right to be. While I enjoy the sound of my own voice, I lack certain conversation skills when I’m on the phone. Simply put, I was afraid I’d have nothing to say.
That fear was well founded. When I finally got up the nerve to call her, on Halloween no less, we were on the phone for five awkward minutes, speaking for maybe two of them. Diaster had struck, I was afraid. During our online conversation that night, she calmed my fears by saying that she was as nervous as I was, and that we’d try again another time. It didn’t take long after that for us to get the hang of actually talking, and we spoke over the phone everday. Sometimes for hours on end.
Around December, we decided that we had to find a way to meet. My family and I were planning on going to Las Vegas in January for my little sisters twenty-first birthday, and I decided to take the chance of a lifetime. I offered to buy my internet girlfriend, a woman I’d never been in the same state with, airline tickets and a hotel room for a ten day vacation. She agreed.
At this point I have to tell you all (if anyone is still reading) that I am a very cynical person. While some people’s glasses are half empty, I can’t even find my glass. So when I offered to fly her out to Vegas, I never thought she’d accept. When she accepted, I kept waiting for something to go wrong, or for her to change her mind. I wasn’t sure I’d see her at the airport untill, well, I saw her at the airport. She was the first person I saw waiting at the baggage carousel, but she looked just a little bit different from her picture. That, and she was WAY to beautiful to be the girl I was looking for. Well, it was her. She took off the jacket she was wearing to signal me to her shirt, which was suppose to be the way I recognized her. Ben Harper, one of her favorite singers. I walked over to her, smiled, and took her by the hand. Even in Vegas, I would never had laid odds on our relationship getting this far. But there we were, holding each other at the baggage carousel. Her suitcase must have gotten dizzy with all the times it went around before we cared enough to grab it.
The next ten days were a dream. My family noted the ease and comfort that we showed with each other, as though we’d been going out for years. It came as no surprise to them when I told them I’d proposed. It was a Wednesday night, in front of the dancing fountians at the Bellagio while dancing along to the music, that I asked her to marry me. And of course, if she hadn’t said yes I wouldn’t be typing all this now.
Which brings us to now. Exactly one month from today, she and I will be in Las Vegas once again, saying I do and starting a life together that I would never have been able to predict. Everything about her was a suprise. How we met, how fast I fell for her, how quickly I proposed, everything. So the moral of the story is this. If you meet someone online, offer to fly them to Vegas for a week.
Okay, just kidding. The moral, if there is one, is to take a chance. We both stood to loose a lot when I asked her to fly to Vegas with me. But I would never have been able to live with myself if I didn’t try. And I might very well have lost an entire life with a woman I love more than I ever thought I was capable of.
