Let me tell you a story: Ten years ago I was at cookout with some of my friends. I called my friend Laura and asked if she would like to come and join us. It took me a while to convince her she would have a good time, but eventually she joined us. While he was not the person giving the party my friend Brad was also there. I was about 21 at the time of the cookout and had known Brad since I was 16 because he was a good friend of a young man I dated back then. Brad noticed Laura instantly and thought she was very pretty. Some of us were about to go out riding on the fourwheelers and Brad asked Laura if she would like to ride with him. By the end of the evening they had exchanged phone numbers and began to date.
Several months passed and things were good. However, Laura had plans of moving from Tennessee to Florida. This caused a rift. They loved eachother, but neither person would budge on the moving issue.
They broke up and Laura moved to Florida, and Brad stayed in Tennessee. Laura loved FL, but I always believed she missed Brad. She had heard that he had moved on and that upset her, but she decided it was time to move on herself. At the time she did not intend on moving back to TN.
She met a man and they started dating. Unfortunatly he was not a good person, she realized this and broke up with him. Only to find out that she was pregnant. She had no desire to reconcile with this man, so she packed up and moved back to TN.
She did not call Brad to tell him that she had come back, but they ended up running into each other at a local store. They began talking regularily, but only as friends. Then after she had the baby they began to date. I can't remember how long they dated this time, but I think it was a couple of years. I'm also not sure what happened but once again they broke up.
Laura decided it was time to really get her life together. She had been living with her parents and working full time. She decided to back to school and get her own apartment. It was hard but she got her degree and found a teaching job. During these years she also met another man. He seemed like a good guy. After a while they became engaged. I knew Laura loved him, but I just didn't feel that it was right. When she called her wedding off 10 days before I was relieved. While I didn't say it to her at the time I still felt like her and Brad were meant to be.
A couple more years went by, and Laura got a better teaching job, and bought a house. I think for the first time in her life she was feeling settled and happy. She had her son, her family and friends, her career and her house. She was very content. What better time to run into Brad at the county fair! They talked and were friendly, but she didn't think much of it. Until he sent her some text messages. Then he asked her to go out to eat. She was still very cautious. Then one afternoon he came by her house to visit, and sat and help her son with a school project for hours. She said it was then she knew she was in love with him and always had been.
That visit was in January. They became engaged in April and were married this past Saturday (July 23rd). As it turns out in all those years Brad had never told another woman that he loved her. Laura is the only woman he has ever said that to. Through all the years of their non traditional courtship I always felt that they were supposed to be together. I had no idea when things would come together and the time would be right, but I knew it would come.
I am so happy that they found their way back to eachother. I know they will have a life full of love and happiness. Here a few pictures. I could hardly get the bride to stand still long enough to get a shot of her!!
awww that is so sad that it took them that long to finally come around to one another again and they missed out on one another, but I suppose that doesn't matter at all now!!!! I hope they don't say, "man, we were dumb back then" ever.
ReplyDeleteYou look great by the way!!