Memory Mondays – the 1st week

For my first Memory Monday, I’ll be reminiscing about Josh and my first date. Unfortunately, we don’t have a photo from that day :(, but at least we still have our memories of it! It was a Friday, May 3, 2002. I had to be at work at 7pm (I managed a band rehearsal studio building), so Josh and I met up at my work, and I left my car there so he could drive us to the restaurant that he took me to – the Coyote Cafe. (This restaurant doesn’t exist anymore.) It was a really nice place in an outside mall. We had a table outside, and I ordered a chicken pasta dish, and Josh ordered a ravioli dish. Let me just interrupt for a moment to say that I remember thinking the entire time how incredibly hot he was. And how the heck was someone who looked like him taking out someone who looked like me? I thought it might be a fluke, or a one-time thing. Back to the story. He also ordered us an appetizer of crab patties. Let me just take a moment to say HOW MUCH I WAS INTO JOSH…I ATE ONE! AND I HATE SEAFOOD! I was so nervous just being around him; I didn’t want to want to have anything that might seem like a negative on his mental list about me: “doesn’t like seafood…subtract 1 point”. I think I had mentioned at one point to him in our early conversations that I didn’t like seafood, but maybe that’s a faulty memory because we didn’t talk too often before our first date. But anyway, I didn’t want to make him feel bad if he HAD forgotten that little point. Today he still marvels at it. “I can’t BELIEVE you ate a crab cake for me.” Yes…it’s love.

After dinner we went to the theater and watched “Changing Lanes”. I don’t remember much about it. I think I liked it. I was just so super aware of sitting next to the guy of my dreams, how was I supposed to concentrate on a measly movie?! I do remember my butt going numb by the end of the movie. I was 20 pounds lighter then, and it was a BONY butt. I remember Josh holding my hand during the movie, and I was nervous. Afterwards, we walked around the mall a little bit, and he drove me to work and we had our first kiss! Again, I was nervous! We took it slow, there was no tongue. Just a hopeful, promising, brand-new kiss. I couldn’t wait to see him again.

An embarrassing note…I remember giving Josh a single red rose before he drove us to the restaurant. That’s fine. But I also remember giving him a sticker of the band I was in. What. Was. I. Thinking?! That seems so cringe-worthy and egotistical and juvenile now to me. (edited: OK, AFTER JOSH READ THIS, HE TOLD ME: “BUT I ASKED YOU FOR SOMETHING FROM YOUR BAND!! YOU GAVE ME A T-SHIRT AND THE STICKER!” OH. I REALLY DIDN’T REMEMBER THAT, BUT I’M GLAD IT WASN’T MY IDEA. STILL, A T-SHIRT AND A STICKER?! WHAT DID I THINK HE WAS, A FAN?!) BUT. He was so sweet. He immediately took off the backing and stuck it to his box that he carries around his wallet, keys, etc. in. I remember feeling so proud, and strangely relieved. Like it was a sign that he meant to keep me around for a while.

Another note…we had gone out on “unofficial” dates before our first real one. The first time ever going out with him was after a concert he played…I remember a friend of mine (who was also very interested in Josh) and I took him out to a diner after the show. I remember feeling pretty up in the air…is he “with” me, or “with” my friend, or does he want to be “with” neither of us? When we ordered, I went first. I was more than a little nervous because I didn’t want to look too picky and high maintenance; I wasn’t too hungry (I was always too nervous around Josh at first to be hungry), and I guess I AM sort of picky. So I ordered an English muffin toasted (with no butter), with a fried egg (very well done, please), and bacon (very crisp, mind you) on the side. That way I could make a sandwich out of it. My friend ordered next. She ordered a chocolate malt. The show-off. Josh was next. We both looked at him. I don’t think he was aware of the twin beams of calculation aimed at him. All I know for sure is, I thought “HA!” when he ordered THE SAME THING AS ME. (And that’s not a common thing to order. It was very custom-made. BY. ME.) HA! I remember feeling quite victorious in our unspoken little competition. I remember feeling like he was on my side. Like he might have almost been TRYING to show me that he preferred me. And my food. I admit I sank inside when she ordered the chocolate malt. How easy to eat. How easy to order. How “Look at me, I waste away on eating NOTHING all day”. I truly thought he was going to follow her lead. But I wasn’t the one who ended up with a stormy black cloud over her head. But I’m not gloating anymore. Nope.

I am just so happy that he loves me, and that I love him. We were truly meant to be, for sure!