Girl Meets Boy

From the moment she gave the invitation, I knew my life was about to change.

I was having lunch with my friend Carol, a gal I'd met at youth camp one summer and had recently re-connected with.  We'd been meeting for lunch occasionally over the past couple of years, usually at the Honey Bear Bakery in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood.  We'd chat about our lives, our families, our interests.  Sometimes she'd talk about her brother Tom, and I'd talk about my brother Tom.  But this day was different.

"My brother Tom and I would like you to come to dinner," she said.  (Yikes! Whatever happened to "my brother Tom"?  Now he's "my brother Tom"!)  I took a quick breath.  Yes, I would join them for dinner at their house on Monday the 11th of April.

That turned out to be a crazy day, which included my helping with a lunch for folks in international student ministries, visiting my cousin in the hospital, getting a parking ticket, and being rear-ended on my way to dinner.  By the time I arrived I was past worrying about first impressions.  I was just glad to sit down and rest.

Over dinner I learned that Tom and I had been in college together -- 18 years earlier -- but had never met.  His house was full of his paintings, pottery, and woodworking.  He was a gracious and kind host, his house was lovely, and he and Carol had prepared a delicious meal.  I knew that whether or not he called again, I'd had a delightful evening.

But he did call.  He invited me to Ivar's Salmon House for lunch on Friday.  Ivar's au gratin potatoes were so moist and delicious, he told me, that I was sure to love them.  I found them dry and hard to swallow.  The same for the Greek food he introduced me to on Saturday and the dinner he treated me to that evening.  Still, we found much to talk about and laugh about.

We went to see the tulips in LaConner the next Saturday, then went to Rosario Beach at Deception Pass for a picnic.  It was cold and windy, even in the picnic shelter.  I handed him a small vase and sent him off to find a bouquet for the table.  "But there's nothing blooming yet!" he protested.  "That doesn't matter," I told him.  "You're an artist.  Just find something pretty for our table while I get the lunch ready."  We were sitting beside each other, facing the water, shivering in the wind, enjoying our picnic, when two twenty-something men appeared with push brooms.  It must have been the first good sweep the place had had in a while because dirt started to fly and we began to cough.  We asked what they were doing and they said, "Oh, we're just cleaning up.  The youth group from our church is coming here later for a picnic!"  Needless to say, in a matter of minutes they had the shelter all to themselves!

Tom set the camera on a ledge as we hiked around the park and clicked the timer, then joined me for the picture above.  We've been clicking together ever since!