Cheers to Seven Years!

Seven years ago tonight on April 21, Steve and I met.

We've got the whole parallel lives, us living across the street from each other in college, me having a picture of only him that was taken four years before we met, him meeting my parents six months prior, him hanging up on his friend a week before we met when the friend called him telling him this girl needed to live with him, etc., etc., etc. which is pretty neat.

But the actual meeting was ultra romantic.

It was a Saturday night, and I was out with a group of girlfriends. We started the night at a now defunct gansta dance club downtown, hit Have A Nice Day Cafe (also now defunct)in Westport and rounded out the night at Granfalloon on the plaza (still going strong).

The Granfalloon was packed. We were standing by the bar, and I suddenly noticed this guy and his friend talking to some girls who I thought honestly looked a little on the trashy side with their choice of clothing, hair and make-up. (I like to say Steve was talking to whores when I met him, but I'm sure they were extremely nice girls with a different style than me.)

Even through the in-depth conversation Steve and Paul were having with these ladies, Steve and I happened to look at each other at the same time. I'm sure it wasn't exactly this way, but now it seems like magically we walked over to each other since we recognized each other from all of the above, and started talking. Within minutes, I realized this was the guy his life-long friend Geoff told me I needed to live with the previous week when I was in Iowa City.

We started talking about me looking at his place the next morning. I was very excited because I really did not want to be homeless. Plus he was from Storm Lake and already knew my parents and multiple friends so I knew he could be trusted.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. Steve cooked me buckwheat pancakes, I took in his "original" artwork of dogs with dead foxes in their mouths (which I must add now adorns our stairwell)and I introduced him to E television.

By the time I left his place, Steve said, "See you later." So I was thinking , "Great, I will not be his roommate nor will I see him again."

But that week Steve did find my number in the phone book and called me to ask me out (as in 'do you want to go to the bar with us in five minutes even though you worked out tonight and are packing'? I went.). Luckily during those few days, I found my "White Trashville" apartment that happened to be two blocks from Steve's place so I didn't need a place to live any longer.

I asked him yesterday what he would have done if my name wasn't in the phone book. His reply was, "We wouldn't be married". I know he was joking, but seriously we could have very easily lived the movie Sliding Doors.

Cheers to seven years!