Monday, January 16, 2012

an unlikely love story, part 1: the setup

this is the story of how i met my husband, travis, and how we came to love each other. be prepared for Harlequin, steamy, romance and/or Mormon virgin lovers. i guess you'll just have to see for yourself...
this story probably really begins in 2004, the year i started high school at Murray High. i can still remember that first day of school, wearing my new red top that showed off my summer tan lines. i had spent an hour straightening my hair that morning. i had high hopes for high school to be different from middle school, hoped this might be the year i made friends and stepped out of my loner/shyness habits.

the new high school seemed enormous. three floors, brand spankin' new. the 12th graders seemed so old and i remembering feeling intimidated by gorgeous girls in short shorts, with deep tans and thick makeup, eyeliner and cheek bronzer that looked so effortless.
one such girl was the "TA" for my third period Biology class. she flirted with the teacher, who flirted right back, and all the boys in the class stared. this was the class where i would meet travis.

the first day of high school, seven years ago, and i can still remember the first time i saw those big blue eyes. of course, i had no idea then that someday i would marry him. i had a little baby crush on travis the first month of school, but he was painfully shy, so i moved on. i can remember doing labs, trying my darndest to get his attention. i called him "travis blue eyes," when talking about him to my friends, because i didn't know his last name yet.

we never dated and we weren't really part of the same group of friends, although we were in the same group for senior ball. i actually have a picture of us sitting side by side in that hummer limo, each with our dates, completely oblivious to the fact that one day we would be a couple.
the only thing i really knew about travis in high school was that he had an old '68 mustang. he was fiercely proud of it and could always be found working in the autoshop.

high school mercifully passed and i hardly ever thought about travis bodtcher, the skinny, shy boy from biology class. i was dating alex hansen, which is a story all by itself, and didn't really think about anyone else. until one day, i was home from my first year of college at SUU, and i was working out at the Murray Rec Center. i was lifting weights in front of the mirror and noticed the Murray firemen were there working out, too. and travis was there with them. for the first time since i'd known him, travis walked over to me and started up a conversation. we talked about my college and his firefighting ambitions as a cadet, and i remembered thinking, he's cute, but i'm already dating a great guy. i did think about him from time to time during the following year, though.

we didn't speak again until the summer of 2008. i was about to move to hawaii for school. i was sort of dating a guy, mostly because my best friend was dating his best friend, and i was determined to break any ties i had before moving. alex hansen was on his mission and i was ready to break free and have an adventure.

it was a friday night, and my friend morgan and i had spent the evening planning my upcoming birthday party. all that planning had worked up our appetites, and we decided to make a McDonald's run. it had been almost a year since i'd eaten there, because i was trying to eat healthier. we stood in line and when it was our turn to order, i noticed travis bodtcher in the drive through. i waved at him and we started talking, or rather, yelling to each other through the kitchen. the line was building behind me and cars were honking for him to move, so he called, "i'll just come in there!" i turned to morgan and said, "why is he coming in here?" because we weren't ever really great friends.

travis came in and was wearing a work uniform of some kind. (he later told me that his uniform gave him the courage to come talk to me.) we told him about my birthday party and invited him to come. i really didn't think he would actually come, but he promised to stop by.

the day of my birthday party came and i wondered if travis bodtcher would actually show up. i had my hair cut and colored and paid extra attention to my outfit. the manboy i was dating threw a fit and left the party early, just in time for travis and his cousin to show up at my door. long story short, i somehow ended up on his lap and he asked me out. on a real date. not just a "oh hey let's hang out" but a real date where he would pick me up at seven.

i was pretty intrigued.


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