An Anniversary

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our first anniversiary

Christina and me, this April 30, on our way to celebrate our first wedding anniversary

I didn't post this on our proper anniversary, so I'm posting it just after our second dating anniversary, which was yesterday. Two years ago, I was relaxing on the futon in the room at my parents' house where I was staying (I hesitate to call it "my" room, as it was actually my sister's, and bore the marks of her Veggie Tales affliction) after a day of work. I ambled into a Yahoo singles chat room suggested by a lady I had gone out with a few nights before, and was promptly informed that dinner was ready. Leaving myself logged in, I went to eat. Upon my return, I found several messages from women greeting me, and a few more from chatbots. I responded to each in their turn, among them a simple "hello" from ladypimpjuice96. As the evening progressed, other threads of conversation slowed and drifted away, leaving us bantering back and forth. Our discussion ranged from the mundane to the scandalous to the personal. Eventually we swapped photos, and decided to meet for, as we said at the time, fluids.

After work the next day, I arrived at Seattle's Best Coffee on Parmer Ln., in a spiffy faux-downtown mixed-use development. Somewhat early, I lounged in a chair, my back to the door, as I scanned the patrons from behind a newspaper I feigned reading. She had told me that she'd changed her hair since the photo I saw was taken, so every woman that even remotely met her description got a careful looking-at. I heard a vehicle park outside, and heels on the wooden deck. A quick glance gave me an eyeful; the photo she had shared with me scarcely did her justice. I quickly turned back to my paper, pretending not to notice her entrance. She found me quickly.

We talked for a while, and then decided to get a drink. It was about then that we discovered neither of us drinks coffee. We slurped a pair of cold vanilla concoctions, and decided to catch a movie. Shrek 2 was playing, and we laughed through whole film, as much at each other as the characters. Not yet ready to part ways, we waded into the Cheesecake Factory and its famously hefty menu. By the time we finished our wicked confections, the sun had set. I delivered her back to the coffee shop where we shook hands and parted ways, but not for long.

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