A Series Of Firsts

The first time we saw each other was on a public bus. I sat in the front. I tended to be in my own world, to be immersed in music or the book in my hand. You sat in the back and talked to your friends or listened to music. When we talk about that time you tell me that you always waited for the bus to turn because then you could see a peak of my face from where you were sitting.

We were at very different points in our lives, but even then we were going in the same direction. A direction that I am thankful for and a destination that is defined by one word: love.

The first time we truly met was when your tall figure seemed to curl me up as we gave each other an awkward side hug. You looked at me like I was a princess. In your gaze, I felt like I was the only in this world. You took me to a waffle place. At that time, my German wasn’t so good…We talked about how we wanted to share a waffle and when it came to the ordering the lady said “sweet or savory.” My brain was firing. Wait? What? I don’t know the difference between those words in German. “Uuh savory.” Confused he said, “Wait, I thought you wanted a waffle.” “Uh yeah of course. Sweet.” I chuckled. The only German word I knew at that moment was “peinlich.” Embarrassing.

The first time we sat in the middle of the restaurant. It was a Friday night and we were stupid not to make a reservation. We stepped in and it was crowded. That word is an understatement. The owner apologized and said that there would be one more table. A table that was in the center of the restaurant placed between Eight girls, two on each side. I thought, “Oh, this couldn’t get better.” But it did. You never took your eyes off me. I remember ordering something that was delicious, in my perception, and you agreed to share it. I chuckle as I am writing this. You took off all of the spinach, ham, and mushrooms from the pizza and smiled and said, “It’s really good!” I knew at that moment that whatever we had would turn out good.

The first time

We were curled up in bed and were both in tears because in four months I would be moving across the world. My head was buried in your chest and I was afraid to look at you. I whispered “I want to say something, but I am scared to say it. Do you know what I mean?” You looked at me, still teary-eyed, smiled and said: “I love you too.”