Good things come to those who wait.......a cliche heard a million times but seldom believable by many these days, including us. Two people with pasts that left them a bit shaken and cautious, but yet somewhat hopeful. A chance meeting by two people who never thought the other one would be interested turned out to be one of the greatest stories of two people becoming married.
I was a guy that had been single for 8 years and threw himself into work and his passion of singing/entertaining and put relationships on the back burner. Not out of my mind, it just wasn't a priority. I had played down in Effingham, IL on a couple of occasions and that was the only reason I had for making the hour and half drive there.....until one particular night almost two years to the date.
I was on break at a show and a gentleman came up to me and offered to buy me a drink. I ended up buying him one and in the midst of conversation, he uttered, "buy a cranberry and vodka as well and follow me". The gentleman's nature was very easy going so I gladly followed. Little did I know he was about to introduce me to the true love of my life.
He tapped on Valerie's shoulder and said, "you wanted the lead singer to bring you a drink for your birthday so here he is". We both were immediately embarrassed. However, she turned around and I instantly fell in love with her smile. I'm shy at moments like that but I didn't want to quit talking to her. The conversation was short but the lasting effects of it were not. I finished playing that night and honestly don't remember if I got a chance to tell her goodbye or even Happy Birthday. I do remember regretting not asking her if I could call her next time I play in that area to get together and continue the conversation we had started earlier.
A few weeks later I was playing in Champaign. Valerie and her friend Laura came up to visit their friend Michelle unbeknownst to me. Halfway thru one of our songs, I turned to our drummer and said "Valerie from Effingham is here". Needless to say, I couldn't wait for break and ended the set early. They had me totally fooled into thinking they were out and about and didn't know we were playing close by. Something I would realize was planned months down the road.
Like a true adult, I found her on MySpace and asked her to go out on a night before I had to play in Effingham about 2 months later. Once again, this was not my comfort zone, being on stage with a mic is, liking someone and having to be Ryan offstage I'm not. Something came over me that entire weekend. A long sunday spent on the couch just talking and me realizing I had sat here with someone I just met and didn't feel this need to run painted a pretty clear picture for me......this was the one. The rest as the say, is history, or I should say, history still in the making.
It wasn't until a few months into dating, Valerie let me know she was there the very first time I ever played in Effingham. It was also clear she wanted the same thing as me the first time we met......just to simply be in love, love someone, and be loved back.
Good things do come to those who wait, you just have to believe. |