4. continued. not the adventure I expected.

Four years ago on August 28, 2006, I got an important text message from a boy, we’ll call him Matt.  I never expected to meet him, I planned on spending a year traveling the US, working with students, having adventures, and writing a book about it. You can read part one here.  I did not plan on getting important text messages from a boy, but I did and  I never wrote that book.
The message read, “Would you like to accompany me on a walk  tonight?”  I was very pleased to get that message.  I did want to take that walk.  This wasn’t the first walk that we ever took together, but I knew this one would be different.  I remember the other walk, very well.  One night, after driving back from L.A , I convinced Matt that we should go on a walk upon returning to the camp.   Let me point out, at first he thought I was crazy.  You see, we were doing our training in Angeles Crest Park, in the mountains, where wild animals lived and roamed free and ate people. A few girls had unhappily reported that they had seen a bear around the camp.    Whatever.  Technically, I extended the invitation to the other two people in our van, but I knew my friend Rachel would decline, arranging a good opportunity for the two of us to be alone.  This meant that the other guy would also decline because he had picked up hints of our growing interest in each other.  Matt thought I might be crazy enough to go out on my own, so he agreed to join me and act as my protector.  I never planning on going without him.   He still insists that he didn’t believe me until I showed up at the main lodge ready to go. 
In the beauty of the night on a glorious mountain, the sky sparkling with an impressive display of stars, we talked, we walked, we found a small dock by a tiny lake and were mesmerized by the glowing blanket of dark blue, speckled with brilliance.  There were moments were we said nothing and we were comfortable with the space and silence between us.  It was perfect.  I never thought about the bears, but I’m sure in the back of his mind, he was wondering how he’d fight off any beasts that would come across our path.  Lucky for him, no such beasts appeared.  We returned to camp, alive and with growing mutual interest.

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Back to the the other walk.  THE walk.  I replied that I would like that, after doing what every girl does, showing my friend the text and then trying to hide our giddy faces from the rest of the people.  This time we were all at the company condo, back in the city, away from wild predators of the fur kind, at least.
Later that evening, I had just taken a short nap, training was exhausting.  I didn’t bring anything with me, except my phone and we left.  I was a little groggy and still rather tired, so he suggested coffee to ensure that I would stay awake.  Who am I to refuse coffee?  We walked to the Starbucks down the street and then I ordered, he said he didn’t want anything.  At that moment I “realized” that I didn’t have any money with me, so I told him.  He hesitated for just a second and informed me that I could pay him back later.    I was a little shocked at that statement, but sure I could pay him back later. (I still tease him about that).
In his defense:  He was nervous and didn’t want to seem too eager, but he assures me that he didn’t really want me to pay him back. 
Latte in hand and that silly moment behind us, we started walking to a park.  Our conversation was casual and slightly uneasy,  he was nervous, so nervous.  It was cute.  As we walked through the neighborhoods with tall fences around the perimeter of each home, he told me that they were probably collecting parts to build giant robots that were going to come to live and take over the world.

I didn’t care about robots.

I still don’t care about robots.

I think we talked about other things too, but I remember very little of that.  We finally arrived at the park and found a nice spot on a hill to sit.  He was gaining the courage.  I was getting impatient.  I asked him if there was something more that he wanted to talk about on this particular walk.  That was a his cue.

He took an obvious deep breathe.  I smiled, he was so nervous.

The details of the conversation are for us, it was the start of something that would change both of our lives, forever.  On the walk home, he was no longer nervous, but relieved and excited.  It would have been a long walk back if I would have said, no. 

Four years ago on August 28, 2006, I started dating that boy who asked me to take a walk with him, the one we call Matt…. the one I never planned on meeting.  When I left for California that year, I anticipated a great adventure, but I had no idea that it would last for the rest of my life and that I would share it with him.

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Just for the record:  I still haven’t paid him back for that coffee.

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Last year, we bought a cute little robot ornament for our Christmas tree.  We both said it was because H would like it, but truthfully, it reminds me of that walk.

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On Wednesday, we will celebrate our third wedding anniversary. 

In October, our little boy turns two. 

In January, we will meet our baby girl.

How’s that for an adventure?

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