The Day We Met

Published on by J. Kelland Perry

One day back in September of 1994, when I was divorced and living in an apartment in Mount Pearl around the corner from my sister, she called me on the phone. Being a weekday and her husband’s birthday, she invited me over for a low-key evening, with our brother joining us to make a foursome for a game of Scrabble. Yay! Scrabble was one of my favourite games, so I quickly agreed.

scrabble_H

But she called back later with news. “It looks like we won’t be having that game of Scrabble tonight after all,” she said. Our brother had called her to say he was bringing his friend Paul along, and five was too many for Scrabble, so we had to scrap that plan.

“Damn!” I fumed to my sister. “I was so looking forward to a game! Who is this Paul person, anyway, and why does he have to come over and spoil our fun?” She told me she, her husband and our brother had known Paul for years, and we would have to plan a game for another time.

I swallowed my disappointment and agreed to join them anyway to hang out. We had drinks to celebrate my brother-in-law’s birthday, and we watched the guys play video games for a while. When my sister introduced me to Paul, she told me he was an artist and he loved cats, and had one of his own. Something in common! 🙂

I know this sounds far from exciting, but when we chatted, I became intrigued with “the new guy”. It wasn’t love at first sight exactly, but for some reason – chemistry, I guess – I fell head over heels in LIKE with Paul.  And he seemed to like me too.

When I left to go home, he said, “It was really nice meeting you for the first time, Jennifer.” Walking back around the corner to my apartment, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. Irrationally, I had hoped he might have offered to walk me home, because I thought we connected. But maybe I had read more into it than he did.

As it turned out, he later gave my brother-in-law a piece of paper with his phone number on it to give to me, with instructions to call if I wanted to talk sometime. He knew about my past and my kids, and didn’t want to pressure me if I wasn’t interested. After some hesitation, my brother-in-law gave it to me (he was also concerned it may have been too soon after my messy divorce). Truth be told, at this stage in my life I was not looking for anyone to date, but a new friend would certainly be nice. Especially one as nice as Paul. PRODTHM-553

I was overjoyed! This being only a few days since our meeting, I raced home and nervously dialed his number. But he was still at work, and I left a message.

He called back. Being the shy person I was, our relationship began with a number of lengthy getting-to-know-you, way-past-our-bedtimes, I’m-going to-be-tired-in-the-morning phone conversations, before we ever started dating. I’ll never forget how jittery I was getting ready for the first date. My sister called while I was doing my makeup, and I filled her in, telling her we were going out to dinner at the Casa Grande. She practically dropped the phone, squealing excitedly to her husband, “They’re going on a date!”

Subsequently, I fell in love with the guy, and we delighted in discovering how compatible we were. Coming upon twenty years since that first meeting, we still are. That “unwelcome guest” who spoiled the Scrabble match became the love of my life.

And wouldn’t you know it? Turns out he loves Scrabble just as much as I do.

scrabble-tournaments

53 thoughts on “The Day We Met”

  2. Pingback: September Sky – Jennifer's Journal
  3. Pingback: First Date | Jennifer's Journal

  4. I love a really nice romantic story! My meeting with my second wife was at a friend’s wedding. We were married within six weeks. This year is our thirty-seventh wedding anniversary. Thank you for dropping by my blog, by the way. Please come along and let me bore you often!

    Like

    Reply

  6. Awwww! What a sweet story. My husband actually planned to propose by spelling it out with Scrabble tiles, but ended up popping the question at an amusement park instead. Still, Scrabble holds a special place in our hearts.

    Like

    Reply

  7. You wrote that very well. I was there and pissed off when the Scrabble game got scrapped because of that guy. Really nice to get let inside your life.

    Like

    Reply

  8. Great brief story… Linking the scrabble with love and falling in love is such a great idea … I felt the deeper connection, as if a sparkly word came to my mind in an accurate and spontaneous way, without even having to think so much of how to re-order the pieces..
    Glad to came across your post and blog.
    Best wishes, Aquileana 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  9. Jennifer, I really enjoyed your story of how you met your husband. We both love Scrabble too. I think that couples who can talk together for hours are ‘lifers’. ‘Lifers’ is what one of my girlfriends and I call well matched people.

    Blessings ~ Wendy ❀

    Like

    Reply

  11. Aww, this story is so beautiful! I love hearing how people met and came to be a couple… we all take such different paths. How funny that a ruined night of Scrabble began your marriage and happiness with your husband! Such a sweet story.

    Like

    Reply

  13. Such a sweet story, Jennifer. Life presented you with a wonderful meeting — which you had to discover. My smile is all teeth reading this.

    I love Scrabble, too! I was a three back-to-back champion in my former neighbourhood. Won a big money Scrabble competition a few years ago. Now, I no longer play because there’s no one around here who is keen on playing the game.

    Like

    Reply

  15. Jennifer what a beautiful story, especially because you lived it and you still are. I got to know you a little more today and I was cheering along with your sister when you went on your first date.

    Like

    Reply

      1. Jennifer I bounce from one to the other, from picture book illustrations which I have done over and over to editing Nanowrimo novel…because I am doing both it is taking me longer but I am not in a race….thanks for asking. How is your book going?

        Like

        Reply

  16. I read this, practically holding my breath in suspense. I’ll admit that I was hoping for a (cheesy, it’s true) happy ending. But I never expected TWENTY years. Whoa. What are you doing so right?! It’s refreshing to read stories of relationships that encourage growth—no matter the length in years. Thank you for sharing this. It brought a smile to my evening. X

    Like

    Reply

    1. Wow, thanks so much for telling me how it affected you! So nice of you. All I can say is we have a lot in common and get along very well together. We’ve had our bumps like any couple but nothing that could break us apart. Cheesy enough? ha ha Seriously, respect and affection are important. And a sense of humour doesn’t hurt.

      I hate when I hear of couples splitting up, even the celebrities, especially when they have children. But being divorced before myself, I know sometimes it can’t be helped.
      Thanks again, Jacqueline. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  19. I got a tear in my eye with this one. I love your story of falling in love … and I love scrabble too! The perfect ending for you. I’m so happy for you and where you are in life 🙂

    Like

    Reply

Talk to me.