Way Back Wednesday

How Mike and I Met: Part One

Mike and I met during the fall of sophomore year (1990). We were both 15 and went to different high schools. He called one of my best friends (Kristen) while I happened to be at her house and I talked to him on the phone. Then we started talking more and at some point, made plans for a "date". Neither of us had our license at the time, so his dad drove us to/from our date. Mind you, I lived about 35 minutes from him, so it was kind of a big deal.

We went to see the movie "The Exorcist III". During the movie, Mike proved himself to be an, ahem, inexperienced kisser. I don't know why we ended up kissing on a first date but that's how it went. He was also maybe a bit nervous and had sweaty hands. What a romeo, eh? I am sure that I myself was equally nervous & I'm not sure what he thought of me overall--other than that he thought I was cute. We also went to a formal dance at his high school that same fall. At some point, my friend Kristen developed a sudden interest in dating Mike as well...and I was not the type to compete for a guy. I felt that maybe he was trying to manipulate the situation a bit (he denies) and things just kind of fizzled out.

I seem to remember talking to him from time to time during the remainder of high school. Then we both went away to college. Mike ended up not finishing and during the fall of my junior year, we started dating again. I really fell for him at that point. I was SO into him. I think he liked me as well but at the time, I would only go so far- if you catch my meaning- and I think that was a problem for him. Because by that time, he definitely had more, ahem, experience than me. We talked several times a week and saw each other whenever I was home. Once or twice, he came to visit me at school. Then during a late night phone conversation, Mike alluded to the fact that he was interested in another girl. I kind of flipped out. I told him that I loved him but was unwilling to be second choice. Things ended immediately- and honestly, I felt empowered that I had stood up for myself and I never looked back. But I still spent some time mending my broken heart :( That was December of 1995.

(we ran into each other once at a local bar in the next 5 years but mike was living with his girlfriend)

Skip ahead to July 2000, Mike was living in Connecticut at the time but came home often to see his mom, siblings and friends in this area. I was living with my parents, trying to finish grad school. One night I came home and my mom said "You will never guess who called". I guessed 5 different people- all incorrect guesses...finally she said "Mike V." My exact response was, "What does that a**hole want?" Not kidding, that's what I said. My mom yelled at me for cursing and said it sounded like he really wanted to talk to me. I waited a couple of days to call him back...he called me again before I had the chance to return his call. He said he was going to be in the area again in a couple of weeks, so we made plans to meet up.

I went to his mom's house to pick him up (there are no good bars/restaurants where my parents live...his mom lives close to all the fun places in this area). I knew as soon as I saw him that he thought I looked good. He had this swooney look in his eyes...and I admit, given the history of him bailing out during our college romance, I felt gratified. It might have been fun to toy with his emotions a bit but the problem was, I also felt a spark...