Our story
Heather:
I had just started working at Greenville Floral Company when I met Andy. It was right after Christmas in 1997 when I first heard of him. We were introduced through friends on the Internet (thanks to JP and KP) and began to communicate through email. I was brand-new to the Internet and knew no one, so of course I was thrilled to make a friend that I knew on the Internet. It never crossed my mind that I would ever actually meet this man; he was just a person that I talked to when I got home from work at night.
It's amazing how well you get to know someone when you write to each other; the anonymity of writing allows you to open up like you never would in person. In no time at all I felt like Andy was my very best friend; I felt like I had always known him, and we hadn't even met. We began to discuss meeting, or at least talking on the phone. I got Andy's phone number but didn't call. I was too afraid of messing up the friendship we'd forged. After many nights of asking me to call him, Andy got tired of waiting and called me. We talked for a long time; the next day I had the delivery man at work take roses to his dorm.
Andy asked me out through email right after we'd talked on the phone for the first time. He came to pick me up on a Friday night after I got home from work. Talk about stress! He came to the door; I considered running away, chickening out. I summoned my courage and opened the front door -- standing before me was the most handsome man I'd ever met. We clicked almost instantly but didn't talk much on the way to the movie theatre. It's very hard to meet someone for the first time when you aready know them so well.
We talked while waiting for "Titanic" to start. Right as the house lights went down, Andy reached for my hand, and as Rose and Jack shared their first kiss on the Titanic, Andy kissed me for the first time, a sweet kiss that made me feel I'd met my perfect match. When we left the theater later I was still a bit woozy; falling in love is a powerful thing.
Andy and I saw each other practically every day after that first date. He came to pick me up after work every day and we'd go out to dinner (Red Lobster was our favorite) or to the movies. I moved across town that summer, closer to Furman, and Andy moved in with me.
We shared our first joint purchase and first near-tragedy that summer too; we bought an American Eskimo puppy together that June and named her Juliette (Jana for short) and three days later we were in a car accident and Jana was badly injured. Our car hydroplaned into a van and the passenger-side airbag hit Jana full force. The employees at a nearby business acted quickly and took her immediately to a vet for us. She suffered a broken rear leg and severe concussion; she still can't see very well. As awful as the car accident was, it brought Andy and I as close together as we are to this day. We became "parents" to Jana on that day; we enjoyed the experience so much that in September we adopted a second dog, a beagle named Lily.
We began to discuss marriage shorty after that time. On our 1st anniversary, February 1st, 1999, Andy presented me with a diamond engagement ring and asked me to become his wife. Of course I said Yes.
We have now been together for over 2 years. We have shared sickness, health, laughter, tears, bliss, sadness, ecstasy and anger, the happiest moments in my life, arguments of magnanimous proportions, and ultimately, the truest love I never knew was possible.
Copyright 2000 by Heather Lakin
