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When I was in college, I lived in one of the
I met Tony in the hall post office at the beginning of my Junior year. It was August the first time I saw him, with his mischievous grin and his pretty green eyes, and I thought "Wow he's cute! It'd be really fun to date him". I don't know why I thought that. It just popped into my head. (I think it was his glasses. For some reason, I've always been attracted to people with glasses. Something about poor vision really speaks to me). Anyway, I thought he was cute, and then I mentally smacked myself, because I already had a boyfriend...one that I'd been dating for about 2 years. So I shrugged the thought of those pretty green eyes and the glasses and the smile away.
My hall had over 1000 co-ed students living there, and the amount of mail that they received required a couple of student "mail sorters" and all of the RAs to take shifts manning the package desk. Tony was a mail sorter (although he referred to himself as the Post Master General), and I had two hours a week of package desk duty, so I knew who he was. I'd sit at the desk and get packages for the residents who came by to collect them, and he'd work in the back, sorting mail into individual mail slots for the students to pick up. We'd exchange pleasantries, but we didn't really talk. I'd work on homework, or talk to the people who came by for packages, and he'd sort envelopes. We probably would have continued on this way forever, except that two things happened. First, I broke up with my boyfriend in November. (I say I did, but it really was one of those mutual breakups. It was great from day to day, but when I was honest with myself, I knew there wasn't really a future for us. We were just too different, and going in different directions, and expecting different things out of life. It happens). The second important thing was that one of the male RAs graduated that December, and they asked Tony if he'd like to take his place. The halls had closed down for the Christmas holiday, but that hadn't stopped the mail from coming in, so there was about a month backlog of letters and packages that needed to be sorted into mail slots before the students came back from break. Since the RAs always come back a few days before the rest of the students, we were available for package sorting. The hall director had asked for a couple of volunteers to work in the post office. Tony volunteered because he knew the system from his days as "Post Master General". I volunteered because for some perverse reason, I just enjoy sorting mail.
To say that there was a backlog was an understatement. There was mail EVERYWHERE! Mountains of mail. We sorted mail and logged in packages and wrote out package pickup slips for 14 hours. Seriously. 14 hours! As introverts, we didn't really talk much in large groups, but we chattered away when it was just the two of us. (Okay, I chattered...he mostly listened and tossed out a comment every now and then). We had serious debates, and played 20 questions, and made up ridiculous what if scenarios, and I began to discover that he had more going for him than just his pretty green eyes. He had a sense of humor and a quick wit and intelligence, and that was more attractive than even the glasses. We discovered that we both like Chicago hockey. We found out that we had both refereed youth soccer. We were both cat people. We had the EXACT SAME BIRTHDAY. (I made him show me his driver's license to prove it, which also allowed me to see his middle name that he had refused to divulge earlier). You really get to know a person when you're stuck sorting mail with them for 14 hours, and I liked everything I found. It's like we just clicked. Right from the beginning. We decided that we were hungry, so we wandered down to the Strip to get some fast food. He'd never had Krystals before, so we stopped in there. (Because nothing says blossoming romance like the greasy aroma of tiny hamburgers). He had a lot of RA stuff to do to get ready for his residents, so I offered to show him the ropes. (In hindsight, I so think he played me. He just pretended to be lost so that I would offer to help. I told you that he was sharp). For the next few weeks, I showed him the laundry rooms, and how to fill out forms, and where to get the die cuts to make hall decorations for his floor, and he followed along, nodding his head at all my explanations and smirking to himself. (When we got engaged years later, someone asked what had first attracted us to each other. I lovingly described how he seemed to be so steady under pressure, and how nothing ruffled him, and how solid he was. He said he liked the way I walked).
I believe in soul mates. There's a certain someone out there that just completes you, even when you aren't looking for them. I wasn't looking for a boyfriend when we met. I wasn't looking for Mr. Right, or The One, or any of that stuff. (If I had, I probably would have gotten all nervous and just screwed it up somehow). I was just looking for someone to talk to while sorting mail. I couldn't have told you that this was the guy I was going to marry as soon as I laid eyes on him, but I did appreciate that whenever we were together, I just felt comfortable being myself. We compliment each other's personality.
Tony considers our first date to be the minor-league hockey game that he took me to a few weeks later. I guess it was, since he technically asked me out and I accepted. But the truth is that by that time, he had already wormed his way through my defenses. You heard, "You had me at hello"? He had me at "pass the package log book". I couldn't have told you why, but I was hooked.
And I've been hooked ever since.
