love – Vostak

We Came, We Saw, We Loved – Part 3

I carefully brushed the comb through my hair, trying to get it just right. I had been going in and out of the washroom to check my hair and attire. My friend was sitting in the kitchen, eating lunch. I walked back down there and asked him how I looked, and how my hair was. He remarked, with a laugh “Dude, you’re so jittery.”

“I wonder why.” I was joking. We both knew exactly why. I was about to go on my first date with his cousin.

“Relax man, you look great.”

“Thanks.” I wasn’t satisfied. I wore blue jeans and a burgundy dress shirt with a crimson sweater over it, a brown belt, brown dress shoes, and a wristwatch with a brown band. I had gotten a haircut a couple days earlier, and I wore my favorite cologne. Looking back, I would probably say that I looked rather dashing. But at the time I was anxious about every aspect of my appearance. In fact, I was anxious about every aspect of the entire evening.

I was going to pick her up from her home in Bellingham, and the plan was to go to a sushi restaurant in the city center. I needed to be in Bellingham by four, and I also needed to stop by the store to pick up flowers. I had some coffee, chatted a little more with my friend, and headed out. I stopped at a Safeway on the way and picked up some flowers. Two dozen white Roses for Nadia, and some smaller flowers for her mother. I was nervous about being on time, so I was in quite a rush. The drive up north seemed to fly by as though it was just around the corner. Soon I was exiting the freeway through exit 254 to Bellingham. That’s when my anxiety peaked.

I was wondering what she was going to be like and how she was going to act and behave. Would she wait for me to open the door for her or barge through herself? Would she let me take her jacket off or do it herself? Would she be courteous and gentle, or rude and coarse? Would our conversations be as easy flowing in person as they were when we were texting? I wondered all of this and more, and I also wondered and was worried about what her parents were going to be like. Were they going to be strict, formal and cold? Were they going to be awkward and anti-social? Was I even going to meet them when I pick her up? I was terrified…

When I drove up to their house, I turned my car around (so as to not do that with Nadia in the car), spit out my gum in the trash, grabbed the flowers for Nadia’s mom, said a quick prayer and walked up to the door. After I knocked, I heard some commotion and then one of Nadia’s younger sisters opened the door. We exchanged greetings and Nadia walked over from the kitchen.

She was beautiful. She wore a black and blue turtleneck sweater and a pair of jeans. As she came closer, I smelled her sweet perfume. I was absolutely enamored with her, and it was hard not to stare. Somehow, I managed to mumble a few words of greeting and mention that the bouquet in my hands was for her mother, who just so happened to be walking up to us. I presented the flowers to her with a smile, and she received them gladly. After that I saw a large shape moving across the hall from the kitchen, and a booming voice ringing out. This was the moment that I had dreaded the most – meeting Nadia’s father. I did not know much about him, and didn’t really interact with him the week before, when I met their family. All I knew was that he was big and strong, and loved his daughter very much.

I was afraid that he might not like something about me, be extra critical or even unaccepting. But all of my fears faded away as soon as I heard his voice. He bellowed with excitement and appeared genuinely happy to see me. I was preparing for a formal handshake when I saw his right hand go up in the air. We clasped hands and he pulled me in for a one-armed hug. He had a big smile on his face and welcomed me into his home.

After I had met everyone for a second time, we all gathered in a circle as Nadia’s father prayed over us and blessed us for the evening. He invited me to come in for tea with their family after our date, and then they sent us off on our way. I opened the door for Nadia, led her down the stairs of their front porch, took her to my car, opened the passenger side door and brought out a bouquet of white roses for her. My plan had worked. Bringing in flowers for her mother made Nadia think that I hadn’t brought any for her. When she saw these roses she was caught off guard and looked pleasantly surprised. Seeing the smile on her face made me feel a joy that, perhaps, I had never felt before. I helped her take her seat, walked back around the car and took my place in the driver’s seat. We prayed and then, with my heart full of excitement, my stomach churning, and my head spinning, our first date began…

To My Wife

I can fight a great war, and lose every battle
Ride a mighty steed, and fall off of my saddle
Sail across the ocean just to watch my boat sink
Pilot an airplane just to crash it in one blink
Build a reaching tower that crumbles in one day
Plant a fragrant flower that withers and turns gray
Lose all my money, all my fortune and my fame
Attain no achievement and deserve no acclaim
Become shriveled and withered, crushed, broken, and lame
If all of this happens and you love me the same
Then my life is not worthless and hope will remain
– Nikolay Terekhin

We Came, We Saw, We Loved – Part 2

I was beginning to feel a little woozy, and there was a sensation of dry emptiness in my throat. The kind of feelings you experience when you are hungry and tired. I parked my van in an Applebee’s parking lot, grabbed my lunchbox from the floor, and began my meal. I cannot recall what it was that I had for lunch that day, but I know that I didn’t pay much attention to the food or how it tasted. I plowed through my lunch and guzzled down a bottle of water. All the while, my thoughts were elsewhere. My mind kept circling around the next day, and the day following that.

It was a Friday afternoon, and I was taking my lunch break. The next day, Saturday, I was going to visit my friend and his wife for a sleepover and some quality time together. We haven’t had an opportunity to spend time together for a while, and I was excited to see them. The day after that, I was going to leave their apartment to drive two hours north. I was going to go on a date.

It didn’t take long before I asked Nadia out on a date. We began texting back and forth the day after we met. And then the day after that, and the day after that. We had some engaging conversations, and I was able to see a glimpse of what she was like – her character and personality; and, I liked what I was seeing. I didn’t see a point to just texting for long or “being friends first.” After all, we lived two and a half hours away from each other. So on the fourth day I asked her out on a date. After asking for her parents’ permission (which made me like her even more), she agreed. And so on Sunday, a week after we met, we were going to have our first date.

My plan was to take her out to a sushi place in downtown Bellingham (the city where she lived with her parents) and then go for a walk. My mind was racing with thoughts about Nadia and about the monumental day to come. I was nervous about whether she’d like me, and worried about whether I’d like her. I thought about all our past conversations over text, and about what kind of person she was. I thought about how to act and speak, and what not to do. And, despite my attempts to not do so, I daydreamed of where this could take us both.

As I finished my lunch, I wiped off my hands and mouth, and ignited the engine. Switching the gear to “drive,” I kept thinking about Nadia. She was such a mystery to me. I lifted my foot off of the brake pedal. I remembered the way she smiled at me on the day we met. I began turning the steering wheel to turn out of my parking spot onto the road. I wondered whether she felt something inside her, the way I did. There was a loud bumping and scraping noise outside. I thought that I shouldn’t let my emotions take hold, and that I needed to keep my head cool when deciding how to proceed with Nadia. I couldn’t let this girl go to my head and make me lose my focus. Someone honked their car horn behind me.

Hearing the horn pulled me back into the moment, and I realized that something must have happened outside. “Did someone bump into someone else back there?” I thought. I stopped the van and stepped out, my curiosity getting the best of me. Walking back past the rear of the van I saw that someone did, in fact, cause an incident. The bumper of a Mercedes convertible that was parked next to where my van had been was taken clean off. No other car was to be seen, except for a truck parked a couple spots away, with a man sitting in it and looking at me. That’s when I realized what had happened. I walked up closer to the man in his truck.

“Was that me?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Perfect.”

I realized that while I was distracted I didn’t notice that there was a car parked next to me, and began turning out of my spot too early. I clipped its bumper with the side of my van and took it right off without even noticing. After a quick prayer, I walked inside the restaurant to look for the damaged vehicle’s owner.

Long story short, I walked out of the incident without any issues. My employer’s insurance would cover the loss for the lady who owned the Mercedes. After everything was settled, I was sent back to the dispatch center to turn in my van and was dismissed for the day with a warning.

On my way back home, my mind continued racing. I realized that I was falling for this girl, and we hadn’t even known each other for a week. I was worried and excited. My heart was filled with relief about the day’s incident, and hope for the days to come…

We Came, We Saw, We Loved – Part 1

I haven’t been active on this blog for upwards of five months. Life found a way to rip me away from this endeavor and engross me in an extraordinary adventure. I found myself in the center of an event which carried implications for the future of my life, and the lives of future generations. An event of epic proportions, with irrevocable consequences that will echo throughout the lives of my children and grandchildren. One of the greatest adventures of history. A most noteworthy and prominent occurrence. In short… I met a woman.

What followed was a series of events I’ve decided I cannot leave undocumented. Firstly, because it will be a good way to rebuild consistency on this blog and get things going again. Secondly, because it is an opportunity for me to relive those events and to pass on the memory to whoever may someday care to know. Thirdly, and I suppose most importantly, it’s just a damn good story.

It all started on September 27th, 2020. I was at one of my closest friends’ wedding anniversary. He and his wife had been married for two years and his mother decided to put together a surprise party for them. She invited his friends over and prepared dinner. We all arrived a little early and parked across the street, so as to not spoil the surprise. It was great to see the joy on their faces when they walked in to the sound of us all yelling “Surprise!” We had a great time, and the party was a success. But that is all besides the point. The point is – I was there.

A few hours into the evening, my friend’s mother casually mentioned something about their relatives from a city two hours away stopping by soon. They were in town for the day, so they wanted to at least drop in and say “hello.” Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Somebody opened the door, and in poured a big family of seven people. Three of them were young girls, and one of them looked to be about my age. I only saw her out of the corner of my eye, so I didn’t really get a good look.

A couple moments later, I finished my conversation and stood up to go talk with another person. As I began chatting with one of my buddies, she walked up to us. That was when I really saw her for the first time; and, the first thought that ran across my mind was “if she’s that beautiful, there’s got to be something wrong with her.” My second thought was “She lives in Bellingham (the city two hours away), it’s too far.” The third thought was “I don’t need this right now, I’ve got other things to focus on…” You get the picture.

I was telling myself “no” the entire evening and trying to convince myself that I wasn’t attracted to her more than anyone in my entire life. All the while playing party games and casually flirting with her despite myself. Several hours passed like seconds, and we were saying goodbye. I shook her hand whilst internally reminding myself of all the reasons not to let this go any further. And that was that. I walked to my car, turned on the engine, waited a few minutes for it to heat up and drove off.

This could easily be the end of the story. Just another evening. A standard party, one of thousands, nothing special about it. But it wasn’t over… I can’t quite explain what happened. As I drove home, my thoughts kept circling around her and the evening until something just clicked inside me. I picked up my phone and texted my friend, asking him whether he would be comfortable with me texting his cousin. He was thrilled with the idea. When I got home, I found her on Instagram and followed her. “Well,” I thought, “that’s probably about as far as this will go,” and went to sleep…