Dedicated to the One I Love

For more details on Love Stories for October, go here.

For the previous part in my story, go here.

For recommendations on more songs titles with the word "love"that I can shamelessly crib for future posts, please visit the comments.

And now, the continuing saga:

I remember feeling at loose ends as I walked down to Marguerite's room. Not glum, exactly, just aimless and a little restless. It seemed like everyone I knew had something going on that weekend, so I hoped that Marguerite would be around.

When I got down to her room, I was a little surprised to find her there. Marguerite was, and still is, what some would call a dynamo. Never one to sit still for long, she always has approximately seventeen irons in the fire at any given time. (It's probably why she's so skinny.)

She was busy tossing things around her room, looking for something, when I poked my head in. We talked for a few minutes and then she mentioned that her older brother was coming down from New York for a visit. They were planning on going out to dinner, and then, since he was such a huge history buff, they were going to visit the battlefields at Gettysburg on Saturday.

She had mentioned her brother a few times in casual conversation, and I knew he was in medical school and he was in the Navy. In fact, she had his official Navy picture up on her wall, and when I first saw it, I thought he was thirty five years old. Poor guy was only twenty two, but in my defense, he was wearing a uniform and had a Very Serious Military Bearing. (oh the ribbing I still endure on this point!)

We talked for a few more minutes, and I was on the verge of leaving for the cafeteria since I didn't want to interrupt her plans. At that moment, we heard a knock and my life took a decidedly unexpected turn. The timing of God is perfect.

Rob ducked in the door, wearing his faded jeans and favorite blue hooded sweatshirt. I can recall with perfect clarity my very first thought about him: "Wow, he is really tall. Much taller than I thought he would be. And he has a very deep voice." I'm all about the deep thinking.

Marguerite introduced us, and we shared a generic, "hi, nice to meet you." I don't know why I didn't excuse myself at that time, but for some reason I stayed and tried to fade into the background as Rob and Marguerite caught up with each other.

While they talked, Marguerite unpacked a bag of goodies that Rob brought with him, and inside was a Star Wars book. I like the Star Wars movies well enough, but I was unaware that new books based on the original trilogy were being written. Marguerite handed it to me, and as I looked at the cover, I said the first sentence my beloved ever heard me utter. And it was so inane. "D-U-M, dum!", as my father would say. I've never been good at small talk, but I still wish that I could have said something more erudite. Or at least less crass.

I said, upon looking at the cover art of Princess Leia: What is she wearing? Why did they even bother to put a dress on her at all, she's half naked anyway?!"

Oh yes, my friends, I did say that. Rob insists that the only thing he thought was that I seemed like a person who spoke her mind, and he thought that was great. I'm not so sure about that, but that's what I said and it didn't seem to scuttle the love boat in the long run.

Marguerite and Rob decided to forgo the cafeteria and its "Grade D, But Edible" meat, and head out to a local pizza place that cooked in a wood burning oven (Basile's, you were so delicious!). Since I was still in the room, Marguerite invited me to come along, to save me from the cafeteria.

I was feeling like an awkward dunce around her brother, but you just didn't turn down a trip to Basile's. We all hopped into Marguerite's red Mustang with the t-tops, and sped off towards DESTINY! (dramatic much?)

At the restaurant, I was still so nervous that I only ate one slice of pizza. One slice! That was unheard of for a hungry college student with an eighteen year old metabolism. Looking back on it, I realized it was because I didn't want Rob to think I was a pig. Marguerite already knew how much pizza I could put away, so I certainly wasn't trying to impress her. I didn't know anything about this guy, but I knew I wanted him to think well of me.

Even through my nervous awkwardness, I could see that Rob was smart. I mean scary, razor-sharp kind of smart. And he was really funny, once he relaxed into a situation. We spent most of the evening laughing, which is always a good sign.

After dinner, as we drove back to campus laughing and singing, Marguerite and Rob invited me to go to Gettysburg with them. "Road trip!," Marguerite called. I readily agreed, and I was pleased that my empty weekend suddenly seemed full of promise.

They dropped me off at the dorm on their way out to Marguerite's job, and I went to bed smiling and wondering what the next day would bring.

To be continued . . . .

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RE: your comments from Brain Drain

Good news! Threeundertwo has graciously given me express permission to use her cool postscript comment answering device. Thank you! I'll probably still email you directly if I can, but I think I will try to have a little fun here as well. Will more people comment just to see what I'll say in response? Probably not, but what the heck . . . Cheryl: I have the same water splashing problem. And it always runs under the coffee maker, too. Yuck. Karen: you already know my feelings on the pimple/wrinkle combo. Urg. Beca Hawkette: Bring on the goo! I even have one of those brown scrapers! Amy: yes! the in-the-nose pimple ranks up there with an in-the-ear pimple. Bia: Glad to know I wasn't the only high school wall flower :) Barb: Milky Ways are ambrosia. They are always the first to go missing from the Halloween buckets. Barbara: I have already shared with you my love of Scottish Pretend Boyfriends. I feel we are kindred spirits on that front. Swoon. LisaL: I'll be over for some of the Baked Apple ice cream. Turkey Hill is straight from heaven.