You can’t really say much in the 300 characters allotted in the Simon G. Jewelry “Perfect Proposal” competition section about “Our Story.” So, I made it more about how while together, we’ve been apart for most of our relationship.
But I always kind of thought that how we met was sweet too. So here it is.
My freshman year I somehow got a job at the Plemmons Student Union at Appalachian State University by the grace of God. I’m pretty sure I snagged the last opening before school started. Most of my shifts were game room shifts, and lucky for me, most of my shifts were during a time where the older students who worked at the PSU who come, chill, and shoot pool.
More than once they had to save me when I would fail the cash register and so we all go to talking and we eventually became friends. They especially bonded over the fact that I turned red int he face over anything sexual (I was a very sheltered 18 year-old).
Eventually they’d laugh and be like, “This is awesome! We have a female Addison!”
Never hearing that name before now, I responded, “What is an addison?”
Turns out, Addison was a student who was gone that semester because he had back surgery. I would hear stories about him and people would compare us all the time.
Then, I met him. Someone introduced us, but we really didn’t get to talking until one day when an older friend, Sam, made the joke that the cash register did not like me because I was virgin. They loved teasing me about how I was a sworn virgin to marriage.
Addison happened to walk up at that moment and said, “Don’t feel bad. They tease me about that too.”
I immediately jumped up and gave him a hug and said, “I love you!”
Addison, who I discovered is super shy 99 percent of the time, turned beet red and stood as stiff as a board.
Later I would find out that is when he said he fell in love with me. I, on the other hand, had a boyfriend. In fact, I would still be unavailable for the next couple of months.
But until then, Addison was probably the best guy friend I ever had (and not in the “I’m-only-here-til-you’re-single-sort-of-way.” That’s probably why he still is my best friend today.
And now I’m going to marry my best friend, except we aren’t engaged yet. We’ve been talking about it seriously since early this past spring when I was still in D.C. When Addison said we could enter the Simon G. Jewelry “Perfect Proposal” comeptition to win a $10,000 ring, I was so excited. Honestly, while the ring is pretty, it isn’t about the ring to me. It’s just one less thing to take a burden off my man.
After all, it’s not the ring I want. It’s him.
Small things. Big dreams. 