My Valentine
Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 11:34AM 
This is me and my Valentine.
Putting the story of how Jim & I became into words is near impossible. It’s more a hundred stories than one. We’re that complicated. And by “we” I truly mean “he”.
I’m lucky he turned out to be well worth the puzzling pain…and Plus. But this story won’t be the one about his puzzling nature, it will be the one of the Beginning…the how I came to know this was the only man in the world for me.
The first time I met Jim was at a Friday night Young Adult Fireside. My brother & cousins wanted to set me up. The only info given: “he’s really smart.” I was more than wary of what that might mean in their minds. (And if I had known earlier how I was described to him, I definitely wouldn’t have agreed to meet!). The introduction happened after the fireside, and it was casually non-eventful. He was tall, handsome, civil. Still, no fireworks or neon signs. Until. The rest of us stood chatting away and this Jim Scott person left the group to pick up chairs. As the rest of the guys stood flirting & posing, this one was busily stacking. I didn’t yet know about the smarts, but I did know he was a gentleman. And my interest was piqued.
Although it really didn’t matter because I was set to move to New York in two months. Plane ticket in hand, piles of junk sorted, completely enthralled at the idea of making the big city mine. No boy I met at this point could change my plans.
We left the church in a large herd and headed to dinner at TGI Friday’s. No fireworks. I was too busy being annoyed by a pair of extraordinarily silly girls my cousins had picked up en route. Could I possibly trust their taste in men if this was their version of an ideal woman? Doubtful. Still..the guy sitting across the table was dignified and witty…always two steps ahead of the conversation and quipping at a level few could follow. Could I possibly be interested?
Doubt desisted when we all piled into his truck. No bucket seats, and I was squished up darn close to this near stranger...enough to make me heady, indeed. The restaurant exit was oddly arranged with the intersection, but this didn’t bother Jim Scott. He completely delighted my inner rebel by driving down the wrong side of the street before flipping around into the right. It was a responsible rather than reckless rule bend, and it sealed my interest. This was definitely a boy I wanted to know...and New York was still two months away.
The next night was our first date. Chinese food. Bumper cars at Golfland. But my favorite part was our last stop at a little diner for milkshakes. I told him I liked old movies and he started explaining the incredibly convoluted plot of a Cary Grant movie, Grass is Greener, that he had recently come across on t.v. It was obvious that I wasn’t following well, so he grabbed the ketchup bottle, salt and pepper shakers, glasses, straws, milkshakes and did a completely charming rendition of the entire movie with these impromptu "actors".
And his charm didn’t stop there. In that first month he dipped me in the middle of a downtown Phoenix street, taught me to salsa at Pepin’s, frustrated the hell out of me with a recommendation to read Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury (later admitting it was done to humble my reading snobbery), told me to “know your role”. My sassy nature needed a someone who could confidently chide me into place with such a command. Those words from any other would have sent me into fits, but somehow it seemed right that He would be my exception.
New York lost its allure…all stolen by this Jim Scott.
But few stories are so simple. And a few months later we weren't dating. But everyone I dated between our break-up and the 3 years later when we got married failed on the same account: they were not Jim Scott. (I think I even said those precise words to one). He forever had my heart.
And now that I hold his heart firmly, I see far more than the initial charm & looks & smarts & wit. Some say that blinders need to go on after marriage to ensure happiness...in this case it simply isn't so..I am stunned by all the unexpected attributes of this man who I've made mine. He has turned out to be far MORE than anticipated. I see patience, devotion, honor, strength, humility...a man who most definitely will teach his sons to be the ones in the back stacking the chairs. And, to me, that is priceless.
cannot be parted nor be swept away,
from one another once you are agreed,
that life is only life forevermore,
together wing to wing and oar to oar.
Robert Frost
Reader Comments (22)
You have a great love story, I would be happy to take another installment anytime.
i want to know more, if this is the beginning!
and can I say that the two of you are just adorable??
ahhh, love is in the air.
Happy Valentine's Day, Scotts.
I am dying to know your cousins' description of you...teehee...and I would LOVE to see the "Grass is Greener" staring condiments...I must have you four over for dinner!!
Thanks for sharing this with all of us. It was beautiful to read. Josh is also the kind of guy that would be stacking chairs.
I'm sure that it is because I just read it, but Persuassion came to mind as I read your story. You meet, fall in love, break up, and then compare every other man you date to the one you knew you loved best, only to be blessed with a second chance. Oh Amy! How utterly romantic!
Great Valentine's Day tribute!