Once the van was packed, I drove over to say goodbye to my parents. I'm sure they thought I'd lost all sanity, but I didn't care. (Truthfully, they should be used to me by now after this many years of me doing unexpected and crazy things!) I filled up with gas, grabbed a coffee (one of many to come) and officially got on the highway around 6:30pm. I'd already been awake since 4:30am, and here I was about to drive 12 hours. Even I'D admit that was a little crazy, but some things in life, 'ya just gotta do!' I turned the music way up, put the pedal to the metal, and headed for Charlotte, NC. I should have been exhausted, but I was full of energy and excitement. This was really happening!
Somewhere in Ohio on the turnpike, my phone went off: It was Aidan on Skype! Think fast. Think fast! Where are you going? What are you going to tell him?? He can't know you're headed to see him! I turned on the map light in the van and answered the call (yes, driving 70+ mph down the Ohio turnpike, I had to Skype with my Irish sweetheart.)
"Hi Darlin!" I smiled. "How are ya?"
"Oh look who's in the car again!" he laughed. "Where are ya headed now so late??"
"Oh well you know it's Black Friday, and you know how crazy my mom and I are?! Mom is at Kohl's and they are open till midnight, and we often meet up and wander around the store late until they close...Just Christmas shopping, you know..." I didn't want to lie. My mom really WAS at Kohl's -- I just didn't happen to be going there this very second....hehehe.
We chatted for a few minutes, and I just prayed that he wouldn't see an Ohio highway sign out of my van window over video chat!! I didn't want the surprise ruined!! Normally I talk with Aidan as long as possible, but it wasn't the safest thing to be Skyping while driving, and I really didn't want him to see that I wasn't in Michigan, so I told him I was close to the store and had to run. Lucky for me, Aidan was tired that night and was headed to bed earlier than normal, so we said our goodnights and hung up. "Sleep well, Aidan, I'll see you in the morning!" I said out loud to myself after I hung up the phone. I was happy he was in bed for the night. That gave me free time to drive and come up with a master plan to surprise him!
Every time I hit a new state, I was closer to being in seventh heaven. Ohio. West Virginia. Virginia! OH I was getting closer and closer. My mind was racing. It was in the middle of the night by then and I was feeling tired, but still excited. I stopped and got more coffee, got some fresh air, and jumped right back on the road. I was checking in with my worried mom off and on through the night, just so she knew where I was and that I was ok. My stomach was chock full of butterflies every time I reminded myself that I was almost to North Carolina.
You know, it never even entered my mind that we wouldn't hit it right off. Usually with online dating, you talk and email and text and finally plan to meet, and it's this looming big risk that you just won't click with the person. Here I was, driving 12 hours to Charlotte, fully intending on crashing at Aidan's place (again -- I hear you asking, 'Who does that?? Is she crazy??') and never batting an eye. You must understand, I was driving to be with the man I fell in love with. It was just plain and simply this -- we were past the polite handshake, light hug, 'nice to meet you' phase. We had fallen for each other already, and we couldn't wait to be together. Yes, I had family only 30 minutes from Aidan's house, "just in case," but ironically they weren't even in town - they were visiting my sister three hours away for the whole Thanksgiving weekend. The times I had considered going down to NC, I kind of pictured myself staying with my niece in the beginning ... But that was before Aidan and I had gotten so attached to each other. In this moment, driving at 5 something in the morning, awake for 24 hours already, nothing mattered to me, nothing worried me, I had no apprehension whatsoever, except that I make it to Aidan's doorstep.And then what? How are you going to surprise him??
I chewed on that question for awhile. Maybe I'd just walk up to the front door and ring the bell, and whichever of the guys came to the door, I'd be surprising them too ... I'd just nonchalantly ask to see Aidan. Or maybe, I'd whisper for them to point me to his room and I'd just sneak inside and stare at him till he woke up. What to do...what to do.
I got off an exit fairly close to where Aidan lived and pulled into a McDonald's. I went in to the restroom to freshen up. Staring at myself in the mirror, I worried about how tired I looked. But as soon as that concern popped into my mind, I dismissed it. I knew in my heart that it wouldn't matter to him WHAT I looked like, I knew he'd be happy to see me. That sounds presumptuous, I don't mean it to -- I'm just trying to convey the type of connection we already had developed. I was shaking. I didn't really feel nervous, I think I was shaking from being so tired, all the caffeine, and driving in the van so long. I was just .... so .... tired. And so excited!! I'm going to see Aidan!
I got back in the van and followed Siri's directions on my iPhone to Aidan's subdivision. The sun wasn't quite coming up yet and there weren't many cars about. I drove ever so slowly down the street trying to see addresses. Finally I found the house, on a corner, and sort of built into a hill...the driveway was lower than the front yard where the front door was. I knew for sure it was the right house because his housemate Jim had just bought a Durango, and I saw it parked in the driveway. OH I can't believe I'm here!!! Holy cow!!!
I pulled into the driveway and parked the van. I sat there. Told myself to breathe in and breathe out. My plan to go to the front door now didn't seem to make much sense, I wasn't even sure by the looks of the house that the guys were using the front door. I was facing the garage, but there wasn't a door there, either. The yard was fenced, and the back door was through a gate and I couldn't see it from where I sat in the van.
Drat!! What am I going to do??
I eyed the pumpkin bread on the seat next to me. I had told Aidan I was going to mail it to him. Well, guess what? I was about to become the mailman. I glanced at the clock on the radio ... 6:50am. I had my phone in my hand. I'd never called Aidan and woken him before. This should be an experience....
It's ringing. And ringing.
I hear him pick up the phone. "....Hello?" Poor guy sounded completely out of it. He had been sound asleep!
"Good morning honey! It's Rochelle!"
"Hi .. Are you ok?"
"Yes! Hey listen, sorry to wake you up, but the mailman is in your driveway trying to deliver the pumpkin bread that I made for you, and he doesn't know which door to go to."
Silence. Then, "The what?" he stammered.
"The mailman? In your driveway, what door should he go to, to deliver the bread?" I repeated.
Silence. I heard him breathing, and then the phone hung up! I think in that moment, he thought he was dreaming. I called him again.
"Hello?"
"Aidan, love, it's Rochelle! Honey, the .... mailman .... is .... in ... your .... driveway..." I was talking very slowly and clearly, hoping he was waking up enough to talk.
"The postman is here... now?? What time is it?? I don't see him in the driveway ...Our postman doesn't come this early...!" OH this poor man. I was so mean! I could tell he must be looking out a window.
"Aidan."
"Yes love."
"I AM IN YOUR DRIVEWAY. I HAVE PUMPKIN BREAD. WHAT DOOR SHOULD I GO TO?"
I distinctly heard him wake up. (hehehe.) "YOU'RE HERE?? YOU? YOU DROVE HERE FROM MICHIGAN?!!!"
"Yes love. I'm here, sitting in my blue van, in your driveway. What door should I go to?"
"Ummm, do you see the gate? Go to the gate, wait there, I'll come and get you. Don't open it, the dogs might get out. I'll be there in a second!!"
Oh my gosh. This is it. This is the moment we've been dying for!
I put on my jacket, grabbed my keys, purse, and of course the bread, and got out of the van. I walked to the gate. The gate was on the taller side, and met up with the corner of the house, so it was nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of the back door. I waited. I glanced around, the dogs were barking at me. I didn't hear anything else. I looked behind me... wondered if Aidan would come from the front of the house and take me off guard. OH I was shaking. I had goosebumps on my goosebumps.
I waited, for what seemed like a half hour, but I'm certain it wasn't even five minutes. I figured my darling had to find some clothes.
I heard something.... a door. I tried so hard to peek over the top of the gate and around the corner of the house .. ...I wanted to catch a glimpse of Aidan so badly!! I was shaking. And then .... right before my eyes ....He appeared, walking toward the gate and staring right at ME. It is Aidan! In the flesh!!! This gorgeous man was like no one I had ever laid eyes on. I took in his every move... the way he walked, the way his hair looked...His blue eyes .... The way he wore his jeans ... He was simply delicious!!! Now in that moment, when we were finally face to face, I didn't know if I'd laugh, cry, freeze, ....And what would he do? Would he be shy? Or not?
There we were, only a gate between us. I think I heard him say something about being surprised that I was there, but my heartbeat was pounding in my ears so loud that I didn't hear anything clearly. He fiddled with the gate latch and for a second, it didn't want to open. I couldn't help it, I had to say something ...
"Hi! I found out postage for bread was outrageous, so I decided to drive it down to you!"
The gate opened and closed, and there before me, was the man that I loved. And that was the exact thought in my mind: "So this is the man that I love!" He looked down at me, I looked up at him, I'm certain the earth stopped rotating in that moment. I once again lost the feeling under my feet. I was dizzy from my pounding heart. We fell into a huge embrace. Aidan pulled back to look at me, he kept saying he couldn't believe I was there.. it was really me. We hugged some more. Pulled back and stared at each other, just soaking in this first moment together. And then ....
And then ....
He kissed me.
In that moment, my breath was gone, I was completely lost in his kiss. I felt his arms around me, a feeling I only had dreamed about till this very second. He pulled me in,
held me close and kissed me like there was no tomorrow. I wanted to absorb every millisecond of this moment. The way it felt to be in his arms, the way he smelled, the way our bodies fit together, the way our lips responded to each other, I wanted the world around us to stop for that moment and leave us together, forever changed, forever devoted to this amazing fire that sparked between us, locked in the magic of this first kiss that we had so longingly hungered for.
We were together. Finally together. My sweet Aidan and I. <3
OMG, I can't stop reading.
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