The Story of Us--How I Met Your Father

A few weeks ago, Nick and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary (of course we were together LONG before that).  Looking back on our relationship, I realized that one day, I want the kids to know about the story of us.  So Ella, Eli, here it is.  (Buckle up, it's a long one!)

The year was 1998 and I was a sophomore in high school.  I sat at lunch with a few of my close friends (Jennifer Everett, Lindsay Oldham, DeAnne Regensbuger) and maybe a few others.  At the beginning of school, we noticed two people (Megan O'Neal and Mike Hampshire--who is your dad's cousin, but I had no idea then) sitting by themselves at lunch.  We didn't know them much except having a few classes together, but we felt bad that they were sitting alone and invited them to our lunch table.  After I turned 16, I knew it was time to get a job so I could afford car insurance and gas. (I mean at $0.88/gallon, it was SO EXPENSIVE, right?!)  For some reason, I threw the idea out at lunch.  "Where should I get a job?"  Megan said, "Come work with me at Texas Willie's. I like my job.  We have $200 weekends serving."

Children, let's learn a few lessons here:
1.  When someone tells you how much they make that easily in conversation, they are usually lying or at least embellishing. (And she was, I NEVER made that kind of money there!)
2.  Never work at a place called Texas Willie's.  It's humiliating to tell people where you work, and you never know, you may be repeating the name of it decades after it's gone out of business to tell your children "The Story of Us."
But I digress....

This is how I know looking back, that it was a God-thing for me to work there.  I didn't even know Megan; we never really talked, just sat at opposite sides of a lunch table.  No one else had an idea where I should find a job, so I went there, even though it was a 20 minute drive from my house.  I had to get directions for Heaven's sake!

So I got a job there as a seater/greeter, then a hostess, then eventually a waitress, and made $5.25/hour.  I was the new girl, the fresh meat.  Most of the guys who worked there were....different.  More lessons to be learned....pause the story!

3.  I will do everything in my power to not have you work in restaurant in high school and even college.  It is a big drug scene.  Honestly, I had a crazy amount of access to underage drinking and drugs if I'd had wanted it.  Seriously, I will try to shield you from this environment as much as I can.
4.  The people who work in restaurants (and believe me, I've worked in a few, for more than 6 years) are a little off.  Not so much the servers or front stage people, but the behind-the-scenes people, are just odd.  The cooks especially are a little crazy.  It takes a special kind of person to put up with the stress of a busy restaurant WHILE being over a hot grill.  That "special" kind of person is freaking weird (usually, anyway).

Okay, back to the story.  As I was saying, most of the guys I worked with were a little "different."  I was the fresh meat.....People started asking me on dates.  I felt horrible telling these new people I just met no, I mean, I did want to make some friends.  So I said I had a boyfriend....good excuse, right?

It all worked out until one day, I saw a cute guy at work, and what was that?  Was he wearing a kelly green Texas Willie's polo shirt, just like I was?  YEAH!  He had dark hair that was frosted with blonde tips.  I later found out that he was a busser.  He had just finished cleaning off a table, and was carrying a heavy bus tub.  (READ: Since Nick was carrying something heavy, his biceps were flexed and 16-year-old Carla could barely resist.)  "Who's that guy?" I asked Megan.

"Who? Nick?  Why?"
"Uh....do you see him?!  Look at his muscles!"  <Insert girl giggles here.>
"Why don't you go back and talk to him?"

And so I did...and he ignored me.  (I later found out that your dad was ignoring me, not to be mean or because he didn't like me, but because he thought I had a boyfriend. DANG! The plan backfired!)  In any case, I didn't like being ignored.  I'm not trying to say that I was a big deal in high school by ANY stretch of the imagination, so please don't misread this here.  But I was certainly not used to this type of treatment!  And so like most naive 16 year old girls, for some reason, I pursued him, this guy who was "clearly not interested" in me.  (It must've been a God-thing because otherwise, seriously, if I had more intelligence than hormones, I'd have thought, "Maybe he's just not that into you" and moved on, but instead I worked harder at grabbing his attention.)  After a few months of trying unsuccessfully, I realized maybe it was time to give up.  And then was Valentine's Day, a busy holiday in the restaurant business, even at Texas Willie's.

I was hostessing and my seater was a no-show...something about her having better things to do on Feb. 14.  Well I couldn't NOT have someone to seat the guests on a day that we'd certainly have a wait!  The manager pulled the busser and had someone fill in for him.  Who got to be my seater and greeter?  Your dad!  We got to know each other through actual conversation instead of the "Look-at-me!" "No." types of interactions that we'd been having.  I signed my name, "Carla R. Revenaugh."  Nick said, "What's your middle name? Rae?"  Say WHHHHHHHHHAAAAAA????  "No!" I quickly replied, embarrassed 1.) of my middle name and 2.) that he could guess it on the first try.  I mean, it's practically a name like Rumplestilskin.  Never in my whole life had anyone guessed it at all, how could he have gotten it on the first guess?!  (Sorry Ella, but up to this point, I'd usually lied when people asked me my middle name and said that it was Renee....I love it now as an adult though.....)

The next day was Monday.  My 4th hour teacher said, "Did you all have a good holiday with your sweethearts?" I said, "Actually, yeah, I didn't go out on a date, but I had a really nice day with a guy I like."  That night, I worked again.  Nick was for whatever reason hanging around, but not working.  A manager caught me staring dreamily at him.  She said, "Why don't you just go over and talk to him?  You look ridiculous staring." Uh, what? Staring? Who's staring? Not me....why? Did he say he likes me?  Kylie (my manager) and I sat across from each other in a 2-seater booth and rolled silverware as the night went on.  Nick was still hanging around and Kylie called him over and asked him to sit down by me.  Honestly, I thought she was going to tell him to go home and leave working people alone, but instead, she looked at us and said, "Okay, now ask each other out."
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Blood rushing to my face.  Am I going to pass out?  I put my head down.  Seriously.  How embarrassing.  I have no idea how that moment ended, but Nick awkwardly got up and left.  I felt like crying.  For sure this was it, right?  I mean, he had a chance to ask me out and didn't.  So, for sure, he does NOT like me, right?  Well, heck I might as well give it one last try!

I walked out the door that night, hoping Nick would follow and ask me out.....  But he didn't...(later I was informed that he'd been waiting for me all night, and why did I think he was hanging out so long, and that I just walked out to fast.....)

And so I went back in.  I didn't ask for his number (because then I'd have to call and HOW EMBARRASSING!).  I mumbled that I'd forgotten something and walked right past him.  On my way out the door for the 2nd time, I said, "Hey, do you want to hang out sometime?"  Nick looked up at said, "What? Yes!"  So I gave him my number.  By the 17th, we went on our first date.  (Maybe I'll save that for my sequel novel, because it's a hysterically funny story by itself!)

Somehow 13 years seems to have flown by and I couldn't be happier to be spending my life with your dad by my side and holding your hands.  I love you guys!