The next time I met Amy was when Robyn and I attended the "On The Eve of Equality" rally for gay marriage and the striking down of DOMA at the Customs House in Charleston. That was when she introduced us to Tabitha, her then fiance. At that time Robyn and I were engaged as well. After that meeting we started hanging out with Amy and Tabitha. The first time we met was at a Thai restaurant in North Charleston. It's sad to say but neither Robyn or myself were interested in Amy but we both thought Tabitha was funny and pretty cool. From there we went to their house for dinner a few times.
Amy was pretty odd about our friendship. She stated one time that she was only interested in having gay friends which I thought was ludicrous. Who does that?! She then gave me a kids bracelet that said "Best Friends" I played it off like it was funny but I thought it was a bit strange since we hardly knew each other.
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During that dinner conversation it was realized how much Tabitha and I had in common and Amy jokingly said that we should be together instead of them or me and Robyn. Later on I looked over at Tabitha and she looked back at me and I had to immediately look away. I felt something I definitely should not be feeling when I'm engaged to another person. I felt it down to my toes. No bueno.
The friendship between us four seemed to slow down from there. One day Amy called me and was freaking out because her sister-in-law is the director of Spoleto and as we all know I'm the evil letter writer regarding the fiasco at my friends ballet performance. She was crying because if ever she wanted to have a dinner party it would be weird because of my relationship with her SIL. She said that my letter made her SIL's life a living hell for a few weeks. I told her that I really didn't care about her sister-in-law, what she thought about me and apparently handling complaints about Spoleto was her job. I also stated that I couldn't care less about meeting her or engaging in a conversation with her and that if we were ever to meet I'm an adult and can handle myself. Basically Amy was creating drama for nothing which I soon found out was her favorite thing to do. Robyn and I referred to her as "crazy Amy" from then on.
A few months later I noticed that my friend Duste, who is like family to me, was friends with Amy on Facebook. I sent her a message asking how she knew Amy since she was living in Columbia and hadn't lived in Charleston for a few years. I couldn't imagine how their paths crossed. Duste said they met through friends. Amy saw her profile and friended her and Duste said that she was blowing up her FB messenger saying very inappropriate things for an engaged woman. I felt so bad for Tabitha and knew I had to let her know.
The next day I sent Tabitha a text saying I needed to talk to her and can she meet for a drink? She knew something was up and asked me to tell her. Ugh. I hate telling people important things over text messages! I told her what I knew and that was the last I heard from her for a while. They eventually broke up and about 6 months later Robyn and I broke up. During that 6 months I hardly spoke with Tabitha. At first Robyn and I were offering her a place to stay but she said she was going to stay at another friends house.
In August, when Robyn and I were officially over, I sent Tabitha a casual text message telling her that we broke up. She asked me several times if we were truly broken up which I found amusing. A bit later she sent me a text message asking me if I wanted to meet her for a drink at DIG in the Park. I said yes.
I was so nervous as I was heading over to Park Circle. From that look we shared that night at dinner I knew there was an attraction and it was also a concern that both of us were newly out of relationships. When I got there I headed in and saw her sitting at the bar. She was drinking PBR and I immediately thought of my father. I sat down and ordered a water while wishing I could order a very strong drink. As we started talking and catching up I immediately felt at ease and it was like we had known each other forever. I could tell that she had a few drinks before I arrived because she kept smiling and telling me that I'm "super awesome!" I think she said it about 50 times!
During our conversation she looked at me and said "Can I kiss you?" and I immediately was like "Noooooooooo!! Not here!!" I wanted our first kiss to be a little more intimate and private. She was quite charming and I'm glad I gave in. When it was time to leave we walked out to my Jeep and I could feel small drops of rain falling. We stood in front of my car to say our goodbye's and kissed again. It started to get a little intense so I backed away. She grabbed my hips, pulled me in, kissed me and pushed me away in a frustrated motion. I felt it too and I knew I was definitely in trouble.
A few days later Tabitha asked me if I was interested in going to a soccer game she won tickets to. I said yes, even though I had never been to a soccer game. I definitely wanted to see her. She told me that a few of her friends were coming. Ugh. I parked and sent her a text saying that I was there and she met me outside of the park. OMG. Why was I so nervous?? We went and found our seats and I met her friends. To be honest I don't even remember what most of their names were. There was one point when Tabitha went to get a beer and I was checking my phone. One of her friends shouted from the other end of the bench "Are you having fun?" and I said "Yes" and she said "No you aren't! You wouldn't be on your phone if you were!" Um, WTF?!?! Yes, that thing about first impressions was true and it proved to be even more true as time went on.
After the soccer game we decided to go to the beach. We went to Folly and down to Morris Island where the Morris Island Lighthouse is. One of my favorite spots on Earth!! 'We spread out a blanket and sat and talked. We had so much in common. Our beliefs, our tastes... so much. My head was reeling. It's so hard to be level headed in a situation like this. I was sitting between her legs with my legs over her left leg facing sideways. At one point she grabbed me, lifting me, and pulled me closer. If I wasn't sitting and she wasn't holding me I think I would have fallen over. NO ONE in my life has ever picked me up. Sure, it's easier now since I've had weight loss surgery but Tabitha is strong. Like REALLY strong!
After spending time at the beach I drove her home and we sat in the driveway talking for quite a few hours until it was really late. At one point we looked over and saw a deer in the yard! We finally said goodnight and I drove home.
That night was perfect. That night was our beginning.
