"the choice" ch-7

"in which I must choose"

I didn't have internet access at my home at this time so I would go to the library once a day to check my email. The next day I opened my email and saw this. (this is the real email, he saved all our emails for a long time)

Prepare yourself for some serious cheese.

To: 'photobug_mdj@yahoo.com'
Subject: Hi there Misty Johnson what's your middle name?

I assume it starts with the letter "D"

Anyway, I hope you don't mind me writing down your e-mail address and phone number last night at institute but I really wanted to get to know you a little better. I decided it would be better if I sent you an e-mail before giving you a call. Then again I'm not sure how often you actually check your e-mail.

This is Dave you taught me a new Jazz scale last night after institute choir practice (thank you). You mentioned your hobby / job as Photo Art and two of my favorite things are Art and cute piano players. *wink*

Well I hope you'll let me come over and check out some of your art work. My number is ... Feel free to give me a call anytime. If you don't reply to this e-mail I'll give you a call sometime on Saturday or Sunday unless I chicken out. I hope to see you around though.

Have a wonderful day.

I found out later that after he left the institute building he made his roommate turn around and go back. He pulled my info off the roster sheet.

Naturally, I got excited and wrote him back immediately. I answered his questions and we set up a date for Saturday night.

He was late.

I was pacing around the living room. I had pulled out some of my best pictures from my photography classes to show off and was randomly sitting at the piano and pounding out "Phantom of the Opera" and other loud, obnoxious songs that I play when I'm anxious.

He finally pulled up in his ancient, beat up, brown Honda Accord. I peaked through the curtains and placed my hand on my chest to try to calm my heart. I took a deep breath and opened the door. He had one of those single roses in a vase that you can buy at any grocery store. I thanked him and set it on the table. I showed him some of my pictures, he was appropriately kind and enthusiastic and we left.

He opened the door for me and I climbed in, noticing the duct tape on the sun roof and the nice stereo that didn't match the rest of the car. I was wearing my favorite purple, checkered pants. Might as well broadcast my weird sense of style from the beginning, after all. Turns out I was with a kindred spirit. He turned on the car and the CD player was cued to start playing in the middle of a Toby Keith song. (jump to 2:45 on that video and you can hear what I heard when the car started).

I didn't really appreciate the planning that went into that until later. At the time I just thought it was strange but didn't think much of it. He turned the radio down and we headed out to our first date.

He took me to the Holiday Lights at Enchanted Village. We were with his brother and his brother's girlfriend and his roommate was there with a date too. It was a mild night for December. The lights were beautiful and there was a light breeze. We just strolled from ride to ride, sitting close together on the rides to stay warm. It wasn't long before he used the pretense of keeping me warm to put his arm around me. I snuggled in and not much later we were holding hands.

Then I came up on a problem. Everybody got in line for the Squirrel Cages. I get motion sick. Bad. It was not in my plan for the evening to yarf all over my date and I had been on the squirrel cages before. I know what happens to me when I'm spinning in a cage which is on a spinning platform. It's not pretty. I pulled on Dave's hand and tried to get out of it. I said I'd sit this one out and immediately his brother and friend started ribbing me for it. I was trying really hard to not let on that it would make me sick. I was trying not to make anything of it but Dave was getting teased and he didn't understand why I wouldn't get on. Finally, I gave in to the peer pressure (and the fact that Dave was dragging me towards the entrance) and got in one of the dreaded cages.

I was having visions of vomit and disgust from my date and his friends. I was NOT willing to face that. I knew I'd just get a headache if I was only spinning one direction and not two. So I grabbed Dave's hands and begged him not to spin the cage. I stared gazed at him in what I hoped was a flirtatious and not a desperate manner. I kept my hands on his and prayed that he wouldn't spin the cage.

He didn't. We both suffered a barrage of teasing from everyone after we got off but I didn't care. My insides stayed where they belonged and that was all that mattered.

The rest of the night was a swirl of Christmas lights, stars and a warm hand. We made plans to attend church together the next morning. He dropped me off at home later and I totally flopped onto my bed like a twitterpated movie starlet.

That was when I realized that I needed to do something about Matt. He had moved back in with his parents while getting ready for his mission. He was set to enter the MTC in mid-January and up til now our plan was to both go on missions and then just see what happened when we got home. His parents lived about an hour from my Aunt and Uncle and I was already planning to go to his house the next day for dinner. I knew I needed to end things in a more permanent way and that I mustn't put it off.

I went to sleep torn between excitement to see Dave again in the morning and trepidation to talk to Matt that afternoon.

It was time to choose between a new, unknown future and the one I'd been preparing for for months.