Story by Chris Nowakowski
Submitted on 9 December 2009
It was the last month of high school. Do you remember the day when you go see the University that you are going to go to, it's like a tour, slash, meet and greet. Well, this was that day. It was raining that day (the rain is very symbolic in our 5 years together, it seems to always rain on the most important days - we even have a little statue in our bedroom, anyways, more on that later). I was on this tour at Huron University College, and my eyes just couldn't stop looking at this beautiful girl that was there with her mom. I was too nervous to say anything, well, right up until it was over and it was either now or never. So, in the rain, in the parking lot at Huron, I ran up to this girl and her mom and said, "Moms seem to always know when to bring an umbrella don't they?" Then I introduced myself and asked if she was going to be coming here, she said, "It looks very promising." So then I said, "Well if you do, I am thinking about running for student council to represent the Off-Campus people." She smiled and said, "You can't count on my vote." And that was it, we said goodbye.
It wasn't until the first day of school that we both saw each other. This was the day everyone is unpacking in their room, and the soph's are all hyped up - Great day, but there was some bad news I found out that day. The bad news was, she had a boyfriend. This didn't interfere with us becoming great friends. A few months went by, I became the Off-Campus Rep and as a result I had a dinner for all of the Off-Campus people. She came, and she came with a guy, whom I automatically assumed was her boyfriend. Well, I learned the hard way that he wasn't. A few months go by, it's my birthday, I'm a little 'goofy' and having some drinks at a bar when all of sudden she shows up. I am ecstatic! She also happens to be with a guy, but it's a different guy than the one that was at the dinner. So what do I do, (remember I am still assuming the guy from the dinner is the boyfriend) I run up to her, lift her up and give her a big kiss (on the cheek). Well, turns out, it was this guy who was her boyfriend, and he didn't like that too much (I don't blame him). This put a dampener on our friendship. He didn't like her hanging out with me. We got further apart. In fact, we didn't talk for a couple of years.
But wait, the story can't end here, right?!? It's year 2, I am now the VP of Events at Huron and it happens to be my birthday again, and guess who accidentally shows up? And it's only because her friends (who were also friends of mine) bring her to this party, my party! We have a blast that night and catch up. The next day we have dinner on my porch. I found out she broke up with her boyfriend not too long after we stopped hanging out. But now she had another boyfriend, in Chicago! It wasn't long after that, that I planned a trip to Montreal and asked if she wanted to come. She said she'd love to. Here's where it gets exciting! In traffic, half way there, I just can't hold it in anymore, I have to know, so I find the guts and just ask, "So... Do you think that there can be any chemistry between us?" She says, "Umm... Maybe" And if you think about it, that was the perfect answer, to the perfect question. It's not a no, so that must mean that I am doing everything right so far, right? And if she said yes, what would I do, pull over? Come on!
We get to Montreal, we go to a salsa club. She asks me if I want to do a body shot. Don't laugh, but I had no idea what a body shot was, and you're about to find out why that was a good thing. She put the lime in her mouth, and the salt on her neck. So far all of my assumptions did not go well, this time they went PERFECT! I went for salt, did the shot and went for the kiss. Woops! (For those of you who don't know, it's not supposed to be a kiss) So we kissed, and it wasn't our last. She said I was "Trouble." It was my nickname for quite some time, well that's until she broke up with her long distance boyfriend, and we became ____ & ____ (well we have nicknames, but I can't put them here or it'll be a giveaway). We became an official boyfriend and girlfriend a few months later, and yet again on another rainy night, on the 17th. And 61 'monthiversaries' later, we're still here.
In our five years we spent over 3 of them teaching English overseas in Taiwan, travelled half of Asia and just recently bought a house here in London. The rain has always followed us, and it's always brought us lots of fresh love. In fact, we even have a little statue of a boy and girl kissing in the rain under an umbrella in our bedroom. Well, it's not a statue, it's one of those laser etched glass blocks. Anyways, I love this girl more than anything. I am alone without her, and I get all confused because I have no idea what to do when I am not with her. In our 5 years together, there have been only 5 nights that we spent alone. I feel lost without her. Thank you Huron! If Macleans asked me if I would choose the same University again, I would say OH YEA!!!
Thank you for an awesome time Huron!
Cheers,
Chris Nowakowski