How we met, the LONG version - Part II

PART II of ???

To get the full version, read Part I first!





...So after my Air Force dude phase was officially over and done with, I moved on to...


An old Zone Leader. (I'll call him, Zone Leader DJ) Let me explain! He was my ZL for only a few weeks. The only real memories I have of him as a missionary were:

(1. After my first Zone Conference, he introduced himself and said he was from Lakeside, and I remember randomly thinking "I almost bought a car from a girl from Lakeside!"

(2. During a house inspection, he opened up the fridge and was impressed that we actually had fruits and vegetables in there rather than junk food and rancid meat (he didn't usually work with sisters).

(3. At a random District meeting he expressed to a few missionaries he thought it to be rude to speak English when very few people understood the language, and I was so excited that he said that because I had ALWAYS thought the same thing.

(4. Seeing him at the mission office about a week before he was to go home, and asking if he could take a box of mine home with him to give to my parents so I could save $$$ on postage. He agreed, but flaked and ended up not taking it. But I digress...

{Previous to the random phone call} When I got home from Brasil in late 2003, I looked ZL DJ up because he was a familiar face and judging on his personality he seemed pretty cool to hang out with. We never officially dated at the time, for a lot of reasons. He knew that I was still waiting for the 'other' Brian, as well that I was still 'fresh off the boat' so to speak, and, simply, I was not interested in him then. Little did I know that he was "interested" in me.

{fast forward to almost a year later} ZL DJ was well aware of my AF dude dating experience, and that we had ended abruptly. Upon discovering that AF guy was out of the picture (they attended the same Institute classes at SDSU after all), ZL DJ called (this was the random phone call) to tell me he was taking me to see Les Miserables that weekend -A nice distraction from my mono induced death bed.

That. Was. AWESOME!!!

It didn't matter that I was sick (no longer contagious, just feeling pretty crappy), I totally felt like a princess that night! He was super SUPER romantic and totally what I needed to bounce back. I mean like completely tailored to my tastes romantic. Everything. From Les Mis, to the well thought out surprises, to the fun/slightly scary & dangerous adventures, to the song written for me, to the video made for me, to the surprise picking me up at the airport ro-MAN-tic! Edward Cullen didn't have a thing on this guys gift for making me feel like I was the only woman alive and his one job was to shower me with happiness. (yay Twilight!) :)

All the while as I was completely star struck, Bryan was 'plotting' to ask me out! The poor guy, he had NO idea that I was head over heels for Zone Leader DJ. Our getting together happened so fast, I was convinced that ZL DJ was 'the one'.

So, after telling Bryan that I started dating Zone Leader DJ (Bryan was my best guy friend, after all), he just looked at me and said something like, "Sarah, you need to slow down. I'm the slow down police, and you're under arrest". I'm sure I totally botched what he really said, but it was pretty clever. I was actually shocked! That was the first time a light went on in my head that screamed HELLO! He likes you! I know, finally, right? :)

(Are you still following? It can get a bit confusing, even for me, and I lived it! There were quite a few people involved in a very short amount of time, and they came in and out of my life a few times. I know that makes me sound like a brazen hussy, but it is what it is, you know?)

Well, Bryan didn't have to wait for very much longer. After two weeks of super romantic all-my-fairy-tale-dreams-come-true dating bliss, Zone Leader DJ, for no known reason, dumped me. Needless to say, my heart utterly fell out of my chest; I was heartbroken! (Twilight fans, you know in Eclipse, where Edward leaves Bella? It was close to that feeling for me, but most definitely not reciprocated by him) On top of the empty time-passing feeling, I was also really mad. I was angry that he would even waste my time like that! So I prayed to Heavenly Father on one occasion and I said something like:

"Heavenly Father, I know you don't make deals, but I also know that you want me to be happy. I was so very happy with Zone Leader DJ, and I really felt that we would have made an amazing eternal companionship. And lots of beautiful babies! I was under the assumption that he was the reason why I felt impressed that I should no longer wait for the 'other' Brian, nor keep dating Air Force dude. And to top everything else off, Zone Leader DJ and I were simply a perfect match! We had many things in common as well as strengths and weaknesses that balanced each other out. So, what's the deal! Now I am sad and CRUSHED! And I no longer want to feel this way. So, Heavenly Father, if Zone Leader DJ is not the one for me, then top him. Find me someone better. Even if You don't then You know that I will always follow You and Your plan for me. But if You helped me find someone better, I would be so very grateful. Thank you!"

I'm sure once Bryan found out that Zone Leader DJ and I were no longer joined at the hip, he was elated! But he has never been one to jump the gun; he did a very wise thing and waited until I had all the crazy silly boys out of my system!

Months went by...

I was still single...

I was still sorta looking...

But, hey! I realized that I kinda LIKED being single! The 'other' Brian was still every now and again trying to get back together, but I already figured that was a wasted effort. AF dude would call every few weeks or so, but I was SO over that one! Why go backwards, right? I was having way too much fun living life and being unattached!

So, several months after ZL DJ, Bryan had invited me to a going away party thing at some person's house (I don't even remember where) for a mutual friend. It was a no pressure invite, more like "hey, a bunch of people are going, are you gonna go, too?" thing. Not a date at all. I even showed up by myself. Though he did come out to show me to the door (always the gentleman).

It was a fun little get together; I mingled quite a bit and flirted probably even more (I was getting quite good at that!). And then Bryan comes to sit down beside me, grabs my foot, and starts giving me a foot massage. I couldn't believe it! Right in front of a bunch of people! If that wasn't a declaration, I didn't know what was. So it kinda alarmed me a bit, even though I was trying to play it cool. All you ladies know what I'm talking about... at that moment, you are scrutinizing every minuscule detail, body angle, head tilt, voice inflection, sentence structure, and pupil dilatation. But you are keeping your relaxed poker face while you do it. That's where I was! Inside my head I was saying:

"Oh, crap! Friends don't give friends foot rubs! This is weird, but nice. But waaay beyond the friend category. I don't even let my friends come close to my feet! So, really, how much does Bryan like me? Does this mean that he just wants to date and ditch, or he wants forever, or something in between, or, or... gaaaahhh! Oh jeez, if we ever get together and things go south, I will have to see him for the rest of my life, at every single McBride/Harrison function... why oh why are Nate and Lisa MARRIED??? This is pretty complicated. And I may be too outspoken for his mom to like me! Man, but I think I sort of like him. But... do I like him enough to take this gamble? Wow, I really like this foot rub. And for him to be touching my stinky dirty feet is quite chivalrous. But oh.my.GOSH! I have to decide whether or not I should give him a chance. And I should probably let him know one way or the other, right? That's only fair. Yeah, once he's done with the foot rub, I should tell him it's too unconventional to even be thinking about dating. It would be like kissing my brother...ew. And the family lines would be all jacked up. I'm sure he'd understand my logic, right? So no, I'm not interested. I'll just tell him that. He doesn't have to know that I AM mildly interested, just maybe not enough to ruin a great thing..."

So, my plan was to take him aside and tell him that he was very sweet and I did like him a lot, but I didn't think it wise to venture into the dating world, based on family relation. Besides, what would people THINK? And right as I was about to do that...

He was gone.

wha...?

Yeah, that fool left the party! I really think it was his diabolical plan to keep me wound up and uber-interested. Oh, the cat-and-mouse games we play!

The next time I saw him...

TO BE CONTINUED...