Six Months and Counting

I had a request from Anita at Just Curious to do a post telling how Cindy and I met, it seems I am always giving her a hard time and telling you all of things we have done and seen, but how we got together and became Cindy and Jimmy I really cant remember if I have ever shared.

I was an “Outside Commercial Service Representative” which is just a fancy name for Serviceman, I worked for the local water utility company and my job consisted of everything from turning water services on and off for customers, to reading and repairing meters, so needless to say I had met most everyone in our town.

One day I had a service call to turn water on for a business in town, walking into the front door is when I met Cindy for the first time, she was running this business, so over the next few years whenever I got a call for this business she was the person with whom I dealt, she was always kind to me and we actually struck up a friendship which included discussing our children, the weather, and whatever else friends discuss when seeing one another.

I signed my youngest son up to play t-ball and during the first team meeting I found out my friend Cindy was his new coach, she was really great with the kids and everyone always had a good time, in t-ball you are not supposed to keep score and with her no score was kept, life’s lessons were learned and a good time was always had, fun was the key to success for this team.

After about ten years of friendship she and I found ourselves both divorced, we kind of talked each other through the hard times and remained friends, we often saw each other around town and we always asked one another to see how the other was doing, we were good friends and that was as far as it had gone.

One day she came into the water company to pay her bill as I was walking through the office, she yelled as I passed by “Hey Jimmy we are going out tonight, why don’t you meet up with us” I told her that I would think about it and went about my business, I thought she was dating someone and was just being kind, because she knew I was alone.

I was too dumb to realize that she was in a round about way asking me out, “we” was a group of friends, and we were supposed to go dancing, but I didn’t show up.

All of our boys were playing baseball by now, and one day when they were all playing on the same field, she handed me a scrap of paper with her phone number on it and said “Why don’t you give me a call sometime so we can talk”

I did call her the next day, we talked practically all day long, but I missed another hint about meeting her at Taco Bell so we could “Do The Family Thing” and feed all the kids, and rather than make that mistake again I asked her out and we ended up sitting at the China Star restaurant having our first date, I don’t think we have been apart since.

The rumors around town were that we had met and had a whirlwind romance, followed by a quickie wedding which was doomed to fail within six months, that was eighteen years ago and although the road is rocky at times, and like everyone else we definitely do not always agree, but I have yet to see any sign that we have failed at anything when it comes to our relationship, becoming good friends for so long before we ever began dating I think was key to our success.

I still miss a lot of hints, but I do catch on to a few, I still have that scrap of paper with her phone number on it, she laughs and tells me that it is no good now, but I beg to differ because it means a lot to me.