Me and wife met in a html based chat room around the middle of January in 1998. We chatted there for about a week, then via email and instant messenger. Our meeting had been a planned 'bumping into' one another by a mutual friend. She had seen we were both loners whom had sort of given up hope on meeting someone.
Another mutual friend started talking to me via messenger about two weeks later. He was asking me questions that seemed out of character for him. He relented explaining, "being a go between here for somebody. They won't let me tell you who." And so I had the third degree for about a half hour. I wasn't really seeing anyone. there were a few people I was flirting with but none of it was going anywhere. This didn't suit good with her.
I didn't realize she liked me. We had chatted a bit, got on well enough. There were a few things we clicked on, quite a few we didn't. In all the not clicking was like balm for us, kept us learning one another. We kept chatting in the room and over messenger. February 17th she asked if I thought me and friend could make it to Parkersburg, WV the next week. We had to come into WV that week to get rabbits for him. I told her we could try but I couldn't promise, asked why it was important.
"A girl might like her boyfriend to come to her college graduation." She said.
Two days later I asked her to marry me over messenger. I had never seen her, never heard her voice. We didn't think about calling each other. Chatting in text suited us both well enough and talking on a phone never really come up. I couldn't get to her graduation, felt bad about that. After asking her marry, had also told her I'm bi. She was accepting of that and didn't see it as a problem. We were just talking for now. She said she needed to think about getting married.
Eight days later we were chatting.
"What would make you happy", she asked.
"Well, you could marry me", I replied.
"Okay."
"I could win the lottery, maybe open a comic book shop. The world could stop having wars. A lot of things could make me happy. Wait ..."
"What, what's wrong?"
"Okay you know I want us to get married, or okay you will marry me?"
"Yeah, okay."
It took us two years to save enough for ourselves, and for her dad to gather up a little bit of a dowry. I really didn't want or need a dowry but old Southern blue collar traditionalism dictates you don't spit in the face of the proud. So, April 22nd of 2000 we got married via a civil service in a church.
The judge marrying us made a joke with me. "Look back there in the corner, a door. You can duck out if you think you're making a mistake."
Music began to play, she started walking down the aisle. "If she's a mistake, she'll be the best one I'll ever make in my life", I said.
He chuckled, nodded and grinned. "Let's get you married then."
April 22nd of this year will be twelve years married. Known one another fourteen, neither of us is dead yet. Been a few times trips to distant planets have been discussed with passion. We have bumps and wrong turns like everyone else. But we keep on loving, laughing and living. She's still my best mistake. I'm still her boyfriend, probably always will be.
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