a day to remember

january 7, 2006:
after being back at school with my students for a solid week after the 2-week winter vacation, i was glad to have a couple days off.  it was friday night, the start of another weekend in chicago.  i actually had a couple plans for that evening.  i had tentative plans to go see a movie with a guy that i had only recently been talking to and i was also committed to going out for my friend matt's boyfriend's birthday.  the movie plans never came to be so i went out to celebrate christopher's birthday.  in those days, it wasn't too common for me to go to the 'gay bars'.  i only had a couple close gay friends that i would go out with, so when i did go out on halsted, it tended to be somewhat of an event.  this night, however, i was going because it was a friend's birthday and i said i would make an appearance.  after an exhausting week, that's exactly what i intended it to be - a quick 'happy birthday', a couple drinks, and then home to relax.

i arrived at sidetrack and saw my friends.  i am told that "gary" is coming.  gary is a friend of christopher's but an ex of another one in the circle.  there always seemed to be drama surrounding this "gary"....not him per se, but the situation.  rewind to december 31, 2004 when i went to matt's NYE party.  i met gary that night.  he and i were both dating other people at the time, but i vividly remember talking to him for a majority of the evening, both somewhat ignoring our own dates to converse with one another.  it had been since that time, slightly over a year, since i had met this "gary" but would be reunited with him again this night for christopher's birthday celebration.

so in walks this skinny, bald guy wearing a blue 'RC Cola' tshirt.  he says his hellos to a few of the people standing around with us.  i whisper in matt's ear, asking him who that is.  he tells me that's gary.  i'm taken aback a bit.  i don't remember the gary i had met a year ago (and heard quite a bit about) so attractive!  i don't think that gary and i ever said hello, but our eyes met more than once.  at this point, i knew that it wouldn't be just a 'couple of drinks and then home to relax' kind of night.

the birthday party moved on to the next bar.  it was here that i finally said to matt, "i don't remember gary being so cute!"  at about the same time, i see gary talking to christopher.  (reader's note:  gary was saying to christopher, "i don't remember adam being so cute!")  gary and i didn't talk much, but looked at one another often.  attempting to get a bit closer, i found myself nearby, but with a trash can between the two of us.  because of the loud, thumping music, a conversation was nearly impossible.  it was decided that the party would leave and head on to the next place. 

even so late in the night, we found ourselves making our way to one more drinking establishment that was still open.  gary and i walked with each other and talked all the way to the bar.  what we talked about, i'm unsure.  but we definitely made a connection.  at the bar, i was sitting with my friends and gary is close by.  i see an older, unattractive man approach gary.  then man starts talking to gary and i overhear the man say that he's sure that they'd been communicating online.  gary ensures him they had not and is really doing everything to avoid conversing with the man.  after he is finally able to end the conversation, he says to me "couldn't you at least pretend that you were my boyfriend to get that man away from me?!"  i didn't even know what to say!  it was getting late and it was definitely time to head home.  i walked with gary and a mutual friend.  they were walking towards their apartments, i was headed to get a cab to take me to mine.  so i get to the intersection and gary says to me, "where are you going?!?!"  i quickly say "to get a cab, apparently."  and like that, a cab pulls up and i get in.  as soon as i'm in the cab i immediately send my friend matt a text message, "please send me gary's number."

as if already expecting my message, i quickly received gary's phone number.  in a bit of a haze, i called gary.  i invited him over.  reluctant at first, he agreed.  i was  home at this point and i marched into andrea's bedroom and tell her what happened throughout the night.  shortly after, gary arrived at my apartment.  we literally talked until sunrise.  and the rest, they say, is history. 

it was five years ago today that i met my future husband.  

it was five years ago today that my life changed forever.  

happy five year anniversary louvra!

 I LOVE YOU!