Day 7: A picture from one of the best nights of my life
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| enjoying the beautiful scenery at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival on our first official date, June 21, 2008 |
"Our First Date"
I still had no idea where we were going when Jordan arrived at my house to pick me up for our first official date on June 21, 2008. He had been planning the events of the evening for more than a week, and he persisted in keeping every detail a secret from me. If that wasn't torture enough, he had made sure to tell both of my parents and my brother his ideas. They all delighted in teasing me about the fact that they knew where he was taking me, while I remained clueless.
“Won't you just give me a hint?” I begged him constantly over the days leading up to the night of our first date. Instead, Jordan would simply smile, shake his head, and reply: “Nope! You're just gonna have to wait and see.”
As that greatly anticipated Friday night drew nearer, I grew more and more anxious. I had no idea what to expect, and quite frankly, I was starting to get a little nervous. It didn't help that when I asked Jordan what I should wear, his answer was so broad it left me even more unsure than I had been in the first place. Jeans and a nice shirt would be fine. A cute dress and heels would also do. After much consideration, I finally decided on one of my newer pairs of blue jeans, a chocolate brown blouse accented with lace, and heels to match my top. I just hoped that his plans didn't involve some sort of outdoor activity that required running.
When Jordan finally pulled up my driveway that warm summer evening, I was more than ready to find out what he'd had up his sleeve all week. After chatting with my parents for what seemed like an eternity, we finally made our way out the door towards his charcoal Chevy Silverado. Like a true gentleman, Jordan opened the passenger door for me, and shut it again after I had hopped up into the over-sized cloth seat. Then he quickly walked around to the other side of the truck, and climbed into his position behind the steering wheel.
“You ready for this?” he asked me, a sly grin creeping across his face.
“As ready as I'm going to be, considering I have no idea where you're about to take me.” He laughed as he turned the key, and the engine roared to life. Finally we were on our way. After about half an hour of easy conversation and frequent radio station changing, Jordan exited the interstate onto Eastern Boulevard. I began racking my brain of all the possible places he could be taking me. I watched as we passed by restaurant after restaurant, marking them off my mental list. Then, as if in slow motion, Jordan pulled into the parking lot of Carrabba's Italian Grill. I should have known; after all, it's one of my favorite restaurants, something he well knew.
“No way!” I couldn't help but exclaim, my excitement getting the best of me. Jordan laughed again as he got out of the truck and walked around to open my door. “Are you sure about this?” I asked him, as I took his arm and walked with him to the entrance. I knew it wasn't the cheapest option on the restaurant strip. He just squeezed my hand as he escorted me into the dimly-lit restaurant. We were greeted by a hostess, and quickly seated at a table in the middle of the dining room. Shortly afterward, a tall, dark waiter took our drink orders and left us to scan over the menus. Out of all the mouth-watering options, I decided to keep it simple, and ordered exactly what I was craving – bread and Alfredo sauce.
“Are you sure that's all you want?” Jordan asked me, a look of doubt spread across his face. “Please order whatever you'd like; don't worry about the cost.”
“I did,” I assured him with a smile. Our food was brought out quicker than either of us expected, and after giving thanks to the Lord for the meal and the time together, we ate, savoring each bite and the random bits of conversation in between. Eventually, the waiter brought the bill out. I scraped my leftovers into a to-go box, and grasped Jordan's hand as we walked out of the restaurant and back to his truck. My stomach was full, and I was happy. As we loaded back up into the truck, Jordan informed me that we still had some time to kill before the next part of the date. So there was more? Dinner had been wonderful in itself, and I thought that was the extent of the date.
Books-a-Million was located just behind Carrabba's, and the smile on my face grew as Jordan maneuvered the truck into a vacant spot in the lot in front of the store. I had mentioned to him how much I loved the place – I would live there if I could. Obviously, he had remembered this detail about me as well. We wandered around the store aimlessly for a few minutes, until he was ready to venture to the next part of the date. Despite my efforts, Jordan continued to refuse to give me any indication as to where we were going. By that time, however, I was just enjoying the suspense of the unknown. It had been a great date thus far, and I couldn't wait to see what else he had planned.
A few minutes passed, and my heart quickened as Jordan turned on his left blinker and pulled into the entrance of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He found a parking spot nowhere near the main building, and again walked around to my side of the truck to open my door for me.
“What are we doing here?” I couldn't help but ask.
“I like to come here from time to time to just walk around and enjoy the outdoors. Is this okay?”
“Of course,” I replied. I had never had the opportunity to tour the grounds, and I was excited to experience it for the first time with him. I thought it was a very nice way to end the evening. He held my hand as we walked along the winding sidewalk, admiring the beauty of the evening, and the sunset in the horizon. We came to a bridge and stopped to take some pictures. Below us, dozens of algae-covered turtles swam around in the murky water, and we laughed as we watched them chase each other. Several minutes passed, and Jordan suddenly had to use the restroom. There were outdoor bathrooms located closer to the main building, he informed me, so we headed back to his truck and loaded up once again.
He followed the road to the bathrooms, and pulled into another parking spot. I didn't need to use the restroom, so I decided to sit in the truck and wait for him to get back. I flipped down the visor to check my makeup, and when I had finished, I realized Jordan hadn't moved. He was looking at me and smiling, and when my eyes shifted down to his hands, I saw the ticket envelope that he was holding. I had fallen for it. The whole time, it had never crossed my mind, but I realized then that he had fooled me. I looked up at him, disbelief surely covering my face, and watched the smile of success spread across his.
“Would you please join me for a play?” he asked me smoothly.
“You've got to be kidding me!” was the only reply I could muster, and he laughed as he waved the ticket envelope in the air.
“You really had no idea, did you?” he said, as we walked towards the entrance. I was so excited I was literally shaking, and he wrapped his arm around me and hugged me tightly as he opened the door to the lobby. I wished I had worn a dress now that I knew where we were. Jordan had not yet given me my ticket, and suddenly I realized that I still didn't know what play we were about to see. Staying true to his element of surprise, however, Jordan kept quiet. It wasn't until we were seated in the theater that he finally presented me with my ticket and a program. Over the next two hours, the tragic and timeless events of Shakespeare's ever popular Romeo and Juliet were portrayed in front of our eyes.
By the time we exited the theater, I was pretty much on cloud nine. It had always been a dream of mine to see Romeo and Juliet performed on stage, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival had not left me disappointed. It was nearing ten o'clock as we made our way to Jordan's truck once again. He started the engine and joined the line of cars waiting to get back on the main road.
“Well, I guess it's about time I get you home,” Jordan said somewhat reluctantly, as he drove down the interstate. “I hope you've had a good time tonight, though.”
“I've had a great time!” I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze. “Thank you so much for everything. Tonight was wonderful.” As we made our way over the river on I-65, we both glanced at downtown Montgomery's skyline. The lights surrounding the Biscuits baseball stadium illuminated the night sky.
“Hey, I just remembered something,” Jordan said suddenly. “We're gonna take a quick detour, if that's ok. Oh, and just so you know, I may get lost.” Instead of staying on the interstate, he took an exit that I was not familiar with. At that point, I had no idea what to expect, but I wasn't worried. He drove by the UPS hub where he worked, and then turned down a narrow road. After a minute or two, I spotted the back of the stadium. A few cars were already parked in the grass on the side of the road. I looked at Jordan, and he smiled. I realized right then what we were doing, and we had made it just in time. He pulled his truck off into the grass, and parked with the front facing the road.
“You are brilliant!” I practically screamed as we both jumped out, and ran around to the truck bed. Jordan lowered the tailgate, and we both took our seats on the edge. A moment later, the stadium went black, and the crowd cheered.
“Here we go!” I shouted with excitement, and we both held our breaths as we watched the sky above the stadium and waited for what we knew was about to come. Suddenly, fireworks exploded, not over the field, but directly above our heads. The heavens became a sea of colors, and I squealed in delight. I laid back in the truck bed, and heard the audience roar again as the all-too-familiar tune of “Sweet Home Alabama” blared through the stadium speakers. The show of lights continued, and when the finale had finally concluded, my ears were ringing. Ashes rained down on us from the smoky sky. I didn't sit up right away, too overwhelmed by the evening's course of events. I felt like I was in a movie. I looked over at Jordan, and we both started laughing, unable to contain our joy.
“That was amazing,” he said. I smiled and nodded my head in agreement. It was the perfect ending to a perfect date.
