Mike is like a brother to me. I didn't have many friends growing up, but he and Sky were always there for me. Erica and I had a limited Wedding Party, so I only had room to make Sky a Groomsman, but because Mike was essentially a Groomsman in my mind as well, we gave him the usher position to include him in the ceremony. It was an awkward and difficult thing to deal with, but Mike is classy and was perfectly happy with the gesture.
For the last few years, Mike was the quintessential bachelor. And he seemed happy there. But it was awesome to see him on my porch with a blonde bombshell and an ear-to-ear grin on his face. Mike has been seeing Sarah for the latter half of this year, and he seems to be a lot happier. They are even making things work long-distance while Mike gets his Masters Degree at Tulane. After meeting and getting to know Sarah, I'm very glad it is working out. She is an outstanding person.
Mike and Sarah showed up with a bottle of wine, a bottle of champagne, home-baked chocolate cookies with pecan stuffing for dessert and a candle as a gift. They also showed up, for the first and only couple out of 52, EARLY. I'm tempted to say they deserve an award for that, cause generally, people were 30 to 45 minutes late. However, since they were half an hour early, and Erica and I were officially on double date time, we were over an hour behind schedule. Which ended up being perfect!
I had just finished the salads, which I did a simple romaine lettuce with sliced baby carrots, cucumbers, red onion, croutons and a basic light vinaigrette. I had rolls heating up in the oven with olive oil and balsamic to dip them in. We popped the champagne open and welcomed the beginning to the end with open arms.
Sitting down to our dinner table for the last time on 52DD, a wave of relief passed through my body. A glanced over at Erica and we smiled. Even if Mike and Sarah bolted out the door immediately after one bite of salad, this happened. They were here. It was a date! Our 52nd dinner date in 52 weeks. We did it.
Fortunately, we got a much better date than that. We talked and ate and drank, as Mike shared stories of New Orleans and Erica discussed her favorite dates and Sarah told us about her life. My favorite of all the great stories was hearing that Ian (Week 33) went to high school with Sarah, where she saw him rap while somebody played a kazoo at graduation. Why this was never a part of The Let Go's stage show, I have no idea...
Sarah was also the first guest to supply a suggested recipe for the meal. She chose a mushroom and spinach pasta dish, which ended up being awesome. I made a few variations, because Sarah is vegetarian and Mike avoids dairy. Essentially, it was Quinoa pasta shells with veggie broth, spinach, mushrooms, red onions and seasoned chicken breast topped with parmesan, but I kept the ingredients which needed to be individually subtracted separate. It turned out well, and I greatly appreciated the effort Sarah put forth to make my job easier.
We ended up playing no Drink Jenga and no Table Topics. We didn't need to. The stories kept flowing all night. Eventually we landed on the How-We-Met one, and I froze up a bit. I had told this at nearly every date (not according to Erica, but I feel like I spouted it off quite a few times), yet this would be MY LAST official version. So the ever-elaborated tale had to be on point and moving. I had to deliver.
The story of my journey to Alaska to meet a girl, my grandmother's passing and how it ultimately all landed me on a date with my now wife Erica is one and the same what I told as my Wedding speech. It's a timeless classic I will forever butcher and NEVER PUT IN PRINT. So if you want to hear it, maybe you should invite Erica and I over for dinner to YOUR HOUSE sometime. Insert smug smiley face emoticon here. Possibly one with a wink.
We refilled our drinks and gave the house tour on the back-end of dinner. Finishing back in the kitchen, we broke out Sarah's awesome dessert cookies and analyzed the horrible dinner date music collection of early 90's alt rock by our CD player. Sarah asked if any of the dates ever ended in a dance party. None of the them had! Out of this entire adventure we plowed through, to keep in touch with our friends, to get to know each other better, Erica and I had never ended the night with the simple romantic process of a slow dance.
We cranked up the volume on the stereo and turned down the chatting. Although we were two couples waltzing in a kitchen, this was my moment alone with Erica. I noticed how affectionate Mike and Sarah were. They were constantly holding hands, giving each other looks, and smiling and acknowledging each other. So on this last date, after all the drama and fights and fixing problems a marriage can encounter, I realized by watching the mannerisms of a newly kindled couple, it is that small effort of attention that will make it work.
I looked Erica in the eyes and smiled deeply. I embraced her as we slowly swayed back and forth to the music. Like many of the nights, it will be a fond memory. Though I despise the fact a moment cannot be frozen and time stopped to preserve something perfect, I woke up to a fact I should have known all along from my first date with Erica. My happiness is not something I can chase through Facebook friends or Twitter followers or blog views. To feel that love I felt on our first date, at the alter, or perfect moments like a slow dance in a kitchen full of dirty dishes, all I need to do... is love her. And I will feel that. And I will do that.
-52 Double Dates
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