My wife was born in Hawaii. And while it might seem like paradise to the rest of us, for those who grew up there, it can be quite confining. There's not a lot of places to go when you're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
So when it was time for her to go to college, she chose to be as far away from the islands as possible. She wanted to go to New York, and after considering finances, her family decided that New Jersey was close enough. She was on her first year and I was on my last when we met. You may not believe in fate -- and I may not either -- but it was a pretty good coincidence for our paths to cross. When you consider how many years it took me to finally be a senior -- what with my excellent work ethic and study habits -- it's even more remarkable. Or I should say, re-karma-ble. (Okay that was lame.)
I think I had already mentioned how I first met Gail Forcewind (fake name, of course) in a previous post, so I'll skip that part of it. This is about how I met her mother, who until our encounter never knew of my existence. That was because she had forbidden her only daughter from dating. Gail was instead instructed to focus solely on her studies. But how ever do you expect her from concentrating on anything else after seeing such a handsome devil like me?
We had been dating a few months when her mother visited a friend in Chicago. She told Gail she was forwarding a package to the Newark airport and that Gail would have to pick it up there. That seemed strange to me. I never heard of picking something up at baggage claim without a passenger travelling with it. Being the obedient daughter, she believed her mother and told me not to worry.
I was shooting my film project when she went to the airport. She was supposed to meet me at school afterwards to help out. While we were setting up one of the shots, I received a text from Gail. Suprise! Her mom was there to visit her!
When they got to the room she was renting, she discretely hid my pants and other things. Then she explained that she was needed at the school to help out with a project. Her mom was understandably upset about that. I guess she figured Gail would drop everything out of her excitement.
She was in a state of shock when she arrived at the set. I insisted that she be honest with her mom, but she was hesitant. So then we devised a plan.
They went to Apollo's Restaurant for lunch the next day, and I happened to be living across the street from it. She texted me when they got there, and I went in. I was looking at the buffet selection when I saw them. Then it kind of went like this:
"Oh, hey, Gail! Isn't it funny to see you here?"
"Hey, David. Why don't you sit down and eat with us?"
Something like that. I kind of don't remember exactly how it went. I was kind of nervous. Now that I think back on it, it was pretty transparent.
She introduced us, and I offered to take her around. Her mom wanted to buy some gifts, so I drove them to Garden State Mall later that afternoon. We went walking in New York together.
After a couple of days, Gail told me her mom referred to me as her boyfriend. She denied it and acted innocent, and her mom said, "What do you think I am, stupid?" But then she was pretty cool about it. She only insisted that her daughter finish college and get a good job.
So then after that, we started holding hands in front of her and even kissing when we would part. I graduated and found a job the next year. A few years later so did Gail. And soon after, we were married.
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