How I met the husband, Part I

I've been meaning to type out the whole story of how the husband and I met, moved in with each other, and married. Then I get all overwhelmed and post something else. I might have to do installments of this, but we'll see. Are we ready? Here we go.

Sometime in February of 1997, we were on mIRC in a chatroom called chaos. Or #chaos, I guess. It was a game run by a bot and it was like the board game Outburst. My screen name was aenima because Tool had just released that album, and I may have been slightly obsessed. The husband was flowwolf, which I thought at the time (and still do, sorry babe) was pretty lame. He private messaged me one night, saying that he liked Tool and that album and my screen name. Innocent, no?

I played #chaos just about every night, and most of the time the husband did too. We would chat and play for hours. We learned everything about each other during those chats. He was in college, living with a roommate, working full-time. I was a senior in high school getting ready to graduate in May, living at home, and working part-time.

Eventually I was logging onto #chaos nightly, but not so much to play the game. The husband would be there to meet me, and we'd do the chat thing for hours and hours. I'm not sure how I managed to function back then, because there would be some nights I'd only get a couple of hours of sleep before having to go to school. Oh hell, that's not true. I know how. I skipped A LOT of school that senior year, and study halls were just MEANT for napping.

We chatted nightly for a couple of months, and at some point we started talking over the phone. I don't remember who or why or the specifics of it though (sad!), and I know at some point I mentioned that prom was coming up and I didn't have a date for it. He mentioned casually that he'd love to take me. I pshawed him, because hi? you're 600 miles away? The husband was persistent though. We sat down and chatted about logistics. He went to a local tailor to have his measurements taken, and I took the emailed numbers to a place to rent his tux. He bought a plane ticket and I procured a motel room for him.

In the meantime? My parents FREAKED the fuck out. Which honestly, I can't blame them right now. I was 18, he was 21. He could've been a murderous, stalkery asshole from hell from the Internet, no less. They calmed down once I promised the could meet him and talk to him and judge him.

Prom was on a Friday night, and he flew in that Thursday afternoon before. I made my friend K come with me to the airport to pick him up. Now, I'd love to sit here and tell you that I soon as I laid eyes on him it was love at first sight, but honestly, the whole thing was slightly awkward. Ask K, she'll tell you. K dropped us at my house, and it was more awkwardness as he met my parents, some more awkwardness when we went out to eat dinner and see a movie.

I dropped him off at his motel room that night with the promise that I'd be there to pick him up the next morning to pick up his tux and the corsages. But as I drove home, even with all the awkwardness, I knew I adored him. He was cute, well-mannered and sweet, but had a smartass side too. He was everything he seemed online and over the phone, and as it all turned out, he wound up making a fine prom date.

Yep, we're doing installments.