It Was All A Blur...

Let's go back to where it all began in 2007? Mr. General Electric (aka Mr. Kentucky). Did we ever talk about him? He is 11 years older than me and the one who was the subject matter behind my trip to Miami where we scored all those mangoes. My friend mentioned that she always wondered what my life would be like if I ended up marrying him. I see it something like this: I would be living in Louisville, KY and spending half the time trying to figure out how to pronounce the name of that town and other half trying to make sure he takes his bipolar medication.

(And THIS year when Louisville won the NCAA championship, I was torn on picking them or not, because I have memories not IN Louisville, but tied to it). I am just weird like that so get used to it.)

He was nice guy, and he never tried anything funky with me. We talked for a few months but I only met him once. He was my first kiss,  I was 19. I remember it well, at the parking lot of the Jefferson Memorial. I was sitting on top of the trunk of my car and we were looking out at the Potomac. It was a Monday... I was still in college so I didn't have class until 7pm that day. I wasn't sure where this was going until he suddenly leaned in and kissed me. I was confused, what do I do NOW? I didn't do anything, I didn't even kiss him back. I don't know what happened seconds after that, it was all a blur. How the hell was I supposed to know that's what I had to do??? No one trained me on this. I should have read a manual or something. This old lady had passed us and saw us and I remember she said "Aww, look at that, you two look like you're so in love". Chill out lady, he just kissed me and I only MET him 72 hours ago.

I remember my friends were freaking out and wondering what the hell I would do when I took him to his hotel. See, most of us came from this sheltered life where we had no idea what happens in situations like this. Good desi girls who are at a respectable age to get married don't go to hotel rooms with guys that are not their husbands.

Backtrack...he had gotten himself a hotel room but we decided he wouldn't need to rent a car since I have a car and I can pick him up from the airport. He arrived Saturday and the plan was we would spend the day together and then Sunday he would come with me to my house where my mom was cooking a feast so she can meet her potential future "son-in-law".

My friends all thought he would try to make a move on me and maybe it wasn't best for me to accompany him to his room. Like what was I supposed to do, stay in the car? Wouldn't that be more awkward? So I tried to "handle" the situation and I really though this was a great idea...I decided that when we went to the hotel I would bring a book that I could "read" while he was getting ready and what not. I know stupid right? That's the plan the 19 year old me came up with. Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.

I laugh at myself when I think about Mr. Kentucky now. Not because of him, but because of how stupid and inexperienced I was. Btw -he works for GE still till this day when I see a GE commercial on the telly it reminds me of him. I was scared to pick him up at the airport and even more scared of taking the highway to get to the hotel. Back then I had a super irrational fear of highways, so he was nice enough to drive us in my car to his hotel room to freshen up. He even brought his own GPS (and why didn't I keep him around?).

I will never forget how he found me at the airport. I was so nervous (Hello, I had never picked up a guy from the airport before...or anywhere else for that matter). As usual because of my need to be on time I was super early so I was browsing at the airport bookstore when all of a sudden I felt someone reach behind me and cover my eyes. I almost screamed until I heard his voice (queue the Bollywood music in the background). He startled me but it was a great way to break the ice.

He commented how I couldn't look him in the eye and of course I was telling myself  "No shit....I have never done this before...give me a break...."

Sadly it never worked out between us because my parents thought he was much too independent, which in turn freaked me out because although I liked him, I was too scared to go against my parents. Even though they never told me it was a "no" from them.

I will never forget what he told me when I was "breaking up" with him. He said I was a breath of fresh air in his life and when he got on that plane to go back to Louisville, a part of him wanted to get off that plane and marry me that second..."

Sigh, those were the good old days, when this heart knew nothing about how to get broken. I was a young and  inexperienced girl just going out there and trying to see how this whole "arranged marriage" thing works. Out of all the suitors my parents brought me (so far), he was probably the one who had the most potential.

Epilogue: Well folks, turns out that fresh air didn't last too long because it would be two years later when I found out that he had gotten married summer of 2009. Apparently world is REALLY small and a new friend I had met at work that August also happened to be roommates with the girl who was friends with his now wife and my friend even attended his wedding. Oh jeez.