From b0b15378b379c1c5a564e2789245f1d4faceb462 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Don Armstrong Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2015 22:24:43 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] add story --- story.mdwn | 65 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 65 insertions(+) create mode 100644 story.mdwn diff --git a/story.mdwn b/story.mdwn new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5f35592 --- /dev/null +++ b/story.mdwn @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +# Laurel & Don # + +Laurel and Don met in March of 2010 when Laurel was working on her +Ph.D. and Don was a postdoctoral researcher at University of +California Riverside. Laurel was at a party at her friend Juliane’s +apartment when this tall man with dark curly hair walked through the +door. But Don had just worked a long day and hung out for only a +little while before falling asleep on the sofa. + +Laurel and Don would meet several more times at other parties, and +enjoyed talking to each other about books and hiking. Several of their +friends commented on how natural they looked together, but they had +reservations about dating. They had talked about enough topics to +learn that they had some serious differences in opinions and life +perspectives. On one particular night in July, as the group was +walking to the Pizza Port restaurant from the San Diego Beer Fest, +Laurel asked Don without any lead-in, “You know why we can’t date, +right?” and Don replied, “It would never work.” + +After almost a year of being friends, Laurel and Don knew each other +much better and Laurel decided that she would like to try dating Don. +Although it almost certainly wouldn’t work because of their +differences, Laurel enjoyed Don’s company too much to not try. Don was +thinking similar thoughts, but remembered very well the conversation +when Laurel had told him they couldn’t date and didn’t want to offend +Laurel by bringing up the idea. + +A month of amusing awkwardness followed, where Laurel would choose to +sit next to Don and talk to him and Don would freeze-up like a deer +whenever Laurel smiled at him or touched him. Eventually Laurel was at +a loss of how to flirt anymore and was seriously wondering if Don +didn’t know she liked him or knew full well and didn’t feel the same. +Don, in the meantime, was very confused because he thought Laurel was +flirting but couldn’t reconcile that to their previous conversation. + +At another party, Don’s brother Mark happened to be in town. Late into +the night, Laurel and Mark were playing the card game gin and Laurel +gave up and asked Mark for advice. Mark answered that Don would never +make the first move to date someone, so Laurel should ask Don if +that’s what she wanted. + +A few days later, Laurel was hanging out with Don and others at the +Getaway bar on campus and offered to drive him home so he wouldn’t +have to walk. Seeing no better option, Laurel dove in and asked Don +what he thought about dating. They talked for almost an hour about how +that would work. Don was hesitant because he worried about it ending +poorly and messily, and added, “I abhor drama.” But eventually they +decided to see what happened. + +Almost immediately, life clicked into place as if they had always been +together. While Don had been hesitant about dating, he was the first +to say, “I love you”, after 5 days. Laurel needed to be more certain +and waited a few months to say the same. After 3 years of great road +trips, crazy Ultimate Frisbee tournaments, and cozy nights at home, +they started talking about marriage. Don wanted to know why they +couldn’t be non-traditional and Laurel could ask Don to marry her, but +Laurel replied that she had asked him to date her and now it was his +turn. + +The weekend before Christmas of 2014, Don asked Laurel to go on a +weekend trip to Pismo beach, a favorite place of theirs on the coast +of California. Taking a walk along the beach on the way to dinner, +they stopped to watch the sunset. Don asked Laurel, “Are you willing +to put up with me for a while longer?” and Laurel mischievously +replied, “How much longer?” Don replied, “For the rest of our lives.” -- 2.39.2