Well, we actually met online through myspace.com. Both of us were fresh out of failed marriages and Matthew was looking for friends outside of his ex-wife's mutual friend circle. Somehow, he stumbled across my profile and saw I lived only minuts away from him and that I was an Indianapolis Colts fan. He sent me a message asking me how the Colts were doing that year just to break the ice, and as we exchanged messages bantering about football he started to gloat the he was a Cowboys fan and it became a friendly feud between the two of us. After a month or two of sharing emails through the site, he sent me his cell phone number and said I could call or text him anytime. We started texting and talking on the phone shortly after, talking about our jobs, children, and sharing horror stories of our divorces. There were a few nights that we talked on the phone into the wee hours of the morning. Life was busy for me as a single working mother of two, and eventually we lost touch. A few months passed by, and one night I was bored and going through my contacts list and decided to text him. He replied, and made sure to mention that he was hanging out with his girlfriend. "Girlfriend?!," I thought. Uh oh, I didn't want to get him into trouble, so I apologized for interrupting and didn't text him again.
Several months later I received a message from him telling me that he was sorry if he seemed short with me that night, the girl he was dating at the time was apparently the jealous type and he just didn't want her to cause a scene, which she did anyway, lol. He told me if there was any way he could make it up to me to give him a call, and gave me his number. He made it clear that he still had mine. So I sent him a text and then gave him a call. It's funny, because I remember our conversation so well. The first thing I said to him was "Hey, what are you doing?" and his reply was "Sitting at home. I'm bored...and lonely. I'm so tired of being lonely." We talked all night that night, until we were both forced to go to bed because we both had to get up in an hour to go to work. I remember during that conversation, I kept thinking how comfortable he made me, I felt like I could tell him anything and we had technically never met.
The next day after I got off work, I couldn't wait to talk to him again. Apparently, he was as antsy as I was, because as I was about to text him on my drive home, my phone rang. Guess who! We made small talk about our days at work, and then I told him I would have to cut our conversation short because I was pulling into the parking lot of my babysitter's apartment. He said "ok, but hey, where exactly are you? Maybe after you pick up your kids, we can grab a bite to eat or something. You know, officially meet. I'm still dirty from work but I can take a quick shower and meet up with you." I reluctantly agreed, and told him where I was at that very moment so we could try to think of a place to meet. When I told him, he laughed. "I'm right around the corner from you," he said. "What kind of car do you drive?" I laughed and told him what my car looked like and sure enough, minutes later he pulls up and parks beside my car. I walk over to his side of the truck and he rolls down the window and says "Wow, you're so much prettier in person." I was a little embarrassed but flattered, and a whole lot taken aback by how kind his eyes were and how handsome he was. I apologized for the super quick introduction and told him I had to run, the babysitter was waiting for me, gave him a friendly "nice to meet you" hug (I was gun shy since my divorce and wasn't too keen on the dating thing, and I felt he was definitely trying to court me...and it scared me). He agreed and we went separate ways, him heading home to shower for a date that I was convinced was NOT going to happen, and me bolting upstairs to grab my kids and head for the hills.
About an hour later my phone rings and it's him. It's about 8 o'clock and I have the perfect bailout excuse cooked up. "I'm sorry, I've already put the kids in bed and it's just too late for me to go anywhere," which was only halfway a lie, Jayde in fact was going to bed, it was a school night but the baby was still going strong. He was persistant, though, as I've now learned is a signature Matthew thing. "Oh that's fine," he said, "I'll just grab some takeout and bring over a DVD then." Feeling pressured, I told him my dad and I were in the middle of a big fight (my dad lived in the apartment just across the hall) and I didn't want him to be in the war zone, which unfortunately was true. "Well then, you're definitely in need of some comfort food and a comedy then, huh?" he said. Gosh, this guy was GOOD. He totally twisted my arm. I agreed. About 20 minutes later he shows up with McDonald's and Kung Fu Panda. Yes, Kung Fu Panda...apparently he was aware that the kids were, in fact, NOT in bed. I rocked the baby to sleep and put him in bed and we sat on the couch and barely watched Kung Fu Panda as we talked and talked and talked. Talking to him, once again, I felt like I had known him forever and I could tell him anything. We ended up sitting closer and closer together until eventually we were holding hands and talking about our plans and dreams...I kept wondering when, and wishing that he would kiss me, but he was ever the gentleman...so I kissed him. From that moment on, we have been inseparable.
Here we are, a year later. So much has happened since then. We have shared some good times, and some really bad times. And through those bad times, we have been a support system to each other. Matthew has been my rock. Nobody understands me the way that he does, and nobody has ever loved me with such a firing passion, yet such a gentle hand. I wont lie, I'm spoiled rotten. Every since we moved in together, not a night goes by that I don't get my back rubbed. I pick on him and tell him it is his fault that I gained 20 pounds, everyday I came home from work, he had a wonderful dinner ready for me and all of the housework done! My kids adore him and he recently talked me into quitting my job so that I could stay at home with my kids, which he knew I wanted so badly. Like I said, SPOILED ROTTEN. Matthew is my best friend, and my biggest fan. Now that I have him, I can't imagine my life without him. I can't wait to wear his last name, and spend the rest of my life with him. There's never a dull moment with us. We joke around that we're going to be the old couple racing around in our rascals (you know, the carts the old people drive around in after they're too old to get around easily) and beating each other up with our canes....I can't wait.
