Emi

Boy meets girl... (written by Matthew, my FH) It happens every day, hundreds of times a day, in thousands of places around the globe. But every once in a great while two people come together that were truly destined for each other, as if God specifically made the one for the other. Our story is one of the latter ones :) It starts kind of tragic, but it seems my brother Travis had one last gift in store for me after he passed. That is where our story starts, unfortunately. My younger brother Travis had just passed away and after the funeral I had gone to Texas with my parents to help them out. At the end of January I decided to pack up a weekends worth of clothes, bundle up, and ride my motorcycle all the way from Emory, TX to Collinsville, IL to spread my brothers ashes with his friends. After having accomplished this some of his friends, which were fast becoming my friends, decided to call around to get some people together for a sort of going away party before I headed back. One of those people they called was Emi Smith(pronounced Amy. Yeah, she's Japanese ;). Emi though, was not entirely sure she wanted to come to the party so me, Jarod, and Brandon decided to go to the diner where she worked(Steak and Shake) and convince her. Little did I know that this decision would change my life forever. So the three of us loaded up and headed to Steak and Shake. We arrived and were seated, ordered some drinks, and waited to see if we could surprise her. After a few minutes of waiting we finally asked our server where Emi was. Our server just stared at us with a look of confusion- WE WERE AT THE WRONG LOCATION! We quickly paid for the drinks and took off for the right one. We knew we had arrived at the right diner this time because it was Emi who seated us. Even in her Steak and Shake uniform and Barbie glasses there was no mistaking how absolutely gorgeous this girl was. I assumed she felt the same about me because she outright pretended I didn't exhist while talking extensively to both Brandon and Jarod :) We were seated at the counter so she could talk to her friends. She still continued to ignore me as she caught up with Brandon and Jarod until finally the responsibilities of her job required her to ask me what I would like to drink. Brandon and Jarod both ordered waters since we had just bought drinks at the last diner, but I decided I was going to try one of these famous Steak and Shake shakes while I was in the St. Louis area. She then disappeared and Jarod, Brandon, and I congratulated ourselves that we had found the right place! She came back to bring us our drinks a few minutes later. Both Jarod and Brandon got their waters, which were in huge glasses, and since my shake wasn't ready yet she brought me out a water too, but in a much smaller glass. Being a smart ass like I am and noticing again how she was steadfastly avoiding my eyes, I couldn't resist the temptation to challenge her. Before she could leave I pointed down at my drink and with a look of disapproval I said, "What's this? They both get those big ol' glasses and all I get is this little he-yaaaah (like a baby cooing noise). Caught off guard by so boldly addressing her with my disapproval for what was obviously store policy and for what she thought was a kindness while I waited for my shake, since we had not been formally introduced yet, (of course not, she had been furiously trying to pretend I wasn't really there) she stuck her hand out in greeting and ackwardly said, "Hi, my name is Emi." pointing over back to the door where we came in she followed with, "I saw you." Again, being the smart ass that I am, and given more fuel for the fire, I replied with a mischievous smile, "Hi Emi, I saw you too." followed by a wink. After this short exchange of words she blushed furiously and without another word turned on her heels and vanished. Both Jarod and Brandon turned to me with looks of astonishment, smiled with amazement, and said, "I think you've got her, dude" Of course Emi did not show up again till she brought out my shake (which I assured her I was much better pleased with than the teeny glass of water) and then again to bring us the check. As she escorted us out we asked if she was coming over after work and with some pleading and, "C'mon!" she agreed she would. As it turned out this would prove to be a decision that would forever change both of our lives :) I was only in the St. Louis area for 2 days before I met Emi. Needless to say I didn't go back to Texas. Since that night Emi and I have climbed many a mountain top and been drug through our share of deep valleys- each time bringing us closer and closer together to form an unbreakable team. I have also made some life-long friends. Just goes to show you that there is always two sides to everything. Out of tragic loss, God delivered me *Emi*