Ring by Spring

Before my future wife and I had even met, I'd already fallen in love with a piece of her - her voice. During the spring semester of my freshman year, I had a free two-hour period in between my first class of the day and lunch. I made a routine for myself in walking back to the dorm and using it as a time to study or otherwise do homework. One morning, I turned on the campus radio station...and that was where it all started.

I stumbled on "The Ellie-venth Hour" completely by accident. As a film major, Brett was part of the Communications department, and was heavily involved in the campus film club, but he rarely talked about what any of the other departments were doing. I don't know what made me turn it on. (Now that she and I have discussed it, we're sure it was something from the Lord. There's no other explanation.) But when I tuned into the station, the honest, sweet, effervescent, voice of a girl came out, and I couldn't turn back.

"Congratulations to seniors Chris Morrell and Pauline Walker - he popped the question last night at Eternity University's own century-old stone footbridge. Now they're - "and she started to sing " going to the chapel \ And we're gonna get married \ Gee, I really love you \ And we're gonna get married \ Going to the chapel of love!" Her singing voice was as bouncy as her speaking one and mid-range - mezzo-soprano, maybe? Jesse would know. Regardless of technicalities, it was lovely.

That day, I had caught the tail end of the program, but it was enough to get me hooked. I would do any studying I needed to do during the first hour, and save the work I could do with the radio on until eleven.

"Listening to that again?" said Brett one morning - he'd come back to pick up something he'd forgotten for his next class.

"She happens to be very entertaing - and you never know what you're going to get! Sometimes it's music, sometimes talking - and then sometimes, she sings." Those days were my favorite, although I couldn't admit that to either of my roommates right now. Brett and Ricardo already thought my fascination was a little crazy, but their teasing was purely for fun. We got along better than a lot of the guys on our floor, or even in our dorm.

"Interesting," said Brett, and turned to leave just as I was struck with an idea.

"If she's doing campus radio, she must be a part of the Communications department. Do you know her?" We were both quiet for a moment so he could focus on her voice.

"She sounds familiar, and there is a girl named Ellie in a few of my general Comm. courses, but it couldn't be the same one. Usually, you have to be at least a sophomore before you're allowed to be that involved with campus radio - and the sophomores only start getting their own air time second semester. Sorry, Max. But couldn't you just stop by the campus media center after the broadcast is over?"

"And say what? She'd think it was creepy and weird, and that I was a stalker. I don't think I could do it. Thanks, though." Now I just wanted him to leave, but Brett kept standing in the doorway.

"It's not like you to be so shy about girls. I mean, you've had three girlfriends already. Staring across the room at the girl and willing myself to walk over is my role in our trio. Are you gun-shy because of Tere?"

He was talking about Teresa - 'Tere' - who I'd dated for three weeks in December. An International Affairs major, the reason we even went out on our first date was because I was the only guy she encountered in her job at Subway who didn't ask her to 'make him a sandwich' and proceed to hit on her. It was destined not to be anything serious from the start, mostly because it was our first year of college, so Brett was wrong. I wasn't holding back since I'd just gotten out of a relationship.

"If she has her own radio show, then she has to be at least a junior. She's really smart and funny, so she probably has a boyfriend."

"And since you would want to date her, that would be an obstacle?"