Weathered Love

ANDREW II

"OK, tell me all about him," Ella insisted. It was a day after I had come home. The first thing I did when I landed was text Andrew to tell him I'd arrived and was looking forward to our date. He texted me back once he had landed in California to express the same sentiment. My family had graciously reserved the tirade of questions for the next morning at breakfast, and after my parents left for work, it was just Ella and I for a few hours before she went off to her summer job. I decided I was going to focus on the channel that summer, so I didn't try to find a summer job.

"What do you want to know?" I evaded.

"Well, first, name. Second, appearance. Third personality. Fourth, location," she completed. I snorted at the order of demands.

"Andrew, he's about my height, black wavy hair, soul-piercing brown eyes, and the sweetest, whitest smile you'll ever find on planet earth. He's just a really sweet guy, and very patient and understanding and he gets me. Really, really gets me. Almost like Ivan did," I emphasized. Ella's smile grew so wide I was worried it would completely engulf her entire face. "And, amazingly, even though we're both in Cali for college, he lives in New Rochelle," I concluded.

"This is a sign. He's the one," Ella concluded. I laughed a little.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. There were a lot of guys I thought were the one, and none of them were," I pointed out.

"Yeah but you have poor judgment. I knew none of them were the ones. But this guy's different. I can just tell by the way you talk about him," she insisted.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see. Oh, don't tell anyone. We want to keep it quiet for a bit so we can make sure this will work and it wasn't just the high from the mission trip that brought us together," I requested. Ella nodded, then made a zipping of her lips gesture.

* * *

The night was cool, but not cold. The sunset was soft and seemed to stretch into forever. The moon shone as brightly as it could, as though competing with the sun.

After a full day at a lighthouse near New Rochelle, we went to a nearby town and found a restaurant that was right by the water. We sat outside, and despite being eaten alive by mosquitoes, it was the best first date I'd ever been on. The conversation was light, and Andrew and I got to know even more about each other, if that was possible considering our month-long interaction on the trip. I kept thinking to myself that, if this was real and not merely a dream, this was definitely the guy I wanted to marry. I didn't say it out loud though. I didn't want to scare him off.

"What are you thinking?" he inquired from across the table. I snapped out of my fairytale wedding daydream long enough to feel embarrassed.

"Just thinking," I responded. He smiled, then resumed eating his food, just staring at me with each bite. "What?" I inquired.

"You didn't hear what I said," he finally stated. I felt embarrassed again. "You're cute when you blush," he complimented. If he thought I was cute before, I was definitely downright adorable at that point. "I was saying, you have a little sauce on your chin," he finally filled in. I quickly wiped it with my napkin, feeling my face light up like a Christmas tree. He laughed and shook his head. "Adorable," he stated.

"Do we have a plan for after dinner?" I steered the conversation in a different direction.

"You're not sick of me yet?" he inquired, a big grin permanently plastered on his face.

"No. Are you sick of me?" I inquired, a little worried that he was. He shook his head with that smile of his. Oh that smile. I could stare at his smile until my detriment.