Saturday, August 15, 2009

the story


(this is part 3 of a longer story so if you haven’t read the first two parts, you may want to back up and start with Thursday’s post)


Finally, fair readers, here is the story of how we met:


About a year after my divorce, I was dating a guy who had a violent temper and although he had never shown that side to me, I had heard plenty of stories.  He had a roommate who had a sister.  Now, one day, Tommy (the roommate) had borrowed his sister’s truck and needed to take it back to her so Jim (my boyfriend) and I followed him in Jim’s car.  The sister had a boyfriend, Marc, whose apartment she was at so that’s where we were taking the truck.  Marc was friends with Tommy’s younger brother and that’s how he had met Mary (the sister) and Tommy.  Anyway, we three, Tommy, Jim, and I are standing at the door waiting for someone to answer our knock and the door opens and there stands the most beautiful guy I had ever seen.  I was thunderstruck and those were the exact words going through my head...that is the most beautiful guy I have ever seen.  My heart was pounding so hard, my vision had narrowed down to just him, my ears were roaring and all these bells were going off and I’m standing there looking around at everybody else wondering why the hell they can’t hear all the racket.  We went in and sat down and stayed for about 15 minutes, the whole time of which I am pointedly looking anywhere, everywhere but at him, remembering the stories of violence connected to my boyfriend.  I’m thinking that if I look at this guy, everyone in the room is going see it in my face and know what’s going on inside me and I didn’t need the trouble.  Several months later Jim and I quit going out but I remained friends with Tommy, the roommate.  Marc was a receding memory by then and I had started going out with another guy.  


After my divorce, I had moved back in with my parents while I got settled and figured out what I was going to do.  I had started doing etched glass, doing small panels and craft shows trying to convince someone to commission an architectural piece.  So when I finally got my first architectural job, I thought I would look for studio space and actually put a deposit on a space in a warehouse that was being divided up for artists and antique sellers.  The rent was cheap because the place was trashed and we each had to clean up and build out our own space.  I had been there working on it for several hours and came home all dirty and smelly and when I went upstairs, there sat Tommy and Marc.  They had come over and my mother let them in to wait for me to return.  After I got cleaned up we sat around and visited for awhile and when they left, as they got to the car, I called Tommy back to the front door.  When he got to me, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close and said to him...bring. that. guy. back.  


We count our first date as the 4th of July even though we didn’t go out that weekend.  My family had a beach house in Galveston and early that weekend, Friday morning I guess, I had gone down there to spend the holiday.  When he called me again, I found out that he had had two tickets to the Rolling Stones concert in Dallas for that weekend.  So that’s the date (or non-date) we count as our beginning.  Our first actual date was pretty steamy.  Thirteen months later, we married.


Marc will tell you that he doesn’t really remember the visit to his apartment besides knowing that Jim had a reputation for beating guys up so he paid me no attention.  He says, for him, it was when Tommy took him over to my house that first time and when I came up the stairs all grimy and smiled at him.


Now, for the preface and dream to make sense you have to know that, of course his name is Marc with a ‘c’, he is Jewish, and he’s almost two years younger than me.  And though I had started my little studio before I met Marc, it is because of his belief in me, his devotion, his committment to my abilities, his partnership that this life became a reality for me.  Without him, I might as well have cut off my hands.

14 comments:

  1. wow! i held my breath through this as i had to read it so quickly. then i walked away and breathed as i read it a second time. you can feel the braids being woven, they are so tightly wound and each thread of the braid is so charged with tension. wow (big exhalation of breath.) what a journey!
    happy anniversary you very lucky and gifted woman!!!! steven

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  2. That steam is still there in the retelling. Big smile! I'm so glad your inner wisdom guided you in the right direction on this one. May there be many, many happy years forward for the two of you.

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  3. You are a lucky woman. I like when things work out.

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  4. Beautiful story! Mine isn't as dramatic, but the bonds are just as tight.

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  5. I loved the part when all the bells and whistles were going off in your head!

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  6. I love your story....when you know, well, you just know. Happy Anniversary!

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  7. Great story! HOw roantic! What a guy you have there! And great that you know that and appreciate him!

    To many many anniversaries! Best wishes to both!

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  8. Woohoo, I love the bring. that. guy. back. part!

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  9. Ellen, that is not the real story. The real story is of the 33 years of living and working together, of building a studio and business, of raising kids, of good times and bad. It is the story of your being so successful; it almost killed you, of the times when you were so poor you didn’t know how to get the car fixed. It is the story of you and Marc almost losing each other. The tale is of you escaping to the canyons of the Rio Grande to find yourself and guiding Marc to find you there. It is of the saga of Pate de Verre, the cracked glass, the firing schedules, the molding process developed by two minds working together. It is of two people joining in a journey with all its twists and turns, highs and lows.

    That is the real love story.

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  10. Ah, Jody. You brought tears to my eyes because you know the whole real true story. And you wrote it better and more succinctly than I ever could have. Thank you for holding me up when I was falling down.

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  11. Wow! You are one lucky woman! And Marc's a lucky man.
    Happy Anniversary!

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  12. Wow, what a story! And the ending with the hands... I hope you are both very happy.

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  13. What a great story! Always a great read when there is a happy ending... Happy anniversary!

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  14. What a beautiful and romantic story. I'm so happy for you that you found each other.

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