The Low Down
Put simply, we have history. Our relationship started out professionally, when Todd hired me to work for him at SeaWorld. Things just grew from there. Friendship and Dating were mingled for us for the next several years.
She Said:
When I first met Todd, I was nervous. I really wanted the job, it sounded great to me. Of course I was late, so I figured I never had a shot. A short time later I was surprised to get a call from a Mr. LaRowe asking me if I still wanted to work for him at SeaWorld. I said yes. That summer, I remember thinking my boss was goofy and fun. I never in a million years would have guessed I'd be falling in love with him eventually. At the end of the summer I was not kept on, so back to school I went.
As the next summer approached, friends I'd made at SeaWorld, Kristy, Kelly & Mary convinced me to apply again, this time as a lightboard operator. Again, Todd was my interviewer. He hired me again. This summer however, he wasn't going to be my boss. As install began, we ended up working heavily together.
A bond began to grow. And the flirting started. I didn't know how to take it at first. I flirted back, but that's just what I do. I had no idea if he was serious or not. Slowly, as I can be dense about these things, I began to notice there were certain things Todd was only saying to me, and he wasn't being as flirty with the other girls. One thing in particular, if I asked him to hand me something or do something he would respond with "Nothing would make me happier." It caught my attention I guess. I decided he was being serious. I thought about it, and concluded that I liked this. I began to flirt back in earnest.
That was about the point we were told by our superiors to be more professional at work. So we were. After work was a whole other matter.
The real dating began that June, which is why I wanted to get married in that month.
It took us a little time for both of us to really get on the same relationship page. It finally happened in 2008. May of that year we became an official couple. I've been pretty happy since then.
In September he bought me a gift of no occasion, a Kindle. Something I had wanted for quite some time. His buying it for me spoke volumes about how well he knew me. It was the sweetest, bestest gift ever.
November saw me move in with him. Some time in the following months, I found I loved my life with Todd, and wanted to have it always. And I began thinking that his purchase of the Kindle was better than him buying me a ring. That was when I decided I would propose to him on Friday the 13. I was less nervous proposing to him on the cliff side at sunset than I was for that first meeting, but not by too much.
He said yes, after he asked if I was seriously proposing to him, and I've been very happy since.
Todd makes me happy.
Todd makes me laugh.
Todd takes care of me.
I love him, and am grateful that he loves me for me and is willing to spend the rest of his life with me, because for the longest time I never thought I'd find someone who could really deal with all my craziness let alone do it for the rest of our lives.
He Said:
What she said ;)
But seriously. . .
I first met Mandy at a job interview. She was interviewing to work for me at SeaWorld, needless to say I hired her. Although it wasn’t until the following summer season that, thanks to the ever changing whims of the corporate world I was no longer her boss, and (also thanks to the dissolution of previous relationships) we were able to become much closer friends. She’ll tell you that I pursued her but the truth of the matter is that, well, okay, so I pursued her. I haven’t been one to really go out of my way for something that I wanted, so it’s a testament to her beguiling ways that I was able to break free from the constraints of habit, self doubt and laziness and go for it.
A friendship became attraction, the attraction became flirting and then there were a lot of rides taking Mandy home, sitting outside her apartment talking for hours on end, security guards be damned. I was a tired but happy guy. Our relationship as close friends solidified, but we were still on different life paths not really knowing what we wanted. After a few years of wandering and friendship we finally decided that we were what each other was searching for. We began dating and my feelings of infatuation and friendship truly became love. After a few months of change and uncertainty I was able to convince Mandy to move in with me in Point Loma, where we’ve been happily living for well over a year now.
Mandy has a flair for the dramatic and she likes herself a party, so I just figured she was really excited that there was not only a Friday the 13th approaching but that I was finally letting her have a party to celebrate the occasion. I thought the expensive dress was a little much but it made her happy so I didn’t say anything. When the night of the event finally arrived she was beside herself and had become determined to watch the sunset and have a moment before the event kicked into full swing; unbeknownst to me, of course that there was a hidden agenda. We were a little late and just caught the end of the sun setting through the clouds when we sat down at the cliffs. When the talk turned to our future plans I became a little suspicious, and then in a moment my destiny became clear when she asked me to be her husband. Yes, I did ask her if “she was seriously proposing to me,” but not because of the role reversal but because we had never even seriously discussed it to that point and my brain wasn’t prepared for that to happen. Once I realized what it all meant I of course said yes.
I’m not the most experienced person in the relationship game, but I can tell you that there is no person with whom I’ve ever felt so comfortable or compatible with. I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with Mandy. Smiling, sighing, laughing and crying, holding hands walking down the street and cuddled close for warmth in the night, I can’t wait to share our lives together.
