At the beginning of September 2007, I moved to Virginia to work for PwC in their tax department. It just so happened that on my first day in Virginia my new roommate told me that there was a ward temple trip that evening which would be followed with some ice-cream and desserts at a fellow church member's house. I thought an ice-cream break was a perfect way to end a long day of unpacking.
The Party-
I was sitting in the living room eating a very nice bowl of some sort of deliciousness when suddenly this girl walked in the front door. People seemed to gather around her almost immediately. I remember noticing her curly hair and nice smile. I thought to myself "Self… you need to get to know that girl better!" My roommate saw me looking at her and leaned over and said "That's Camille Redd. She works for PwC too." Those were the death words to any future we would have… or so I thought. This was the scenario I was envisioning - Me asking her out and trying to pursue her and her saying "no" and then it getting awkward at work. So, I decided I would not go there.
The LONG Abyss of Time in the middle-
Camille and I had become good friends as we saw each other on a daily basis at work and then we were in the same ward (congregation) at church. We also had many of the same friends and so it was not uncommon for me to see Camille two or three times a week outside of work.
Camille was known to my family but not by her name. When I first arrived to VA, I had a conversation with my parents when they asked me if I had met any girls that I would like to get to know better. I said yes, there is this one girl but I can't date her because I work with her. So, she affectionately became known as "the girl I think is cute but work with so can't ask her out." Every few months or so, my parents would ask me how the girl I think is cute but work with so can't ask her out is doing. I would always respond, " she is doing well and I still work with her."
1.583333333 Years After the Party-
Mid March, 2009 I was walking down the hall at work and saw Camille walking towards me. I had the thought that I should date her but she needed to quit first. I thought that was nice, and pushed it out of my mind. After all, she wasn't quitting and we were still working together.
About a Month and a Half Later, May 1-
I went to a party in celebration of a friend coming into town. This was a mutual friend, so Camille was there as well. It was at this party, standing in the dining room next to the table, where she told me that she was planning on quitting work the following January. Hallelujah! The thought I had a little over a month earlier came rushing back and I decided then that if there was a chance I could date her - even if it meant waiting till January - I would do it. At least now there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I had a goal, a target time… now I just needed a plan. I decided to just stay patient and not really let her know that I was interested because that could still be awkward and thwart everything. I thought that I would just step things up a notch by sending her an email every now and then. Or, possibly send her a text here and there. Maybe I would even stop by her desk a little more often (but not too often to give anything away). I just wanted to be on her radar. Try to peak her interest - sneaky, sneaky like.
Again, a Month or so Later - Probably June-
I was at another party and Camille was there. We chatted for some time on the back deck of the house. She told me that she had adjusted her anticipated quit date to September. Double Hallelujah!! September was much better than January. I asked her in a very casual manner, as I did not want to blow my cover, whether she was planning on staying in the area or moving somewhere else. She told me that she would probably stay out here and hopefully teach accounting at one of the many universities or colleges. I thought this was a great idea.
I continued carrying out my sneaky plan of subtlety focusing her radar on me. Then, one Friday evening near the end of July I decided to be a little more bold and bought her a strawberry shake and delivered it to her along with my roommate as we were on our way back home. She let us in and we chatted for awhile. She was grading papers for an accounting class she was teaching. During the conversation she mentioned that she was thinking of moving to Texas or possibly going back to UT. I almost fell out of my chair. She asked us what we thought of the idea. My roommate said that it sounded fun… a whole new adventure. I opposed the idea and told her that she may want to stick around here at least for a few months before moving away. This didn't seem to phase her and she was still determined to move. Yeah, so needless to say there were quite a few sleepless nights that week as I tried to determine what to do next. I wanted to say something, but we were still working together and I didn't want to necessarily let the secret out. I realized that she was going to plan her life and if I didn't say anything she would leave. So, after talking with my parents, I decided that I was going to leave her note at work. I made sure that I showed up extra early to make sure that I was there before she arrived. I wrote her a note that said "Camille, please stay." I then initialed it and put it in an envelope and left it on her chair. I then went back to my desk and had the worst time focusing. I thought she was going to get mad. I mean, how dare I tell her what to do, especially since we hadn't even been on an official date yet.
She Read the Note-
At work we have an instant messaging system called Sametime. So, She sametimed me and said " want me to stay, huh." I responded "yep". She then proceeded to tell me of how her family had some fun things planned back in UT and that she had some competing offers. I told her that I would like to compete with those offers but that I couldn't go into it yet because I thought sametime might blow up with this new found info. I then tried to change the subject. Needless to say, this note definitely put me on her radar. She now knew that I was interested in her… if she didn't already. We started doing more things together outside of work.
September 1, 2009-
This was our first official date. Her birthday is August 31 and I thought it would be a good excuse for me to ask her out to dinner. The day after her birthday worked best for both of our schedules and so we went out to eat at Coastal Flats. I was so nervous and excited to be able to take her out that right after I picked her up to go to dinner I ran through a stop sign and crossed a busy street and drove right into the parking lot of an Asian church. She kind of looked at me a little weird and then we started laughing. I had driven down that road tons of times and knew where to go but just kind of lost my concentration.
She then surprised me two days later for my birthday (Sep. 3) by leading me on a scavenger hunt that ultimately lead me to my apartment where some friends had gathered for a surprise birthday party. I was really impressed that she went through the trouble of helping put one of these together when both of us were really busy at work and I didn't even know if I would be leaving work at a decent time that day. One of the best surprises was the fact that she made me German chocolate cake from SCRATCH! She doesn't even like chocolate!
Post Work-
At the end of September Camille quit from PwC. I was rather thrilled at this because now I could really date her! Hip Hip Hurray!!
Things progressed nicely. We joined a tour group going to Jordan and Israel at the end of October. Not only did the location of this vacation make it a trip of a lifetime, but it also provided us the opportunity to spend lots of time together.
One of the things I enjoy most about Camille is that we share many of the same interests… hiking, camping, sports, and travel. We are always looking for a new adventure.
So, here is the classic story of boy meets girl, boy does nothing for a couple years, boy wakes up and acts, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl get married on May 22, 2010.
