The first time I saw Barbie it was my 8th grade year during track season. She was wearing jeans and a blue Adidas jacket and had her long hair in a ponytail. I don't know why, but she caught my attention. I never believed in love at first sight. But when I saw her, I did. She was laughing and talking with… I don't remember who. She looked so beautiful with her smile, eyes, and long hair. That day, I knew that I wanted to marry her. The plan was to ask her out and for her to say "yes." Barbie was going to be my high school sweetheart story. But she told me "Or," which meant get lost. After that, when she walked by, she would shake her booty at me, and that meant you can’t have this. And now, 23 years later, she will tell me, "I do."

The first time I saw Eddie was during my sophomore year in high school during basketball/wrestling season. I was on my way to a late basketball practice. I remember entering a crowded gym foyer. The wrestling coach was speaking to his team, and the basketball girls were waiting for the boys' basketball practice to end. As I glanced at the wrestling team, my eyes stopped on Eddie. At the time, I didn’t know his name or what grade he was in. He had a stern and focused face with twinkling eyes. I don’t know why, but I was instantly curious about this mysterious boy. A few days passed after that night. I was walking to the cafeteria when I spotted Eddie entering the counseling center. The next day, I saw him do the same thing during lunch. After that day, I made it a point to go through that hallway to see Eddie. I didn’t speak to him because we had not met yet... so I thought. According to Eddie, we did meet. After he mentioned it, now I do remember. During my freshman year during track, Jason (Eddie’s older brother) introduced him to me. He was with JR (Gonzo is what Eddie calls him.) But I don’t remember his face when we first met. :| But back to my story, I didn’t know him. It felt weird. Was I supposed to say, “Hi, I’m Barbie. I'm interested in you?” So I would walk by. Sometimes, we would make eye contact; sometimes, we didn’t. But we never spoke to each other. That same year, we both joined track. I was a distance runner, and Eddie was a thrower. My buddies during track season were Jason and Erica. We were all part of the distance team. After practice, Eddie started to come over and chat with us, and then afterward, he would just come over to talk with me. After about a month of speaking to each other after practice, Eddie asked me to be his girlfriend. I didn’t want to say yes, as I had never had a boyfriend and I felt like I needed more time to get to know him. But I also liked him, so I didn’t want to say no. So I told him what I thought was the best answer. I said, “Or.” It didn’t mean yes, and it didn't mean no. It meant maybe. It meant later. Eddie always tells me you should have taken a leap of faith. He’s not wrong. After I told him, “or.” He stopped talking to me like he used to. He ended up getting kicked off the team (rebel), and since he got kicked off, he didn't join the following years. But during track season the next 3 years, he would be at practice before or after to chat. During school, I tried to walk confidently when I saw him. I put a pep in my step. Eddie says I shook my booty at him. I told him no and tried to prove my point by reenacting my walk… I could see why he thought I did. SMH, it was not my intention! After I graduated and moved to the Seattle area, we would talk on the phone, and Eddie would visit me to hang out and watch some of my college soccer games. He became one of my close friends. I kept in touch and would check up on him through the 23 years that have passed. He was there in some of my worst times, and I will forever appreciate him. I'm so blessed to have Eddie still feel the same way he did the first time he saw me. I think it’s safe to say, I have had enough time to get to know him. I would like to say, “or,” did mean “later” because here I am 22 years “later,” getting ready to walk down the aisle to say, “I do.”