A Testimony of Timing

Who's in the mood for a sappy love story?

Good. I thought so.

*names have been changed to protect the innocent

Once upon a time there was a princess named Eliza. It was her junior year of college and she felt like her life was growing a bit stale. She hadn't dated much since her best friend missionary boy had left 16 months prior to September. She had made goals for herself and had tried to pick up new hobbies to fill her time. Eliza learned to play the guitar (still a work in progress) and she also decided to train for a marathon. School had always been important to her and she continued to work hard at that as well. Still, she felt as though she was still waiting and being prepared for something (or someone) to happen.

There was also a prince named Jethro who was going to the same school as Eliza. They didn't know each other but eventually found out they had a few friends in common. Jethro was studying hard in school and taking tons (and tons and tons) of girls on dates. Despite his valiant efforts, none of the girls he was meeting were making the cut. As the semester went on, Jethro was becoming more and more discouraged with the opposite sex.

One late night in November, Eliza was walking home from the library where she had just spent the majority of the day studying for her child development class. She decided to cut through the gyms to get to the other side of campus in order to avoid the frigid weather that awaited her. There were several recreational basketball games going on and Eliza couldn't help but sneak a peak at who was playing. Turns out, her good friend Lance and his roommates happened to be slaughtering a fellow team on the court closest to the door Eliza walked into.

Eliza recognized most of Lance's team and talked to each of them as they took their turn out of the game. Jethro was one of the roommates Eliza recognized from a pick-up basketball game they had played together at the park earlier in the semester. They talked a bit but split their separate ways after the game was over. A week or so later, Lance asked Eliza if she would ever go on a date with Jethro. She responded by saying that of course she would, but he would have to come get her number himself.

The following Sunday, Jethro some-what resistantly meandered over to Eliza's apartment to get her number. In a horribly awkward sequence, he managed to retrieve her digits with a promise that he would eventually call her to take her out. Eliza would later find out that she would be his last ditch effort when it came to dating. If Jethro didn't get a second date out of his encounter with Eliza, he would be giving up on the whole process indefinitely.

They ended up playing phone tag a bit the next day but eventually, Jethro asked Eliza on a date for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break. He didn't tell her what they would be doing. Instead, he directed her to bring her "architectual skills and creative skills" along. Eliza had her doubts about Jethro, but she had to admit, she was extremely intrigued and excited for their date.

Wednesday night arrived and Eliza barely remembered she had a date that evening. She had been studying hard that day and wasn't looking forward to having to pull out the first date script and having to pretend that all of her date's jokes were funny. Her suspicions about Jethro were added to when she answered the door. Eliza chuckled to herself when she looked up and down at her date and determined that he was definitely the "socks with sandals type".

Jethro decided to take Eliza to a comedy club show. They laughed the whole time and Eliza was beginning to eat her earlier thoughts and words. Turns out, her date wasn't at all what she had suspected and to her surprise, she was actually having a great time. Jethro scored lots of brownie points for the next part of the date. He informed Eliza that they would next be making sailboats to float down the creek out of bars of soap. He also told her that their team name would be The Pirates and he had costumes waiting for them back at his apartment.

Eliza and Jethro slipped on their eye patches, their hats with skulls and crossbones and put fake gold coins for booty into their pockets. They hollowed out the center of the bar of soap to make it float and made a flag with toothpicks and a piece of paper towel to stick into the middle of it. They were competing with two other couples to see whose boat would sail the fastest in the water. Eliza, Jethro and the other couples drove down to the river to administer the competition.

Naturally, the boat Eliza and Jethro made turned into a submarine and was too fast for anybody to catch. It was determined by everybody that their boat had won the race. They all went back to Jethro's apartment to get warm after sailing the ships. In the car, Eliza was informed by his friend that Jethro was very talented and could play the guitar, the piano and the ukelele. She demanded that he give her a private concert as soon as they got back.

Jethro made her a deal. He would play her a song, but only if Eliza played him one also. She reluctantly agreed. He proceeded to play her a blues song and it was written all over her face that she was impressed. It was Eliza's turn next. It took her a good twenty minutes to build up her confidence, but she eventually plucked out a verse or two of a simple song before she forgot the rest of the lyrics.

Jethro and Eliza's chemistry was really obvious and both were teased about how well their first date was going. However, it was nearing the end of the night and Eliza needed to go home to finish homework. They ended the date with an awkward, airy hug and quick quip about hanging out together over the break since they would both be in town.

Eliza walked into her apartment with a tiny smile on her face and she knew in that moment that she was in trouble.

Long story short, Eliza's amazing boyfriend surprised her when he showed up on her doorstep this weekend. They are very much in love. And they're playing for keeps.