After Adam and I had been together for a couple of blissful months, we had two important events come up: Valentine's Day and his high school's Winter Banquet.
First was the banquet. Adam went to a small Christian high school, and they didn't have proms, they had banquets. I knew a few people from his high school, but wasn't aware if any of them knew that Adam and I were an item, so I was nervous about that.
But the biggest issue? Finding a dress.
The dress had to have sleeves or at least two-inch wide straps. This was a huge pain in my butt. I look good in strapless dresses. That's what straight-figured girls wear. That's what I wore. Hmph.
We ended up finding the perfect dress...in my mom's closet. She had a long periwinkle blue dress with a tiny ruffle along the neckline and two-inch wide straps. It came with a sheer cardigan that tied in front and was very 70's (which was when she bought it), so I forwent the cover-up. Instead we found a baby blue shimmery shawl with sequins on the ends that I wrapped around my shoulders, since it was February.
I spent that day shaving, plucking, lotioning, and scrubbing myself to be perfect. I painstakingly curled my long hair and pulled the sides back so it'd look at least a little different than my everyday hairstyle. I wore hose (yes, hose), and finally put on the dress. I was so skinny. It makes me sad to look back at those photos. :)
I had a couple friends over at my house helping me get ready. I felt so special. I was dating a boy from a different school and I was going to his banquet! My friends were all helping me with my hair and makeup, it was so fun being pampered.
Finally, it was time for Adam to pick me up.
When he arrived, he looked so (
so) good.
If you know Adam, you know that his defining quality is his sense of humor. Even then...
He was wearing a sea-green three piece suit. He'd gotten it at Goodwill. It looked so good on him. He'd accessorized with a pocket watch on a chain, a cane, and a fedora-style hat. Yum. And again...I felt so special.
We drove in his green Jimmy to Wichita to the Petroleum Club, where the banquet was held. That night is a blur in my mind. We ate good food, were treated to some entertainment, and afterwards, we changed and went bowling with some of his friends and their dates. What I remember most about that evening was the surreal feeling of spending such a grown-up evening with Adam. Sigh. He's so cute.
Valentine's Day was a few days later. Adam wouldn't tell me what he was planning. And to this day, I still tell this story all the time. It's just unbelievable how romantic he was at such a young age.
At my high school, Valentine's Day was a big deal...and kind of a popularity contest. At the end of the day, they would post a list in the hallway of who received Valentines (flowers, candy, cards, etc.). In past years, sometimes my dad would send me something sweet, and sometimes, my name wasn't on the list.
2002: my name was on the list.
After school, I went over to the mezzanine where we were supposed to pick up our Valentine's, and there they were: the most beautiful roses and a sweet card from Adam. I couldn't stop smiling. And I couldn't wait for our date that night.
Adam picked me up that evening. I wore a black dress with spaghetti straps and very uncomfortable shoes. He looked amazing in a white button-down (rolled up to the elbows, of course) and khakis.
We drove to Wichita, and he took me to Cafe Bel Ami. It was like a restaurant from a movie. Little round tables for two covered in white tablecloths, candle-lit, more than one fork at your place-setting...you get the idea. He made reservations. That was cute. I don't know if I'd ever had reservations at a restaurant before.
I don't remember what we ate, but my one memory from the restaurant is an embarrassing one. This was a fancy restaurant. It was quiet...people talked in hushed tones...fancy. The tabletops were covered in glass. Do you see where this is going? In the middle of our meal, I laid my knife on my plate and it promptly fell off my plate onto the glass and made the most horrible, loud clattering noise. So embarrassing. Luckily, Adam laughed.
After dinner, we went out to Adam's farm. My shoes were killing me, so I changed into tennis shoes (which looked really cute with my dress...not). We got to his house and his mom took a couple photos of us. I felt special again.
It was dark out by this point and had been for a few hours. Adam took my hand and led me out into the yard, across the driveway, between some trees, to their silo. I'd never been to their silo before, but I'd heard rumors that this was where Adam's older sister and her hubby spent "alone time" when they were dating. :) Don't hate me, Jess.
Adam had me go inside the silo. I expected it to be empty, just a tall hollow silo. Wrong.
Adam's dad had built levels inside the silo, with a winding staircase in between each level to create floors. It was the coolest thing. Adam said we had to climb to the top. So up we went.
When we got to the top, it took my breath away. Adam and his dad had worked to fix up the top "floor" of the silo to be a cozy little get-away for our special Valentine's Day. They'd installed glass in the windows so it was all enclosed, and they'd put carpet on the floor and on the walls up to the windows. There were white Christmas lights everywhere, and that was our only light. The view from the top was awesome too.
Was this really happening to me?
Adam and I had our first slow dance there, alone, at the top of the silo on Valentine's Day.
After our dance and some "talking," he showed me that they'd hooked up a TV so that we could watch a movie up there. There were lots of pillows and blankets on the floor, it was perfectly cozy. In some previous conversation, I'd told him my favorite movie was
Breakfast at Tiffany's.
He remembered.
We watched the
Breakfast at Tiffany's, and cuddled, and kissed, and danced.
In the top of a silo.
On our very first Valentine's Day.
To be continued...
