Love in the Workplace

Social Services is a mentally exhausting place to work. Day after day of seeing and hearing real life cases of the misery and suffering that some children come to know as everyday life can really takes it's toll on you. I had invested nearly 3 years of my life to it, and was completely burnt out. I was so excited and relieved when I found out I had been chosen for a new job I applied for, but had no idea what a big part it would play in my destiny. I remember my 1st day well. After the initial introductions to everyday procedures, I was asked to shadow a worker at the front desk. I was single, and noticed he was attractive and not wearing a ring, but quickly ruled out any interest as I immediately noticed he was a complete jerk. He had just met me, yet continuously made fun of my accent with every other sentence that came out of his mouth. I remember meeting a good friend from my previous job after work that day. She asked all about my new job, and being single herself, asked if I had met any cute guys. I remember telling her there was 1 guy but he was obnoxious. A few months later, he went through a very public break up. At 1st, I took full advantage of his vulnerability to get revenge for the way he had treated me with a few sharp sarcastic comments about the situation, that I knew I could get away with because we had started to become friends. He was a good sport about it and it somehow lead to some minor, innocent flirting. Soon after that, one particular night we ran into one another and started talking. It had evolved into an odd friendship that consisted mainly of being brutally honest with one another about our lives. We got into a heated discussion and before we knew what was going on, we kissed. We both immediately realized it was a mistake. We were not interested in one another at all. We agreed it was because of stress on both sides and agreed to never discuss it again. Shortly after, an old boyfriend came back into my life. We dated a few short months and decided to get married. I hadn't thought about that kiss since the day it happened, until I was standing in my reception line with my new husband, thanking our guests for coming. When he and his date got to the front of the line, I froze. The kiss flashed through my mind and I was unsure what was appropriate. Should I shake his hand or just nod in his direction? Still lost in this thought I soon found myself wrapped in his arms as he had decided for me and leaned in for a hug. As he moved on down the line, I kept laughing at myself in my mind at how ridiculous I was. That kiss meant nothing. It was old news. We had both moved on from it and there was no reason to let it make me uncomfortable. I dismissed it once again. Fortunately, my marriage was short lived. It had only been 4 months and it was drastically deteriorating. He too was once again going through a very bad public break up. We had been working closely together alot and had by this time become very close friends. We continued to advise one another on our situations. About 2 weeks before my husband offically moved out, he was half kidding around and suggested maybe I should just end it and we should get together. We had a good, innocent laugh about it. He had by this time developed the reputation of being a player, deservingly so, and looking at the possibility of being single again, I knew that would be the stupidest thing I could do. I was too smart for that. I frowned upon looking for love in the workplace and all the drama it entailed. I teased him by reminding him that I had years of experience with his kind and couldn't be played so it would never work. "What I want is unrealistic", I told him. "I want what only happens in the movies." We again had a good laugh, both knowing the other was partially serious. Over the next couple of weeks these conversations continued. He looked at my rejection as a challenge, and as the days went by, the charm thickened. I was at work on his day off when my cell phone rang. It was the call I had known was coming. My husband was leaving and wanted to start divorce proceedings immediately. I was relieved. We both realized we were trying to build a marriage on the memories we shared years ago, and we just weren't those people any more. I felt bad, not because I was going to miss him, but because this made 2 failed marriages, and once again, I was on my own. I was pretty down. For a good laugh, I called him up. I wanted to see his reaction if I called his bluff. It was unusual for us to talk outside of work, so the call probably surprised him. He answered, and I said, "Well... he's gone." Silence.......I was smiling so big. I had done it. I called him out on all his big talk and he had nothing to say. When we hung up, I thought, what is wrong with you. Your marriage of only 4 months just ended and you're smiling cause you think you've out done this guy who has no genuine interest in you what so ever. You have more important things to worry about. I thought I had shown him, and that would be the end of it. I was very wrong. My smugness quickly disappeared when he continued to pursue me. Everything in me told me he was bad news, yet though I wouldn't show it, he was wearing me down. My divorce was finalized quickly. I ran into him at Walmart after work one night. He followed me to the parking lot. I was trying to load my groceries when he took over, and patiently listened to my rant about why it would never work as he loaded them for me. Somewhere between we're just too different and dating people you work with is a bad idea, I felt his hand on mine. I looked up to find him very close to me and like clockwork, a gentle rain started. "I can show you what would happen in the movies," he said, as he leaned in and kissed me. I was done. We soon began dating quietly. I was freshly divorced and his social life was already the center of gossip at work because of his prior 2 relationships. Sneaking around was fun. At work we were good friends and after work and on days off we would go out to places we didn't think we'd run into anyone. We developed little signals only the other knew. 1 strong sniff in the air meant I love you. I made fun of him and told him I wasn't stupid enough to believe he was in love with me and played him the song "Anything but Mine", by Kenny Chesney. It talks about a couple at the beach in a new relationship. It goes,

"In the midst of the music, I tell her I love her, but we both laugh, cause we know it isn't true."

This became our 1st song. The more we listened to it, the more we talked about going to the beach. We decided to take a weekend and get away. It was time to make a decision about where this was going once and for all. We made the 9 hour trip to First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, and set up a tent for the weekend. We had just arrived and I was setting up the the campsite. He went to get some firewood. I was literally up in a tree trying to hang a clothes line when he pulled up frantically calling my name. He ran up and yanked me down, practically dragged me to the car. He wouldn't explain what was going on, but our site was just down from the bay so we weren't in the car long before arriving there. He runs around, jerks my door open, and drags me by the hand up a wooden walkway. As we neared the top, I could see the bay and the most incredible sunset I have ever seen. It's beauty was incomparable to anything I had ever witnessed aside from the faces of my children. It was easy to see this was something extaordinary. We stood there, holding hands and taking in this glorious site. I looked up at him, and it clicked. I knew at that moment, despite my best efforts, I was in love with him, and I was in big trouble. We've been back to First Landing many times since that day, trying to recreate the experience. We've never been able to. Either it's cloudy or the circumstances are just not right to create the indescribable colors that over took the sky that day or the overwhelming reavalation my heart felt. So many things fell into place so perfectly. Had we decided to go somewhere else, or arrived at a different time, who knows where we'd be now without the sunset that changed it all. We returned from that trip, offically a couple, with that day forever burned into our souls. I was sniffing the air so much after that trip my coworkers probably thought I was on cocaine. After we were married we took every opportunity to vacation at Virginia Beach. 4 years and 2 babies later, we have moved here. A vacation spot to millions, but to us it will always to us be a place of magic, hope, and new beginnings, that took us from love in the workplace to happily ever after.