Flashback Friday- The Beginning

Aug 19, 2011 by cafebebemama

Six years ago. February 5, 2005. This is the fish & chip shop that Mark took me to the first weekend we spent together. This was the beginning of the rest of our life together.

6 years ago Mark and I had started talking, over the phone. I was living in the US, Mark was here in the East Midlands. Mark’s twin sister Julie was the reason we were talking at all. I was good friends with Julie and she knew that I was about to begin a study-abroad semester in Caen, France. She thought it might be a good idea to introduce her brother and I…just in case, you know.

Mark had my contact details for months before drumming up the courage to ring an unknown woman across the Atlantic. Our phone conversations were wonderful and entertaining. I learned a lot about Mark in those first conversations including how to listen and HEAR his accent! Mark learned a lot about me in those first conversations including how to weather my endless nattering.

Throughout several months of talking we decided that it would be a good idea to meet up at the beginning of my stay in France…just in case, you know. I was due to leave the US on 31 January, 2005 and arrive in Paris on 1 February, 2005. I had to travel to Caen to check into my University dormitory and deposit 4 GIANT suitcases there in order to be able to travel on anywhere. I made flight arrangements to travel from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport with Easy Jet to Luton. This would be the first time that Mark and I would meet. I thought he was blond-ish. He knew I had a hot pink suitcase. This was about all we knew!

I landed at Luton, suffering slightly from jet lag and travel sickness (from my Transatlantic adventure), but managed to pull it together to walk into arrivals at Luton. We saw each other, said each other’s names questioningly, smiled and hugged briefly. I’d never been so grateful to see anyone in my life. On the 90 minute journey from Luton to Cambridgeshire I yammered away about my travels, the University, Caen and just about anything else I could think of. I was so nervous! But Mark laughed in all the right places and made me feel rather welcome. And he had really nice teeth and wasn’t the least bit blond!

That first weekend together was a bit bizarre for us. We didn’t know each other very well, we were sharing the same house and one bathroom, I was ridiculously jet lagged and not feeling very well (English roads were making me very travel sick indeed) and both of us had the beginnings of thoughts that maybe, just maybe, this might be the best thing happening for us both! Over dinner (Chilli Con Carne & jacket potatoes) the first night, I looked at Mark, across the table, and thought “I could definitely fall in love with this man.” And that was the beginning.

Mark took me to the Riverside Fish and Chip shop in Stamford, Lincolnshire on the Saturday, 5 February for my very first fish, chips and mushy peas. Despite feeling ridiculously nauseous, I managed to choke down most of the meal. This chippy remains a rather special place to us both. The picture of the chippy sign is one of 4 pictures I took that weekend. I was so out of it that I only managed a few isolated photos, none of which included Mark. Apparently it was more important to take a picture of a traditional English phone booth!

Mark and I were both sad on the Sunday. Neither of us knew what to say or what to do. We both knew that we had the beginnings of feelings for each other. We both knew that there would be an English Channel between us. Neither of us were sure whether it was the right time to say something or promise anything. Our journey back to Luton that afternoon was eerily quiet. After arriving at Luton, Mark and I stood at the Departures area and looked at each other. I said that he should think about coming to Paris and I could show him around my favourite city. He said that he would love to do that! There was the glimmer that both of us needed. It was time to go through to the Departures lounge. I walked up to Mark and put my arms around him and gave him a big hug. Mark is 6’2″, I am 5’3″. I fit right under his chin. Mark put his arms around me and rested his chin on my head and we both sighed. I looked up at him and we kissed, ever so lightly on the lips. This was the beginning.

There’s a lot more that happened during the next few weeks but I will let you know that 6 weeks after spending our first weekend together (a non-romantic weekend I might add), Mark and I got engaged. 6 return trips on Normandie Ferries between Ouistreham and Portsmouth later and our life together was firmly planned. 6 years later, we’re happier today than we ever would have dreamt, we have a delightful daughter and a new bebe is due before the year is out. It was a very good beginning indeed.

Today is Flashback Friday. A day where you pick a photo from your past, share the memory that accompanies it and link it up to share with a few people. No rules, no stress, just memories! Happy blogging!