In the beginning...

On a train platform in Chicago.

Mr. KM and I met while working at a bookstore. I was still in school, finishing my English degree, working 40 hours a week, spending 10 hours a week in photography lab and he... was in Seminary. We started working the same summer, me in May (2007) and him in September. And I am totally not going to lie, I had a crush on him from the very beginning! He was very, very serious, very smart, and very determined. So I flirted. And gave him hugs (you would think I would have gotten the hint when they made him uncomfortable), joked around, did everything right... to no avail. He had a girlfriend. That I didn't find out about til Febuary. A girlfriend of almost 5 years! He is excellent at keeping his private life private, and I guess he didn't want to embarrass me. But boy, did I feel foolish when I found out.

So I started dating another guy who was totally not right for me- played World of Warcraft, drank alot, smoked, owned 3 handguns... it was just all wrong because I don't do any of those things (I know about guns, but I don't own any). He was a smart guy at the end of the day, but just ALL wrong, so we broke up. Then I started dating that guys best friend (wrong of me, I know). Who was ALSO wrong for me. We dated for longer, but our relationship was probably more strained. And we broke up, got back together, broke up... I turned to A, actually, for help on how to deal with this mess. I figured he was a pastor and I didn't know how to help this broken guy that I was dating. Push came to shove, and I realized you can't fix someone that isn't ready to fix themselves. So I moved on, probably in September but the dates are a little fuzzy.

Now a disclaimer: I cannot remember when I found out Mr. KM was no longer in a relationship! I knew he was very single for this next part of the story (they broke up in the first half of the year) but I can't remember if he told me or if I found out through the grapevine.

October came, and one of our FAVORITE customers fell and broke his hip and ended up needing a replacement! He comes into the store 3-4 times a week, is the nicest guy- a neurologist and a brilliant one at that. Everyone absolutely loves him and he loves Mr. KM and I like his own kids. So on Thursday, I took him his books (and some flowers) at the hospital and hung out for a while. The next day at work, Mr. KM mentioned that he'd like to go see him at the hospital next time I went (that SaturdaySaturday). So we went, meeting each other there, and... our friend had been discharged to an outpatient clinic! Bummer. So, he asked if I wanted to go to dinner.

Of course I did. But, oh wait, KM was making bad decisions and actually had a coffee outing planned with her ex-bf for that night. So she spent the whole first date texting the ex trying to get out of it...needless to say, the KMs don't count THAT as their first official date, and I am eternally grateful he gave me a second chance! Our second date, for the record, was watching Mary Poppins while eating oatmeal cookies (his favorite) and ice cream. I even stopped by Graeter's to get his favorite seasonal ice cream (pumpkin). Win! We've been together, pretty much every day, ever since.

In my apartment.