Lucky 13

Most might steer clear of it, but the number 13 has sentimental value to me.

A mutual friend introduced Jason and me in the fall one year. We had one date, and the timing on both our parts was just not right. The way the cards played out, we didn't see each other again until the next summer.

Jason and I met (again) on a Friday the 13th, though a twist of fate. I was at dinner one night with friends, after other plans fell through. He was also there, with his friends. He walked past my table, and I thought he looked so handsome and about eight feet tall. He stopped to thank me for a card I'd sent him months earlier, and I kissed him on the cheek and told him how great it was to see him again. After he walked away, my friend's husband said, "I'm glad you know him. He's been staring over here at you all night." That made me feel all mushy inside. When I left, I might have been a little bit flirty with him as I scratched him on the back and smiled my goodbye for the evening. I drove home wondering about him.

The next day, I was in a really crabby mood about 'those plans' I'd made the evening before with another guy falling through. I was not very pleasant to be around. My mother was going to the wedding of her best friend's son, and not wanting to go alone, asked (read "begged") me to go. Ugh--NO. I was in no mood to go to some wedding out in the boondocks for someone I barely knew. Needless to say, I went anyway. I threw on a black sleeveless dress, heels, and some lipstick. I'm not even sure I brushed my hair. When I tell you that this wedding was in the sticks, I mean it. We arrived on the cusp of being late, and the church was packed. I remember actually telling the usher, "Groom's side, please" and he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Mother and I would be doing good to find one seat in the place, let alone two together. I don't know what made me look, but on the very last pew, in the back of the church, there sat Jason. (The groom was his college roommate!)When we locked eyes, we both smiled. I asked if the seat next to him was taken, and he said, "Now it is." I have to tell you, I was suddenly very self-conscious about my thrown-together look. All that dissolved as soon as he made me laugh. (There was a lady playing the violin pretty fervently before the ceremony...Jason joked that she was Charlie Daniels' wife.) The next several months were wonderful, leading to a February proposal.

***

Seven years ago this night, February 13th, Jason popped the question. We rented a cabin for the weekend and as we sat next to each other in a couple of rocking chairs talking, it was dark, except for the light from the fireplace. I think we both knew we'd finally found in each other all we ever wanted. He had been dropping little playful hints to me here and there, and I was so hoping that he would ask. I'd even planned a fun way to answer him. So, as we talked over glasses of champagne, (and I don't even remember what the conversation was about) I said, "...I can't imagine that", when he got down on one knee and said, "You know what I can't imagine? Spending the rest of my life without you. Will you marry me?" He held up the most gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring, and waited for my answer. I handed him a dark blue velvet box (that I'd been hiding next to my rocker), and told him to open it. He looked at me with a look that said DID YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST ASKED YOU?! He did open the box, and inside was a fortune cookie. When he broke it open, the fortune inside held my answer: "Yes, Jason. I will marry you." ♥

So, that's why I think the 13th, especially when it falls on a Friday, is pretty special.

~Dana