The first time I saw her was 12/24/2001 at 8:05am, she was perfect in her own imperfect way. Her hair was in a ponytail, her shoes were worn, her nails chipped. It was obvious she was there to work, with jeans and an old t-shirt on. I wanted to speak, to say something but my ignorance, my obsession with manicured nails and flat ironed hair, perfect outfits told me she wasn’t what I wanted but fate wanted differently. She walked up to my little sister, introduced herself, her name was Ashley. That’s when I first noticed her voice, her smile, her spirit. The three of us spent the rest of the day making meals, separating clothes, washing dishes. We were by far the youngest people there. By the end of the day, I knew everything about her and I was in love.
I didn’t ask her for her number but I learned that she was a college student in Waco and she was volunteering her entire Winter Break. So, I paid my little sister twenty dollars a day for the next two weeks to come up to that Clinic/ Shelter with me. We ate bag sandwiches everyday, prayed with families that had nothing. She showed me so much, in so little time. I forgot about the fact that she didn’t get her nails done once a week or care about if her earrings matched her shoes. I traded in Hennessy and Coke for water and Capri Suns. On the weekend before she was to go back I asked her out, she told me no. Said, “We’re just too different and men aren’t my focus.”
I went to Waco once and month and volunteered for the next year just to be around her. We clicked, she warmed up to me and it was beautiful. For the next two years I became a different man. And then she left, her education always came first and when Medical School called she answered. I said I would move, she cried, I cried but in the end, she didn’t want any distractions. Everyday after she left I wished I had swallowed my pride and asked her to stay, but I didn’t.
Two years ago I was taking my grandfather to the doctor and there she was. A little bit older, her hair a little shorter, but still perfect. We ate sandwiches and chips out of a vending machine outside of the elevator. We laughed, smiled and I’ve never let her go sense. She doesn’t want to get married until after she’s finished, but everyday I see her smile. I know it is meant to be.
