IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE we met and it still feels like a dream; an amazingly beautiful dream. I can’t believe I was so afraid to meet him because we’re so much stronger together than we were alone. Being with E is as easy as breathing while, at the same time, so exhilarating that I’m left breathless. I’m still completely amazed we never connected the dots. Looking back, some things were so obvious I have to wonder where our heads were. But none of that matters. E and I were meant to be together, of that I’m absolutely sure. We cherish what we have and we never plan on being apart, ever again.
The way E and I are telling our story is exactly the way we are with one another. The way we always have been and the way we always will be. We complete each other’s thoughts, finish each other’s sentences and feed off each other’s energy. We are one, in every way; a strong river that ebbs and flows in all the right places.
Our friends ask plenty of questions and many laughs are shared. When everyone is once again settled, we continue our story.
“We never met or tried to communicate in any form other than text message because we were both too afraid of breaking our emotional connection,” I tell our friends and then go on to talk about the fairs that we went to together—through texts, and how it was our compromise to be together without actually meeting. We tell everybody about our antics at the fair and when we lapse into our “hippie talk,” everybody laughs.
“I needed to breathe the same air she was breathing,” E tells our friends and puts his arm around me.
I start to feel somber when we talk about clearing out our houses and visiting the cemetery. As always, E senses my sorrow and takes over.
“After one year, I insisted Dee and I physically meet. Our emotional connection was stronger than ever and even though we were both still scared shitless, the need to meet was greater.” He goes on to tell them how the hostess asked if she could help us and how, when we answered, we both instantly knew.
I stop E with a kiss. He smiles and winks; knowing exactly what I’m thinking and continues.
“When we finally met, we stayed up all night talking and started connecting the dots. We learned a lot about each other, all the things that we couldn’t talk about as Dee and E and all the things we didn’t want to talk about as Dani and Ean. But the single biggest thing I discovered that night was that her husband was Scott Adams.” I see the exact minute it clicks for Justin and Chance. Justin becomes pale and Chance completely stops breathing. It was the exact same reaction his parents, sister, and Beverly and Rodger had when we told them our story at brunch last weekend.
“Scott had been a good friend and teammate of mine in high school.” He goes on, telling this part to our friends who don’t know their connection. “Sadly, we lost touch after he moved to San Diego for college and I’m both sad and embarrassed to say I never knew he died.”
E turns to me, kisses my tear-streaked face, and whispers, “I’m so sorry about that, babe.” He’s already apologized but it isn’t necessary or even wanted. He’s been there for me in more ways than he could ever imagine.
Our friends, once again, bombard us with questions, talking about how crazy and unfathomable this whole story is. E and I still question each other as to how we didn’t see it, picking apart both relationships in search of clues. When E says, “Talk shows would have a field day with this one,” everybody laughs.
I turn to everyone and continue. “E and I never broke Barbara’s rule. We said things to one another when we texted but never gave away any personal details. Ean and I talked all the time, but never about anything personal. It seemed like each time we got close to a touchy subject, we were either interrupted or one of us turned the conversation in a different direction.” I stop and take a sip of my wine to process all this insanity and continue. “We can see everything now, but then? We didn’t have a single clue.”
E and I take turns talking about all our missed connections, and there were many. “Ean and I became friends, then best friends. We did a lot of things together but whenever he paid with a credit card, or showed his driver’s license, I never looked. And the only times during the months I knew him, that his name was actually written on paper, it was written by me and I used an ‘I’ instead of an ‘E.’ And when I entered him into my contact list, I spelled it I-A-N.” The normal way to spell it, but I keep that part to myself.
I start rambling about the insanity of the whole situation, explaining Heather’s reasoning for not spelling his name in the traditional way. I tell our friends how that was the most obvious connection and not having that tidbit of information made connecting the dots virtually impossible. When I finish with, “And thank you for that, Heather!” and she responds with, “You’re welcome, sweetheart!” everybody, once again, cracks up.
Before I can continue, E cuts in with a protest of his own. He tells everybody about how he gave the first letter of my first name a “nickname” and began calling me Dee. How over time, that became my name to him. “It’s because of this,” he tells everyone, “that I didn’t make the connection.” I remember the day he did that. I loved it then but I love it even more now that I know him. Everybody laughs! E’s really grasping at straws and we all know it. Nobody says a word…yet. He’s going to be ribbed like nobody’s business and I can’t wait!
I then continue. “Ean and I hung out together all the time, much of that time, here in my house. But I didn’t have any pictures of Scott displayed on my walls. It was just too painful.” I look across the room and see Scott’s beautiful face smiling back at me. It doesn’t cripple me to see him anymore. Since we’ve met, E’s encouraged me to bring all his pictures back out saying, “We need to honor his memory.” I did the same for him. I had never been in his house and when I finally was inside, I saw his walls were also bare, so when he moved in with me, we also hung pictures of Alyssa and Alex. I notice him glance at their picture and squeeze his hand in a show of support. I also notice Justin and Chance looking at Scott’s picture and wonder how they didn’t notice it earlier in the evening.
I then go on to explain all of this, sharing how E would have immediately recognized him and how it was things like that, that made connecting the dots virtually impossible. After taking a sip of wine, I continue. “I can’t tell you why we never discussed these significant things. We can’t even figure it out. Maybe it was Barbara’s rule or maybe we just weren’t ready. That and the fact that we had the special cell phones for Dee and E helped keep the mystery going. I truly believe we were never meant to make that connection before it was time.”
E holds me tightly to his side and continues. “My friendship with Dani turned to love. It was never the kind of love I felt for Dee but it was love just the same. Dani and I never crossed the line of being anything other than really close friends but the feelings I had for her and Chloe were very strong, nonetheless.” We stop talking to kiss each other and he says, directly to me, “I have always loved you.” His declaration takes my breath away and I lean in to kiss him.
After a long embrace, he takes my wine glass and sets our drinks down. Keeping me close to his side, he looks to all the tear-stained faces of our friends and families and says, “So that brings us to where we are today.”
With a quick kiss, a smile, and a wink, he blurts out, “WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!”
He looks at me and reverently whispers, “I’m marrying my Dee!”
“And I’m marrying my E!” I say, radiating all the love and joy we both feel.
We hear a collective gasp.
E takes my bandaged hand in his and starts unwrapping it to show the ring. We told everybody I sprained my wrist to hide it. He kisses my hand over my ring, grabs our drinks and continues.
“We got engaged that very night!” he says to everyone but his eyes are locked on mine. He then turns to the group. “Looking at it from an outsider’s point of view it may seem fast, but Dee and E have known and loved each other for over a year and during that year, we texted constantly, sometimes several times during the day and usually for hours on end. And Dani and Ean have known and loved each other for over six months. We saw each other all the time and were always doing things together. We also talked on the phone when we weren’t physically together. Although we knew each other separately, we individually formed immensely strong connections, and together have forged an unbreakable bond. Dani and I also know how short life is and how love can be taken away in the blink of an eye.” He kisses me again and goes on.
“I’ve asked Dani if I could legally adopt Chloe and she agreed. Chloe will always know Scott’s her father. We’re going to be calling him Daddy and I’ll be called Dad. I also told her I want both her and Chloe to keep Scott’s last name before mine, separated by a hyphen. I want to honor him, and Dani has agreed to that too. Both Chloe and Dani will have the last name Adams-Montgomery.”
We gently wipe away each other’s tears, both extremely overwhelmed from having told our story. We spend the next few minutes answering some of the many questions our friends throw at us, and then with our story behind us, we hold up our glasses.
“TO FATE!” we cheer.
“TO FATE!” everyone follows and, at that, we all toast.
The night turned out beautifully. Everyone was shocked and surprised, but truly happy for us. After the last person leaves, E takes me in his arms and tells me how much he loves me. He then gently leads me into our bedroom to show me just how much.