The Rest of It

One Saturday morning when I woke up. I thought it was like any other Saturday, except little did I know my life was about to change forever. My girlfriend, Julie and I decided to go to the store like we often did on a Saturday. We stopped by the pizzeria (where there’s a guy who had a crush on Julie worked and he often gave us a free slice or a free drink to impress her). This pizzeria was across the street from where Tom’s fruit and vegetable store was. His store was located on one corner of a major intersection. We then went into the pharmacy and crossed that street and went into another store. You see I was trying to avoid Tom.

Let me set up for you what happened as we walked from store to store. Julie kept nagging me about when was I going to ask him to the prom. At each stop it was the only conversation she seemed to want to have and I on the other hand kept changing the subject to no avail. So we are now at the stop light that was directly in front of the store where Tom worked (which by the way was called Good Pickings which in itself was kind of funny because for me the pickings were good) and to just shut her up I agreed to ask Tom to the prom if I saw him. Now in my mind I figured since I haven’t seen him to this point there was a good chance he's not working so what do I have to lose? Was she satisfied with my answer no, because she asked me, “Do you swear?” Which in Brooklyn if you swear to something to your girlfriend and don’t hold up your end, you might as well move to another neighborhood. Your word was as good as any legal document. “Yeah, I swear.” Those words no sooner came out of my mouth when who do you think came out of the store and stood outside, looking directly at me, waiting for me to cross the street . . . that’s right Blondie. What I said next is not printable because it was before I was a Christian.

Little did I know that the night before Tom (who had been a Christian for only two years) spent some time in the basement of that very store asking God for just one girlfriend because it seemed it was getting too expensive for him to keep taking out different girls. Two things come to mind now – 1. he just wanted a cheap date and 2. as the years go on the number of girls get larger. So being a young Christian (I must say at this point do not try this at home) he decided that since the apostles cast lots to pick a new apostle, he would do the same to pick his next girlfriend. So he took off his Budweiser hat and wrote the names of the girls he was dating and the ones he wanted to date and placed them into the hat. Just for good measure he added a blank piece of paper incase none of these girls would be the one God had for him. So unbeknownst to me my name found its way into the hat. So after praying he pulled out a name and it said – Nadine. Now if this was where the story ended it would be an endearing piece of history. Instead the man I would spend the rest of my life with decided that I lived in a bad neighborhood and he really didn’t know me that well and he would pick again. PICK AGAIN! Now if that’s not the most insulting thing I ever heard of. First my name finds itself in a Budweiser hat with countless other girls just to be tossed aside. Why was I in there in the first place? It was God I tell you because of what happened next. Tom picked again and this time . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . .. he pulled out the blank piece of paper. Thank you Lord for justice. God was telling him it was Nadine or nothing. So now he needed an opportunity to ask me out. He found his opportunity the very next day.

When the light changed to green panic and sweat and coolness went out the window as I realized I had to ask him out. We crossed the street and Julie keep reminding me of my promise. I approach him and the conversation went something like this:

“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Well, you see . . . um . . . my school . . . um. Okay my school . . . um is having a prom and um. . . (at which point Julie hits me on my back and said, "Spit it out!") My school is having a junior prom do you want to go with me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay don’t worry about it, it’s no big deal.”
A curious look came across Toms face as he said, “I said yes.”
“Oh, cool.”

It’s always a shame when coolness goes out the window like that, but how cool was God to use this opportunity to bring us together. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m truly blessed to be his wife. The rest as they say is history.

© Nadine Z. 2006