It was so silent; you could hear a pin drop. No one else in the room but us. One footstep after another he walked across the room. Every second feeling like a lifetime. I raised my head away from my book and saw him standing above me. He opened his mouth and said…

 

It was so silent; you could hear a pin drop. No one else in the room but us. One footstep after another he walked across the room. Every second feeling like a lifetime. I raised my head away from my book and saw him standing above me. He opened his mouth and said it’s so quiet in here. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious….” Just kidding, I didn’t say that, but I was sure thinking it!

 

Rewind to about two weeks before. I had started to work in the Rexburg Idaho Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I picked up a shift in the evening on Fridays to catch a break from my studies. We were both attending college at Brigham Young University-Idaho. We began every shift with a meeting to go over our assignments and where we would be posted. I was running a little late (not the best first impression on my first day on the job) and walked in the meeting room where they were just about to start. That’s when I saw him. Brown hair and eyes, and olive skin. (Totally different from me since I’m butt white, have fiery red hair and bright blue eyes) I sat down in front of him. I remember turning around at some point to look at him while he stood up and answered a question and looking at his name tag. “Kreutzer” was his last name. Was it Russian? German? No idea, I just knew I had no idea how to pronounce it. I also took that opportunity to ring check him. Hey, we all do it! I remember thinking that he was way older than me and that he was married with kids. Thankfully all the previous accusations I made were false and he was 100% available! We didn’t exchange any words that first meeting, but I was definitely smitten (and so was he ;))

 

As the weeks went on, we only waved or smiled at each other in passing. NO WORDS. I’m still laughing at how long it took us to actually talk to each other. We’ll the moment finally came after a few weeks. I was sitting in a waiting room alone for a meeting during our shift. Soon, other people started to trickle in and wait with me. Now, let me paint a picture in your head. This is a room with chairs running along the walls. So, there are only so many places you can sit. There were a lot of handsome guys on our shift that came in and sat near me but not close enough to start a conversation. Then he walks in. Tall, dark, and handsome, and looks right over to me. My heart is starting to beat faster. My palms a little sweaty. “This is it,” I’m thinking to myself. “He’s finally going to talk to me.” And then… HE SIT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM. It’s a miracle we ever got married lol. Just kidding! He redeems himself later.

 

So, he sits down on the other side of the room. Then after about a minute, he moves 2 seats away from me. Now I’m thinking this is it for sure. He’s going to talk to me. Nope! He turns to the guy next to him and starts up a conversation. Major face palm. At this point I’m much less hopeful than I was before. This has been a very anticlimactic experience for me, so I’ve pretty much moved my attention elsewhere. And then I hear it. A small, “Hi, I’m Sterling. What’s your name?” Obviously, I’m imagining things at this point, so I half ignore the whisper. (By the way its super quite in the room, so everyone is whispering. It wasn’t like a creepy side whisper in my ear. Just so we’re clear, no creepiness!) Silence. Why hasn’t anyone responded to his question? So, I turn my head to investigate, and I find the guy of my dreams, dark hair blowing in the wind, birds chirping, he winks at me, I wink back, and he whisks me off into the sunset…. Okay, maybe not that dramatic… But there he was, looking right at me, also a seat closer to me. I was in shock. I was not prepared for this! Courtney, pull yourself together girl! It’s a simple question with a simple answer…. “Oh me? Hi! My name is Courtney, nice to meet you.” Smooth Court. Real suave. “Where are you from?” Oh no, another question. Maybe this is why we haven’t talked until now. I think he could sense my fear of talking to boys… “I’m from…” Everyone gets up and we have to leave into the meeting room. Even bigger face palm. At this point, my face is bright red. Nice going Court, it took so long to snap out of it, you couldn’t even have a 2-minute conversation with this guy! Thankfully, all good things come to those who wait.

 

A week goes by, and I’ve probably replayed the scene in my head a thousand times. What was it going to be like this week? I was praying that I wouldn’t have a replay of last weeks’ long and enduring conversation (I just wish I could get past the second question this time around!).

 

Act 2 Scene 1. The stage curtains open. Courtney, sitting alone reading a book in arguably the quietest room in the world. Sterling, the man of her dreams, enters, waves, then exits. Courtney is disheartened. 2 minutes pass and he enters the room again. This time, walking straight towards Courtney. Determination in his face, a pencil and paper in his hand. Every step, a lifetime. Finally, he arrives. “It’s really quiet in here.” “Yeah, it is…” Is that it? Please tell me that’s not it. “I wanted to ask, are you dating anyone?” Wow, I was not expecting that. Pleasantly surprised though, I answered, “No, I’m not.” “Would you want to go out on a date sometime?” OF COURSE, I DO!!!! It’s like when your middle school crush talks to you for the first time, and you want to die/run away and hide/explode with excitement all at the same time. But I had to play it cool. I couldn’t freak out and lose my composure. Instead, I said something that Sterling has brought up a thousand times. It’s one of his favorite parts of our story to tell. “I was hoping you’d ask.” I know, so suave. Probably the most suave thing I’ve ever said. It kind of surprised me when it came out lol.

 

Read more about our first date that just so happened to be on my 22nd birthday!