Our First Date | A Love Story Remembered

The Gold Belt or the Silver Belt: The Night of Our First Date

Numbers.
Bill and I were 3 years and 8 months apart in age. I don’t know why I wanted to open with this, but I never forget those numbers.

July 13, 1996 – the night we met
July 20, 1996 – our first date
July 22, 1996 – we celebrated his birthday

These dates are written on a note card and tucked inside a photo album filled with cards, dried roses, handwritten notes, dinner napkins we scribbled on, and pictures from the three years and four months we dated before our wedding on November 13, 1999.

These were the days when photos came from cameras, film had to be developed, and moments were measured in numbers and dates, forever sealed in my mind and heart.

The Day After We Met

After exchanging numbers at the party (see my post The Night We Met), I couldn’t wait to talk with Bill again.

The next day, I called him to let him know my friends and I were going to a beach club hotel for drinks.  I told him, “If you have nothing to do, I’d love to see you there.”  He played it cool. “As far as you know,” he said, “I’m just a guy you met a party.” I know, it sounds bad, but it wasn’t.  Bill was polite, funny, and charming. Later he told me he said that because he didn’t want to come across as too eager , he already liked me, but he’d been let down before and didn’t want to scare me off.  He wanted to do things differently this time.

I went to the beach club hoping to see him, but I didn’t. Turns out, he was there the whole time and saw me but didn’t approach me yet.

The Visit to Bob Taylor Chevrolet

That week, I stopped by Bob Taylor Chevrolet, where Bill worked.  At the time I worked for an entrepreneur from Canada, one of the quirkiest people I’ve ever worked for. He sold health and weight-loss products through magazine ads and often left the bathroom door half open in the office (and yes, my desk was right there!).

I was nineteen, taking community college classes two days a week, and working in his office the other three. During lunch breaks, I’d sometimes visit the nearby shopping plaza to grab lunch, and Bob Taylor Chevrolet was right next door.

That day, I went to meet one of Bill’s coworkers, and friends – let’s call him Carl — who had also been at the party. We were going out to lunch. Carl and I also exchanged numbers at the party.

As I waited, Bill came out, smiling from ear to ear. He thought I’d come to see him. Honestly, I wished I had, but I also deliberately went out with Carl so I could hopefully run into Bill.  He was the cutest thing.  I’ll never forget what he was wearing that day, a white short-sleeved shirt, khaki pants, and a navy tie with tiny pears on it (from Structure, if anyone remembers that store). Bill always dressed neatly, conservative, classic, never flashy, always tucked in his shirt.

Carl and I went out for Italian across the street, and he managed to drop pasta sauce on his shirt. As Bill and I dated, we talked about my lunch date with Carl. He couldn’t believe I went out with him!  He used to say, “I can’t believe you went out with Carl!”  We talked about Carl for years and it became something we both laughed about on many occasions.  Apparently, Carl already had a fiancée and a reputation as a “player.” I didn’t care. I wasn’t into Carl, I already liked Bill very much.

The First Date

A few days later, Bill asked me out on a date and the following Saturday after we met, was our official first date.

It’s funny what we remember. While writing this, I thought I’d forgotten what I wore that night, but then I remembered: the silver belt.

First, we went to play pool, and when we reminisced about it later, Bill insisted I’d worn a gold belt. I told him, “No, it was silver!” It became a long-running inside joke between us:
“Gold belt.”
“Silver belt.”
“Gold belt.”
“Silver belt!”

It was our thing and even though I showed him the belt (after we were married) with a smile on his face, he still said, “it was a gold belt.” (laughing out loud)

The Traffic Light

For whatever reason, part of the night I drove and later took him back to his car at the pool hall.  While driving downtown, I accidentally ran a red light.We lived in a retirement town on the west coast of Florida.  Downtown closed pretty early.   There was no traffic, it was late, and I didn’t notice until the flashing lights came on behind me.

The officer walked up to my window and asked for my license and registration. My license was stuck in one of those tight plastic holders, the kind that never lets go when you’re under pressure. Ever have one of those? I was laughing nervously, trying to pull it out, with a police officer outside my window and the guy I liked sitting beside me.

After much fumbling, I finally freed it and thankfully the officer let me off with a warning.
Bill was nervous,  probably because his dad was a retired police officer.  In fact, I think I remember him saying to himself, “give him your license.”  He was bothered by this entire situation, but it was alright.  Bill and I also talked about this quite a few times.

Late Night Perkins

After this fun event of getting pulled over,  we went to Perkins, the late-night spot everyone went to back then. If you drove by at 1 a.m., it was always packed with people grabbing dessert after a night out.  I always liked that about Perkins.  I hold many fun memories of meeting up with high school and college friends at Perkins, late at night, eating pie.

We talked about the evening, about life, and Bill invited me to have dinner with his family on Monday, his birthday. I was delighted and excited, and I was also going to meet his parents.

And that’s where I’ll stop the story.  The story of our first date,  a love story remembered.

Twenty-six years of life with Bill followed.  This was our beginning.  It ended on August 24, 2021, however, those years were rich.  Rich with laughter, joy, friendship and most of all,  rich with God’s love.  Without His love, we were nothing because God’s love and faithfulness to us held us together and made our lives beautiful, even in the hardest seasons, and we had those too.

Until next time, stay strong in the LORD and in the power of His might.
Lost.Loved.Found xoxoxo