If you have female genes, then you enjoy a good love story, be it in the form of a movie or a book. I will watch most kinds of movies except horror stories (too much adrenaline) and never again a Transformer movie – I’d rather ban chocolate from my diet for a year (and that would make me suffer intolerably). But if I have to choose between a good action movie and a soppy love story, the latter wins most times.
I was just on Lauren’s Latest reading about how she met her husband and it threw me back a good while to when I met mine.
I had arrived in Italy a few days before to au pair for a delightful family who I am still in touch with and I met up with Maria, a lovely Scottish lass who au paired for a family in the same village. All day Sunday and Wednesday evenings were the designated free times for au-pairs – don’t ask how a whole city (Turin) of au pairs managed to get their bosses to allow them all loose on the town at the same time but this had been established long before I arrived.
Anyway, come Wednesday evening, I borrowed the family car and we tootled off down into the big smoke. This was my first experience driving on the right so that kind of freaked me out and my already shaken confidence after a few close calls wasn’t helped by the fact that Maria didn’t drive and directed me up not one but two one-way roads the wrong way.
By the time we got to the Pub Brittanica (the only British-styled pub in the city) to meet up with thirty or so fellow au-pairs, I was shaking so hard I could hardly hold my drink.
I settled down with this sparkling group of females who were out on the prowl for the evening and Maria told me all about her boyfriend, a rugby player who played for the Turin team, Ambrosetti. The team members knew Wednesday was the au pair night and zeroed in on the pub each week, testosterone glowing. Many were already there posturing as only sporting heroes can but her boyfriend hadn’t arrived yet. After a bit, she scooted off to the toilet to make sure everything was still in place and I went to replenish my drink to continue the calming down process – the magic of alcohol. When I sat down again, I half turned to check out the talent sitting behind us and locked eyes with this drop-dead gorgeous guy. And I mean locked eyes. It was an instant recognition thing that you see in movies and read about in books but don’t really believe in. We stumbled out a few sentences before Maria returned from the toilet and said, “I see you have met my boyfriend, Adriano.” Something happened to my stomach and it wasn’t good. I think I smiled, but not sure about that. The rest of the evening passed in a haze of forced gaiety and I was glad to leave when the time came.
The following week, Adriano broke up with Maria and asked me out. Talk about awkward. I had just made friends with Maria and I didn’t want to be ostracized by the au-pair sisterhood so, just like a small child asking their mother for permission, I asked her if I could. She smiled a wobbly smile and assured me it was fine but her eyes told another story.
I told Adriano we should all go out as a group for a bit and see where it took us. We became close through this period and Maria came to accept that it was meant to be.
I stayed in Italy while Adriano studied for a degree in engineering and did his military service. Maria left after a few years and I occasionally wonder what happened to her. She was truly lovely person.
Nine years later, we left Italy and settled in New Zealand, had a child, built a life and we are still here – together. That feeling of looking into Adriano’s eyes all those years ago and seeing my soul mate has never left me. Love at first sight truly does exist.
Heather Dugan (Footsteps) says
What a romantic beginning for a beautiful shared life, Suzanne -with such hopeful thoughts for those of us who haven’t yet found that kind of love. Thanks for telling your story!
Angela says
This is an example of a hard real-time sytesm. In this case is not the sytesm’s fault, it’s ours for not submitting our proposals at the right time. However it would be perhaps nice that for future GSoCs there is a time counter in the profiles page. In my case I got confused with GMT 7 instead of UTC 7, as in US it’s common to consider the time in terms of the Greenwich Mean Time.
admin says
“Yet” being the operative word, Heather. He’s out there – maybe he’s shy and needs some encouragement to come out of the shadows. I had to go all the way to Italy to find mine.
Suzanne
Toni Kenyon says
Aww. This is a gorgeous love story. Thank you for sharing, Suzanne.
admin says
Thanks, Toni. I am sure of our love but I am very confused about where the years went.
Suzanne
Liz says
What a neat love story…so it really does happen!!! Wow!
admin says
I would never have believed it either, Liz, before it happened to me.
Suzanne