How I Met Love, Ice Cream, Part 1

*To start at the beginning click here.*

Saturday, May 3, 2008, Day 2

"Oh no!! I left my phone at home!" I helplessly exclaimed as I put my purse in my work locker. I had to endure my entire shift without knowing if he had called! As Front Desk Concierge, I tried to concentrate on the concerns of the resort guests, but my thoughts kept slipping back to Shanam.

"What if he calls and thinks I'm ignoring him because I don't call him back? Or worse, what if he doesn't even call!"

As soon as 11 o'clock hit, I was out the door and in my car. I had to get home quickly so I could finally get answers to the questions that had been pounding in my head all day long! Arriving home, I ran to my room and prayed as I picked up my phone. Had he

called?!...Yes!!! Shanam had sent two text messages and had just barely called. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I clutched the phone to my chest, able to finally release my pent up anxiety. I decided I needed to chill out a bit before I spoke to him, so I focused on changing my clothes and reapplying a little make-up. I then sat down on my bed, took a deep breath and pressed the call back button.

"Hello?" answered the low, deep voice.

"Hi! It's Bethany. How are you?"

"I'm great! Are you still up for ice cream or are you too tired?" He didn't hesitate to get right to the point.

"I think I can stay up a little longer," I said, smiling. "How are you feeling? You're the one who has a two hour drive home."

"Oh, I'll be just fine. I'm a night owl. So, where should we go? Do you know of any place that's open this late?"

"Yeah, Downtown Disney has several ice cream shops. I think they close at 1 on Saturdays."

"Great! Do you want me to come pick you up?"

I didn't want him to know where I lived, just yet, so I said, "No, thank you. I'll just meet you there. It's only a few minutes from my house. Do you know how to get there?"

"The streets around Disney World are crazy, so I would love some help!"

I carefully explained how to get from where he was to Downtown Disney, but instead of saying goodbye when I finished, we stayed on the phone talking and laughing, as if our date had already begun. By that time, I had already climbed back into my car and was driving to meet him. During our conversation, I asked him a question that had intrigued me from when we had met the night before.

"So, Shanam, what does your name mean, exactly? What's the story behind it?"

"Well, to give you the short version, it means 'peace' in Sanskrit. That's the oldest written language. My mom really liked it. What about your name?"

"It's definitely not as fancy as yours but my mom liked it, too. She chose Bethany because that was the town where all of Jesus' friends lived."

The conversation continued until both cars pulled into the parking lot. I got there a little before he did, so I was able to see him drive right by me into the next space. He was behind the wheel of a gorgeous Beemer, silver with black interior.

"Maybe I should have let him pick me up!" I thought.

He stepped out of the car, still holding the phone up to his ear as he said hello for a second time. As he put his phone into his pocket and made his way over to my car, I couldn't help but admire his nice physique. He stood about six foot two with broad shoulders and a narrow, trim waist. That night, he was wearing a black dress shirt with faint white pin-stripes. He had again rolled up the sleeves, and had on dark jeans with European square-toed dress shoes. He looked fabulous!

"Your directions were perfect. They led me right to you!" he said as he wrapped his arms around me in a welcoming embrace.

"Well, I'm glad you finally found me," I said, breathing in his sweet cologne, enjoying the double meaning of what I had just said.