Four years ago this morning, Rick called me while I was on the bus into work. I was surprised to hear from him, but agreed to go to a movie with him that night. I then called my friend Amanda to “alert the media” so to speak, and tell someone how glad I was that I had shaved my legs that morning and that I was wearing decent clothes. It was my first date in…well actually, years. It was a big deal.That night we met at the subway station near Rick’s place and I clearly remember stepping on his foot when I leaned in to hug him hello. (At this point, we had known each other for a while from the theater I worked at – he’ll tell you he’d had a crush on me for a year, but I think he’s exaggerating.) I was embarassed, but he was good enough to play it off. We went out to dinner at a local diner (which his friend Randy still teases Rick about) and then to the movies to see the new Mel Gibson flick, Signs. Let this be a lesson to you all – be careful what movie you decide to see on your first date, or years later it may come back to haunt you in the form of the star of that movie being revealed as a misogynistic bigoted prick. And the only line you will remember from an otherwise boring movie will be “Swing away!” Yeah.
At some point that night, I asked Rick how old he was. He told me fifty. I said, “No really, you look about 38.” He admitted to 48. I was 24. And that’s how, for the first two months we were together, I was dating a man twice my age. The kids love that part of the story.
We’ve been together for four years now, and while there have been some very rough times, I wouldn’t trade him for anything. I told my friend Jordana shortly after Rick and I started dating that I thought he was the one I was going to be with for a very long time. I still think that. Happy Anniversary, baby!
