Rainy.
I stayed home today as the weather was horrible and I had no reason to go out. Actually, I stayed up way too late last night and overslept today so it was a good thing that I didn't have to go out! The highlights of the day were making and eating tandori chicken and watching The Naked Gun 2 1/2, so I really didn't have an exciting day at all. Oh, and Cold Case of course!
So, since I don't have anything interesting to blog about, I thought I'd take a leaf out of Gina's blog and write about how Fumihiko and I met.
The quick story is I don't remember meeting him. He was just always there. But that's not entirely true!
We met on Christmas Day. I was working at Le Eikaiwa as I really didn't want to take the day off. I could have of course, I had enough holidays, but if I didn't work it I'd have to spend the day at home by myself, instead of with the students I loved. Fumihiko came into the school to get a brochure. The manager at the time, my friend Taeko, made him sit down with her and she went through the whole spiel about our school and the benefits of learning English. Then he had an interview, but not with me! The Japanese teacher checked his English, and I did a quick hello and greeting with him. I don't remember it at all! (I did quite a few in those days.) Anyway, Fumihiko decided to join our school and was put into the Japanese teacher's class starting in the New Year.
He used to come on Saturday nights, he was in the last class of the day. It was a long one, from 7 to 9. The class that I had at that time was quite small and people didn't always show up, so I had nothing to do! After his class he'd stay and chat with me for a few minutes. No big deal. I got that a lot. Lots of students want to "practice" their English with the Native Sensei. I didn't have any special feeling for him at that point, I was a bit gaga over another student! I remember thinking that Fumihiko would be a good match for Taeko, because they both have a little bit of a crazy sense of humor and were both kind people.
In the summer we had a barbeque at the beach and Fumihiko came, along with lots of other people. I was swaddled in lots of clothes, sunscreen and hats so I probably looked horrible. Fumihiko went swimming (which we weren't supposed to allow at our parties because of the danger of drowning) and wore a pair of bicycle shorts and a black t-shirt. I looked at him, really looked at him for the first time and thought WOW! He was hot.
Around about this time, the Japanese teacher started to suggest that he join my class. I didn't want him to, because then he'd be off-limits. Although my former employers didn't have a policy against dating students, I did. Still, I had to admit his English was getting better and he did belong in my class. He joined my class and then I realized two things. 1) He was older than me, so too old for Taeko, and 2) I didn't want him to go out with her, I wanted him to go out with ME!
Soon after he joined my class our manager changed. The new manager and I didn't get along at all. I was missing my family something fierce. I realized that I wouldn't be a part of my nieces lives if I didn't go back to Canada. Plus my contract was coming up for renewal and I just didn't want to commit to another year in Tsuruoka. I liked the city, but I was lonely and felt very isolated. I resigned. I was persuaded to stay in Tsuruoka for 3 more months, which I agreed to do.
During that time, Fumihiko came to lots of our parties, ramen outings and even class parties at my apartment, but I couldn't quite tell if he liked me or not. I thought maybe, but I wasn't sure. The company offered me a transfer to Otaru and my supervisor made it sound really great. (She lied.) I accepted. I thought one more year somewhere else might be doable and as long as I was in Japan I still had a chance with Fumihiko.
Just before I transfered, Fumihiko offered to take me to a concert that a mutual friend was helping out at. Was this a date? NO. He brought his mother. We did have a great time, and we spent all day together. He also offered to take me driving the weekend before I left. I jumped at the chance. He brought his mother. We went to his house towards the end of the day and then he drove me home. Alone! No mother. We got out of the car and he said that he wished he had a souvenir to give me. I screwed my courage to the sticking place* and said, "Oh, well, here's a souvenir for YOU." And I reached up on my toes and went to kiss his cheek. For some reason, he moved his head so I ended up kissing his neck. Still, I had done it!
He drove me to the airport the next weekend, but there was no repeat of the kiss, because there were about 6 students waiting to say goodbye. It was sad. I cried and cried in the airplane. I wasn't sure if I'd ever see him again.
About a week after I arrived in Otaru I got my goodbye present from Fumihiko. It was great. He'd made a photo album of pictures he'd taken, at the school, and on the days that we went out. It was wonderful.
I thought, well, let's give it a shot, so I wrote him a letter. I told him...well, anyway, it worked and we started phoning each other, visiting each other and ended up getting married. He asked me to marry him on our first real date. I laughed. I didn't think he was serious. He was.
So that's it. The story of how we met and how I fell in love. I found out afterwards that while he did like me, he didn't like me, until he got my letter. He had no idea that I was crazy about him. I "blame" our relationship on Reba McEntire's song,"What if it's You?" and that I finally found a guy that was worth the risk to my heart.
*Sorry Shakespeare, it's such a great line.
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