David and I met in October 2004. I had just broken off a relationship with someone else, and my sister Mindy asked me if she could set me up with someone. She had this friend Sherry who was really cute, and Sherry had a brother in my area. All she knew about him was that he was a computer science major, he played volleyball, and he came from a big family. I agreed, thinking that this guy must be a total nerd if his sister was setting him up from two states away. I was dating A LOT at the time (three different David’s at one time actually), but I figured one date wouldn’t hurt and it would make my sister happy…
Apparently David had tried my home phone a few times, but I never answered it and he wouldn’t leave a message. So Mindy gave him my work number, and he finally got a hold of me there. I had him call me back on my cell that night. I was at the hospital with my friend and her grandma, but I went into the waiting room to coordinate details of the date for that Saturday night.
I didn’t really give the date much thought after that. I had ZERO expectations. When David picked me up, he was a little late. He had gone to the house next door by accident, but they pointed him in the right direction. My first impression was that he was a bit of a geek: old white tennis shoes, t-shirt, jeans. But he was nice and outgoing and had a cute smile. Then we walked to his car, and I was very impressed. (Side note: I wrote my version before I read David’s. And, I actually wore a solid black ¾ length sleeved shirt with a white camisole underneath, and grey jeans and black boots. I do know the red shirt that he was referring to, which I wore on later dates, but not that one. But nice try David!)
Then he admitted that we would have to go back to his apartment because he had left his wallet at home. He kept saying that he never does that (and looking back now I can appreciate how rare that really is), but I wasn’t bothered—I thought it was pretty funny. I met a few of his roommates and got to see where he lived. Then, he had me choose where to eat dinner, but he gave me three options: Red Robin, Hacientos, or some Italian restaurant (I can’t remember—Macaroni Grill?). I LOVED that—total bonus points. I picked Red Robin.
We had a bit of a wait, so we sat on a bench in the mall and talked. He told me how he just got a cell phone for the first time because the bishop in his ward made him get one for his calling (executive secretary). After dinner, he had me choose the activity—haunted house or ice skating. I picked the haunted house because it was something seasonal, but then he drove to the ice skating rink anyway and said we could do both. Fortunately I had taken an ice skating class at BYU, so I was pretty comfortable on the ice. I was also pretty impressed with David—he said he used to play hockey. We skated around, and I told him all about my upcoming Europe backpacking trip the next year and he told me about his accident and how bad his leg got hurt. It was funny to me because all these stories of stuff he did weren’t really adding up to the big geek I originally thought he was.
After skating, we drove up to SLC and went to a haunted house. I remember commenting to David how comfortable he looked in his car—the seat was as far back as it could go, and he had cruise control on so his legs were totally stretched out. When we pulled into the parking lot, someone directing traffic stopped David and told him he had a sweet car. It was awesome. It had been raining all night and the line to get in was out the door, but David walked us straight up the VIP line and paid extra to get us inside right away. Very smooth! The haunted house was really fun. The funny thing was that he kept holding my hand or putting his arm around me, like I was scared. I figured he was just using it as an excuse to touch me.
On the way home we talked pretty easily, but I was seriously tired and fighting sleep (he didn’t know that though). It had been a long night and a long date for that matter. I had had fun, but I’m not a night owl. He dropped me off at home and walked me to the door. We probably hugged or something—I actually can’t remember. But after I got to my room, I sent him a text thanking him for the date and saying I had a good time. Apparently, that sealed the deal for David.
We talked and texted a bit after that. He invited me to play volleyball with his friends a few days later, and we went out the next weekend (Halloween) and the next and the next. I spent Thanksgiving dinner with the Schultz family, and he held my hand that weekend for the first time. Then he kissed me a few weeks later, in December. I liked him, but I was still dating other guys as well. It wasn’t until just before I left for home over Christmas that I decided to buckle down and commit. We were skiing and I told him that I was going to be his girlfriend and just date him, or something along those lines. Anyhow, ever since that day I was hooked. We dated for almost a year when he proposed, and got married the following December.
