Part 3: What do I do next?

It turns out Hannie tried pretty hard to get out of ‘the tour’. She asked several friends to do it for her, but nobody was available - thank goodness! She told me she was worried her sister was trying to ‘fix us up’, and she was just not interested in dating her brother-in-law’s little brother - me.

Well, her sister wasn’t trying to ‘fix us up’ but I sure was! Honestly, I didn’t have a preconceived notion that anything would happen when I saw her. I just couldn’t get her out of my mind since watching her in the video and I had to do something about it. I didn’t want it to be a date, just a neutral meeting where she was comfortable so I could see if anything was there.

She said yes to dinner because she wanted to be nice but still wasn’t interested. However, there were two instances that turned the table. Two things I did, one out of instinct and the other because I felt bad.

I opened the door for her at Applebee’s
I apologized

I’m not quite sure why the door was so important, but it was. And her response to my apology? Well…I don’t think she realized how important that was. She deflected and said there was no need to apologize. She was gracious, grateful, and quick to forgive.

After I apologized, a massive burden was lifted from my heart and soul. From then on our conversation flowed with more ease, openness, and honesty. We continued to laugh and talk about things important to us. The trivial banter took a back seat to spiritual topics, life experiences, our hopes, and our dreams.

After dinner, we went to a park and sat on some swings. Our conversation continued and flowed so easily and without hesitation.

And then I proposed…

…that we see each other again when I move out in a couple of weeks. It was late and she was tired.

Haha, you see what I did there. We’re old-fashioned, but not THAT old-fashioned..not quite. I knew marriage was something I wanted in this life with children and maybe some dogs…but mostly I knew I wanted to be married and build a family with someone I love, trust, respect, and cherish. That night I felt that Hannah could be that for me…

But could I be that for her? Could I be what she needs? Could I be the right person for her? At that moment, I didn’t know. I felt like I’d spent days with her, yet it was just a few hours. One thing was very clear to me.

I was falling in love with her, and I had no idea what to do next.