The Story of Us, Part 1

Welp. It's been SO long I'm struggling to even begin this post.. Do people even blog anymore?? Do people even READ blogs anymore? Oh well, its out there now for those of you who have been following.

As most of you know, quite a lot has happened since I last shared my stories with the interwebs, most notably my MARRIAGE! But before I get into what can only be described as the most magical day of my live, lets start at the beginning shall we? And apologies in advance for all the words 😳. This was before we owned smartphones and took photos of everything.

Most of you have heard this story in one version or another, but I’ve never actually written it down. So here goes. This is how I remember it anyway...

I first met Cuan when I was 20 years old - a junior at LSU Baton Rouge. We happened to go to the same bar after a home football game. As I walked in, a friend greeted us and wanted to introduce us to his new mates from Zimbabwe. Having had met another Zimbabwean years back through mutual family friends - one of many strange coincidences that let us to this point - I jumped at the opportunity to meet another person from this mysterious country. 

So Haley and I walked up to meet Andrew and Cuan, two Zimbabweans traveling the US, and spent the evening making fun of each other’s accents and learning all about what they were doing in America. When the night ended, we agreed to see each other again, but I’m afraid to admit, I still didn’t know how to say his name! And don’t you dare ask me to spell it 😐 - But over the course of the next two weeks Cuan and I spent a lot of time together, and I couldn’t believe how genuinely well we got along. 

And just when I was finally started to say his name right - he hops on a plane headed to Australia. For good? Who knows.. with casual goodbyes and promises to visit one day, we parted ways. This very intriguing, handsome and genuine man with a dreamy accent has just sparked something in my heart, but I could never have predicted where that would lead. 

Literally the only picture we took together in 2008. Look at that baby face!

The weeks went by and I started to wonder if it had all been some sort of dream. Then the first post card came, from the Great Ocean Road - Australia. My heart melted at those first three words:      

“Hello my Darling..” 

Over the following months, the postcards kept coming, and my roommates and I would sit with bottle of wine, attempting (and failing) to read these notes in Cuan’s accent, living vicariously through his amazing adventures. But as time went on, so did normal life. And as much as I would have loved to see Cuan again, I started to realize that would probably never happen. 

Fast-forward a year and a half later, sometime in May around final exams, my roomie Haley asked me if I would go to the airport with her one evening to pick up her boyfriend. It was a late arrival and the airport isn’t in the best part of town, so I obliged. As the plane landed and passengers were exiting, I noticed a familiar face in the crowd and it wasn’t that of Haley’s BF.. long locks, wearing a “buff” and carrying a fishing case, could it really be?? 

I’m not a terribly emotional person when it comes to expressing my feelings (except when typed), so I’m not sure what came over me, but I ran towards that man and latched onto him like a leech. Still in awe that this person who had become more like a figment of my imagination was standing in front of me. Cuan and Haley had worked together to pull off what is still to this day the best surprise of my life. 

I wish I could say “the rest is history” but this was just the beginning of our unconventional relationship...   And since this is my first time back on the blog platform in a while, I’ve decided to ease you into my rants. So will pause the story here and continue next week! 

Spoiler alert: There's a happy ending. ☺️

- The American Zimmigrant.