The day was September 11, 2010. I had gotten invited to come to downtime Chicago to go out to a restaurant with some friends to celebrate one of my friend’s birthdays. One of my best friends, was going to an LSU alumni bar with his girlfriend, now his wife, to watch the LSU football game and asked if I wanted to meet up before we went out to dinner.
I was living in Geneva at the time and decided to make the trip for a great night and I would later spend the night at my friend’s place.
I wasn’t thinking too much about what to wear to the bar so I came in a white undershirt, jeans, and some white sneakers. I had left my dress shirt hanging in the car because I didn’t want to get it messed up before dinner.
When I got into the bar I found my friends and sat at a typical rectangular high-top table next to the bar and started drinking some beers. My friend’s girlfriend wanted to introduce me to her friend who had just moved to Chicago from Baton Rouge.
I am not exaggerating here, when I first laid eyes on her it was as if time had started slowing down. I know this sounds super corny but that is exactly how it went. She was wearing some jeans and a yellow LSU t-shirt. I shook her hand and she introduced herself as Kelly. She said she had just moved in from Baton Rouge. She told me that she and her friend had just come back from a PGA tournament at Cog Hill. She told me how her dad loved to golf and wanted her to get autographs from all these famous golfers and she had no idea who they were.
She had the thickest, flat Cajun accent. My friend interrupted her and said, “tell him was your favorite food is.” She said “squirrel.” I could not care less about what she said, it seemed like I had fallen for her immediately.
The two of us talked a bit more and then we had to leave to get ready for dinner. On the way out she asked if I would be her friend because she was new in town and didn’t have any. I knew we were going to end up more than friends but I said sure.
We left the bar, go into the car, and I immediately started drilling my friend’s girlfriend with all kinds of questions about this cajun girl. They knew right off the bat that I was interested in Kelly.
Dinner was fine, I think. I don’t remember much about it except thinking about Kelly the whole and being excited to finish up because we had planned on meeting up with her after dinner.
After dinner, we met with Kelly and her friend at a bar down the road from my friend’s place. We had so much fun that night. At one point in the night, Kelly looked up at me and said, “Just look at you, you’re in love with me.” No one had ever talked to me like that. I obviously said, “No I’m not.” She then bet me that she could get a phone number from a guy sitting at the bar. I knew she could but said I didn’t believe her. Sure enough, one minute later she walked back to me with the guy’s phone number. This girl was unlike anyone I had ever met.
Look at you. You’re in love with me!
Kelly
It started to get late and I asked if she wanted to come back to Mike’s place with me. She said, “Sure but I’m not sleeping over.” I didn’t care, I just wanted to spend time with her. We stayed up until the sun came up. I had some Michael Buble music going in the background and she thought that was the corniest thing.
We sat on a chair in the living room talking and getting to know each other when she looked up at me again and kind of sang the words, “You loooove me. You want to marrrrry me.” I just laughed because of the way she said it and because I knew it was true. After a while, we were both super tired so I think she walked home. That part is a little fuzzy.
It was a night I will never forget.
