The Beginning..

September 30th, 2010 I embarked on a road trip that would forever change my life. Shawn was waiting for me in our new house, my car was loaded with everything that I could possibly cram into it, and my route was mapped out. But lets rewind...

I grew up in a small town of about 5000 people. Let's refer to this town as LC. My high school only had 600 people, and my graduating class was the largest to ever pass through its doors. Rural America. My home town.

Two years ago, I had a doctors appointment. The kind of appointment with the kind of doctor that ALL women dread. My gynecologist. Due to unexplained occurrences, I wasn't going to see my normal doctor that day, but instead, Dr. Petunia. Dr. Petunia was a well known public figure in LC, and was my sponsor when I was a former Miss of the county. She had never seen me as my doctor, however. During my appointment, the usual questions were asked about sexual history, monthly cycles etc etc, except one..

"So, Emily, do you have a boyfriend?"

About six months prior, my boyfriend of three years and I had broken up.

"Uh..no..not at the moment. Why do you ask?"

I'm sure she could see how puzzled her question had made me. I had never been asked this question by a doctor before.

"Well," she said, becoming much perkier than before, "My brother just moved out here from New York. We are going to a wine auction, and he needs a date. What do you think?"

Dr. Petunia was several years older than myself, and sounding more shocked that I would have liked I blurted, "How old is he?!"

At the time, Shawn was 22. He took me on a bind date two days before the wine auction so we could learn a little bit about each other. When he came to pick me up, I opened the door to a 6'1 dark complected handsome man. I was ecstatic. I had heard horror stories about blind dates in the past, and was a little leery going into the date. As I'm sure you have concluded by now, the date went perfect. I wasn't completely hooked, however, until he called me the next day requesting I come assist in making cupcakes with him and his niece.

Two years later, I'm sitting on my half of the twin beds that we pushed together to make a king sized bed in New York; 3000 miles away from everything I have ever known. We are in a two story house with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a decent back yard, in what I keep hearing referred to as the "suburbs." We don't have a dresser big enough for all of our clothes, so suitcases and trash bags filled with my clothes litter our room as well as the one neighboring.

"This is normal.." I keep telling myself. "Things are accumulated...including places to put your things.."