Happy Accidents
Inspired by Near-Death Experiences So Far
The man who is now my husband literally saved my life.
The night I met Steven was an unusual one for me. We met at a Starbucks in Studio City, California, on Ventura Blvd. at Vineland Blvd., at the base of the Hollywood hills. It was just a stone’s throw away from Universal Studios.
I was pretty poor at the time; working for pitiful wages doing photo editing, print design and web design at a special effects company and trying to figure out where, if at all, I fit into the entertainment industry. I was living just off of Ventura Blvd., paying way too much for rent, and eating food from the dollar store.
So the trip to Starbucks was, as you might imagine, a luxury at the time.
I was sipping on my Caramel Macchiato when this stranger walked in. Now, my husband is good looking to me, but he’s no Brad Pitt. Still, when he walked in, my heart went “THUMP THUMP THUMP” and my head went “CRAP!”
I never EVER believed in love at first sight. I was on a self-imposed dating hiatus to give myself time to figure out who I was and where I wanted to be. There was no way I had time for a guy in my life. I wanted my apartment, my dog and my job. That’s it.
But that all changed. We struck up a conversation. He was so eloquent and educated. We seemed to have so much in common. I’m not sure exactly what swooning looks like, but I'm pretty sure that’s what I was doing that evening.
Before we finished our conversation, a light, misting rain started in the Hollywood hills. That in and of itself is incredibly rare.
I was wearing no-traction flip-flops. As my new crush walked me out of the Starbucks, down a few slick concrete steps to the sidewalk, my feet went out from under me. I felt myself fall in slow motion. As I hit hard on my right arm and leg, my head whipped back towards the edge of the concrete step.
And he caught me. He caught my head and cradled it in his hands before it could hit the step. Being the graceful person I am, I popped right up and squeaked “I’m ok!” And pretended like I wasn’t in horrible pain and embarrassment. And being the punny guy he is, my husband-to-be said “Huh, I guess you’ve really fallen for me.”
So…here we are 14 years later. We were engaged in 2002, married in 2003, had our son in 2004, and our daughter in 2006 (add three dogs, an iguana, a mouse and a lot of fish, and you have a pretty good picture of my home life). We've had more ups than downs, and are still together and thriving.
None of this would have happened if it weren't for the fact that I met a man with extremely fast reflexes. In the most cliché place possible to meet someone in the L.A. area.
