OK, We have
had a lot of you asking us for "our story"... how we met, when,
where, etc... for those of you interested, here it is! This is the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
THE BEGINNING
Les and I met
on August 26, 1993, the day after my 20th birthday. We met in the small town
of Portales, NM, where I was attending Eastern New Mexico University (well,
sort of attending, anyways). I had gone to meet some new people that night. A
lesbian couple I knew took me to a friend of theirs house, and that is where I
met Les! From the moment he saw me getting out of the car, he turned to a
friend and said "That is the man I'm going to marry!" As FATE would
have it (and I DO believe that it had everything to do with Fate and nothing
to do with "luck"), Les was just visiting Portales. He and some
others had just finished dancing in the musical "TEXAS", and instead
of going home to his grandmother's when it was done, he decided to go spend
some time with the people he had danced with.
I was in a
relationship when I met Les. This relationship was one of those that are
doomed from the beginning. Things were not well there. There were lots of
problems, communication being one of the main ones. Les and I hit it off
instantly. I really really liked him, but would not "allow" myself
to think anything more than a friendship was in the midst. I was in a
relationship, after all, and was determined to make that work, no matter how
miserable it was. Les knew that I was committed to making this work, so he
didn't try to persue anything more than a friendship with me. We quickly
became very close friends. We were always either on the phone or just hanging
out. He spent a lot of time with my "lover" and I, and saw the way
things were with us....it drove him crazy, but he kept his mouth shut.
As is to be
expected in small-town gay life, rumors started to fly about Les and I.
Neither of us had any idea that these rumors were going on, though, until a
party one night. I was there with my current "relationship", and he
was giving me more attitude than usual. Finally, a friend of mine pulled me
aside and told me that he was mad at me because he had heard the rumors.
"What rumors?" I asked. She then told me that there were rumors that
Les and I were having an affair! I could not believe it! Then she told me that
Les had started the rumors! Boy, was I mad! I tried talking to my
"guy", and he told me to just drop it and we'd talk about it
later...I knew that meant that we would just sweep it under the rug, and that
would be that. I stormed from the party, walking right past Les who was
sitting on the porch. He, too, had just heard the rumors, and was devastated
that I thought he was spreading them. The last thing he wanted was to hurt me,
and he had NO part in these rumors.
About two
days went by without any major events. Then, one morning, as I was getting
ready for work, my boyfriend broke up with me. He told me that it wasn't my
fault, blah, blah, blah... that he was the one who didn't know what he wanted
out of life, and wasn't as ready for a relationship as he had thought. Why, I
don't know, but I was really depressed by this. I hid myself away for a few
days, and just sat around watching movies and stuff. Then one night, as I was
sitting at home reading a Stephen King book I had just bought (it was
"Gerald's Game"..... why I remember this, I have NO earthly idea), I
got a call from a woman who lived next door to Les. She said they were having
a party at her house, and wanted me to come over. I thought, "why
not", and got a friend to take me over there.
I got to her
house, and there was nobody there, but I did see a few people sitting on the
couch in Les' house. I went over there, and spent the night talking with Les
and his roommate..... and really enjoyed myself. It started getting late, and
his roommate went to bed. The two of them had been acting strange all night,
and when Les started trying to get me to stay the night "you could just
crash here on the couch, if you want", I was convinced that he was trying
to hook me up with his roommate, who I did not like. I excused myself and went
home, after making plans to meet Les to plan a party the next morning. Boy,
was I flustered! Here was this guy that I REALLY liked, and as far as I knew,
all he wanted from me was a friendship.
THE
"JOKE"
We met the
next morning, and talked all day long. We discussed the rumors that had been
floating around, and decided that we would play a "joke" on
everyone. I was to move in with him and share a room with him. We would
"pretend" to be a couple, and make everyone believe it. We spent the
next 2 1/2 weeks doing this. We held hands around the house and at friend's
houses, we sat next to one another, as close as we could, we called each other
"Babe"! We even slept in the same bed, and that was the closest to
pure hell I've ever been!
One night, we
took a "romantic" walk on a deserted country road. The sky was
clear, it was a full moon, and, well, it was very romantic. We walked and
talked, and the both of us wanted nothing more than to grab the other and hold
him in his arms, to confess our true feelings. That night will remain in my
mind forever, it was both beautiful and sad.
Finally,
early on the morning of October 1, we were sitting in bed just talking (we had
done a lot of talking over this period of time), and we somehow came to the
subject of "us". We both confessed that we really did love one
another. A huge weight had been lifted off of our shoulders. Now we could
truly be honest with one another! We were in love and were able to face it and
act on it! Things started to get a little "heated", and we both
thought that we should wait, not to rush into the "sex" thing, so we
went to sleep.
We didn't
"wait" too long. We made love for the first time, late that night. I
won't go into all the specifics of it, but let's just say that 10 hours later,
we took a shower and went to get some breakfast!
THE REST
Now that we
were a "real" couple, we decided we would tell everyone the truth
about the "joke". Funny thing was, nobody would believe us....we
were either really really convincing, or people could just see that we were
meant to be.
Things didn't
go too well that next month. "We" were just fine, but our
surroundings got worse. People didn't stop with the rumors, they got meaner
with them. We spent so much time high on pot, it was pitiful. Things were
getting way out of control, so instead of facing the problems in front of us,
we ran. We moved to West Texas to live with his grandmother. We only told a
few people that we were leaving. It may not have been the best of decisions,
but it was the one we made.
We lived with
his grandmother for a little over 4 months, then moved into our first
apartment. Oh, we were so happy to finally have a place of our own, just for
the two of us. We worked, paid the bills, came home, and just spent as much
time together as we could. From the apartment, we moved into a big house, then
to a smaller house. We started having financial troubles, so we moved back in
with his grandparents to catch ourselves up, and to help them out.
Shortly after
moving, we were in a car accident. Les hurt his back really bad, and spent the
next year in and out of physical therapy. We did not like the town we were
living in, so when his insurance settlement from the accident finally came in,
we moved across the state to live with his mother. Well, we stayed there for a
while, then finally found a decent house to rent....and we're still here, two
years later. It is so wonderful having a place of our own, and not being so
"nomadic".
We don't like
this town, and are wanting to move. We will, eventually. Until that time, we
make the best of what we have. We are still VERY in love, and that love grows
a little more every day.
The rest (and
the best) is yet to come................