My teacher friend brought the concept for How They Met stories to me years ago. She would chat with a couple whose relationship had stood the test of time and was always wise enough to ask them how they met. She is a talker and I, a writer, so our plan was for her to locate and retell the stories while I lassoed them into text. Life happened, as it tends to do. I stopped teaching and our near nightly phone conversations dwindled to a couple of chats a month and, now, a couple a year.
The first of the (counting this one) 14 How They Met stories was posted 4 years ago, the speedbump surely due to me now being at the helm of unearthing the stories to tell. As a twice-divorced lady with a few more bad relationships under my belt, my outlook on real love could be described as skeptical, sketch, or ‘sus’ if you are hip to the cool lingo these days. With my writing talents leaning more towards sarcastic realism than creative fiction, I can’t bring myself to write about a couple that has given me any twinge of not 100%. As it turns out, the feeling I interpret as true love between two persons isn’t exactly in ample supply. When it crosses my path, though, I innately know I must make time to give it due attention. Rare findings deserve to be shared. And so, here’s How They Met Story #14:
The first time I met Airick, I had received an impulse to make my first tattoo, a poison arrow frog, have a home. The frog, somewhat faded, had been dangling solo near my hip bone for over a decade and my kids just happened to be with their Dad on said ‘impulse night’. I called Angels and Demons Tattoo, drove straight there, and was thoroughly impressed with my experience. Airick was able to unite my words with the odds and end artwork that had been previously taped to my bathroom mirror. I am a low talker, so this fact alone speaks to his talents. My frog now had a tree with spiral branches on which to perch with three hearts surrounding. Airick checked in on me a couple of times during the piece to make sure I was comfortable. He told stories galore to pass the time. Like most people with tattoos, I already had my next ink session in mind before Airick placed the last piece of tape over the protective plastic. I had found my tat spot! I went straight to the gym to log a couple of miles on the treadmill, feeling like such a badass.
I remember Airick telling a story of he and his wife’s travels to Mexico on my first visit with him, and I’ve heard various Ellie anecdotes on every subsequent visit. Over the years, I’ve encouraged others to frequent my favorite tattoo shop, and upon swapping stories afterwards, we’ve all come to the same conclusion: after talking with Airick there is no doubt that this dude loves and respects his wife. With my How They Met radar, though, that’s only part of the equation. Someone can talk the talk, but may just be delivering the social media view of the relationship. I’ve known plenty of couples in which one half was moronically bopping along believing everything was copacetic when the other one was strategizing their departure. But no worries of that here as I was eventually able to chat with Ellie.
As you can guess, the other part to the Airick-Ellie equation proved that true love is still swirling around us. Ellie’s love and giddiness for her man are undeniable. When she spoke of their shared experiences, Ellie exuded the admiration that she still holds for her groom. After 21 years of marriage, that’s not always the norm. Of course I had to inquire how these two lovebirds met.
On the day Ellie graduated from high school, she decided to get her first legal tattoo. Airick just happened to be her artist that day. Her exact words to me when describing their first encounter were, “Well, you know how charming he is.” Ellie could feel that their connection was special, and I sense that Airick could as well. This couple enjoyed time together on many occasions after that first tattoo session, got married on August 4, 2002…and have continued creating memories together for over 2 decades. I have heard them both talk separately and happily about shared trips and stay-cations, planned tries at new recipes, first time home-ownership together and birthday purchases for each other (most recently a birthday parrot). Â
I continue to write How They Met stories as hope for those who haven’t found the love they want or those who are currently unhappy in love. These posts are also to resurrect the warm fuzzies in people who are currently in love, hopefully helping them reminisce on how their story began. In my conversations with various sweethearts, I’ve learned that not talking shit about your partner to others is a big deal. Don’t get me wrong. I still think some sass right to his or her face can be expected from time to time, but outside the home, a united front in the world, a This is Us mentality so-to-say, seems a key to success. Additionally, when the goal at hand is co-existing with the same human for eternity on Earth, humor also seems necessary. Enjoying the simple things, taking the other as they come and appreciating their quirks – these all seem to be unspoken but practiced qualities in happy marriages as well. And so, with all of these lessons front and center, I must admit that maybe the How They Met column is also written for me and humans like me, who need their cynical view on love tested and proven wrong from time to time.