I thought it was time to ask my parents' opinions. Because I had been to Europe, and especially the Netherlands, I had a much better understanding of J-Dawg. Why he did the things he did (wear wooden shoes), why he talks the way he does (he's only been in the States for seven years), and why he seems so quiet and reserved (Europeans don't hug strangers). Although both of my parents had been overseas, this was their first real interaction with a young man from Europe, who was still in the process of becoming an American.
When I asked what they thought, Mom was constantly worried that she did or said something that offended him because of how reserved he is. My dad on the other hand, thought that J-Dawg was 'angry'. When I heard this, I was shocked because J-Dawg is the happiest, most light-hearted person I knew. Come to figure, because of his accent combined with his deep voice, my dad mistook this for anger. When I tried to explain this to my dad that this kid truly is a sweetheart, and rarely gets angry, my dad was still riding the fence about this stranger his little girl was warming up to.
After some thought, I decided I wasn't going to worry too much about the parents' hesitation, and instead spend more time learning about J-Dawg. After all, my approval was more important than my parents', right? He text me daily and if he was busy, he'd let me know. I was never left hanging or wondering why I hadn't heard from him when he said he was going to call. This was all new to me, a man doing what he says he's going to? What!? This was unheard of in my world. I'm not the type to play cat-and-mouse games, and I don't believe in "the chase". So he'd call me when he felt like it, and I'd text him in between phone calls with no mind games, no catch-me-if-you-can bologna.
Although I knew J-Dawg wasn't a typical guy, I still had my guard up. What if he was just on his best behavior since it was still in the beginning? Whatever the case, my mind was mostly concerned with graduation and finding a job outside the area I had spent the past five years of my life. Although I was busy looking at the big picture, filling out university paperwork, polishing my resume, and job searching, that didn't stop thoughts of J-Dawg from sneaking in every chance they got.
As I got excited for the upcoming weekend, I received word that my brother and his fiance were going to be at my parents that weekend. They asked that I head up north and meet them there so we can all hang out. Immediately, I felt feelings of guilt, as I knew which ever decision I made (whether to go hang out with Bro and Fiance or J-Dawg) would cause someone disappointment.
I love my brother and his fiance, but I was so torn as to what to do. 'Should I just plant myself here at home for the weekend so that all parties lose? Do I let bro down, and say "Hey ps, I'm not coming. Mr. Fantastic wants to see me and I can't deny him of that! (*chuckle*)"? Or tell J-Dawg, who I'd already made plans with, "Sorry... although you're gorgeous, and fun, and stinkin' fantastic and I wanna spend every waking minute with you.... I can't see you this weekend"?
Aye yiy yiy, what's a girl to do?! Hmmmm, only one answer to this situation: spend half the weekend with Bro and Fiance and the other half with J-Dawg. After informing all parties of the plan in place, in flowed the flak. "Really?! You're leaving your favorite brother and the coolest chick ever to go see some dude? Really?! I see how it is!" Luckily, there was no criticism on the other side. J-Dawg just said "That's understandable, family is very important." Feeling grateful that I hadn't hurt J-Dawg's feeling and sad that I disappointed Bro, I packed my bags with a heavy heart and hit the road.
Bro, Fiance and I hung out on Friday night and Saturday. We had a really good time, except that it was so condensed due to my need to see Sir Dutchman wearing his Cinches again. I told the family goodbye, and after getting what amount of grief Bro could spew out at me in a small amount of time, I headed J-Dawg's way. After a boring and quiet three hour drive, I finally made it to the dairy and was excited to be within a minute of seeing him.
He was waiting outside for me and greeted me with open arms. I jumped out of the car into his embrace, and all the guilt I had in my stomach from Bro disappeared. We then did what has come to be my favorite activity with J-Dawg (get your head out of the gutter). We poured two glasses of wine, headed outside, and hopped on the tailgate. We sat and watched the beautiful multi-color sunset, all the while holding hands. May sound cliche or cheesy, but it was none of the above. It was perfect. At dark, we headed inside and opted to be bums, watching TV on the couch. The day had been pretty overcast (making for an even more beautiful sunset) and some strong winds were hitting the sides of the house. Although this usually makes me uncomfortable, laying there with J-Dawg made me feel not only safe, but invincible.
We had what has become our normal routine of curling up on the couch, wrapped up in one another and browsing through channels trying to find something of interest. To be honest with you, I couldn't even tell you what we watched that night as I was all enveloped in the moment, thinking of nothing else but being with J-Dawg. His strong big hands held mine, and my always cold feet were tucked under his muscular thighs, being kept warm. 'What could be better?' I wondered.
Then he leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. Tah-dah, the deal was sealed! That was it, it was over. I was putty in his hands. At that instant a 6 ft 2 Fresian sweetheart had won over this 5 ft 3 jaded non-believer. The only thing I could think to say at that instant was, "Will you buy me a goat?" Cause I knew my future no longer involved only me and my goat farm, but me, my goat farm and J-Dawg!
Prior to seeing J-Dawg that weekend, we were texting and discussing the difficulty that Dutch men must have when introducing their female friends and girlfriends to others. Female friend in Dutch is "vriend". Friends in Dutch is "vreinden".Girlfriend in Dutch is "vriendin".Although, Dutch people understand this well, to me, as an American, I found it confusing. So I asked, "Am I your vriend?" and laughed. He asked to discuss this later, because of texting's ability to completely allow for miscommunication.
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