How We Met: A Love Story
I was 12 and Rob 13 when we first met. We both went to the same secondary school and Rob was in the year above me, his sister Claire was my best friend. I can’t remember the exact moment we first met, I guess that has something to do with being so much older now and memory fading over time but I do know that Rob has been in my life since we were young.
Being best friends with his sister, we spent lots of our “growing up years” together and I became almost part of the family. Claire and I had sleepovers at her house nearly all the time and we, along with Rob and their younger sister Julie, would all go out and have adventures together. We camped in the garden, went walking on the mountain, had fires, barbecues and days out with the family and celebrated birthdays and other things together.
Growing up and being tweenagers in the 90s meant that we went through our most formative years together, the ones where we were making dodgy decisions involving fashion and music, makeup and sneaking drinks where we could and generally getting up to mischief.
I didn’t realise that I had begun to see Rob in a different way until I was 15, and since getting together we have talked about how we both really liked each other although nothing ever came of that as there has always been an unwritten rule where siblings and friendships are concerned, that rule? Never, ever date your friend’s brother, or sister for that matter, so neither of us ever acted on our feelings towards each other.
By the time I was 17 we had all gone our separate ways, I had gone off to college to study for my A levels, Rob had joined the Army, and Claire had stayed on in school to study for an NVQ. This was way before social media or mobile phones, and we drifted apart, all of us doing our own thing. Though Rob would fleetingly cross my mind, I’d wonder where he was and what he was doing there was no real way to stay in touch.
Over time I moved to my own flat, years later finding out that Rob lived in a block of flats opposite mine, I didn’t see or speak to Rob or his sister for another few years. Facebook would be invented before we spoke again and Rob was one of the first people I found and added as a friend. It felt good to be connected and be able to see what each of us was up to, every now and again commenting on photos or statuses that we shared but not really having any other contact.
Life went on, I had a partner and was happy in my world, Rob had a daughter and a partner and was busy in his life, and our paths rarely crossed. That was until just as the pandemic hit. Both of us were newly single and started chatting on Facebook about our lives and what we had been up to. I found out that Rob was living about 10 minutes from me and, on a whim I asked if he fancied coming over for food and a few beers.
The day came for Rob to come over to mine, I remember spending the days leading up to it cleaning and tidying the house and feeling nervous about seeing him properly again after all this time. On the day, I was anxious about what would we talk about, whether would we still get on, and a whole host of other questions were zooming through my head. I was ready about an hour before Rob was due to arrive and I spent much of the time pacing the house feeling a mix of emotions – anxiety mixed with excitement mixed with apprehension. I shouldn’t have worried though, when Rob did arrive (early, as he had finished work sooner than expected!) we started talking and didn’t stop until the early hours of the morning.
Unfortunately, a few days later the pandemic was in full swing and the UK went into full on lockdown. Due to this we were unable to go on any proper “out out” dates as pubs and restaurants, cinemas and other “date destinations” had to shut so we spent time in the garden, sitting and properly talking about where we saw ourselves and what we wanted from the future, our past lives and all the things we had got up to on our life’s journey.
Since my last, long term relationship had ended 3 years previously, and I had got myself a house, just me and my dog, I was adamant that I wanted to live alone and was happy doing so, but I surprised myself when, within a week I found myself asking Rob to move in with me… 2 weeks later and we were ferrying his things from his old house to mine.
As we have known each other since being kids, back in the 90’s, there have never been any awkward moments, we never argue as we were bought up with similar values and ideals, and as I already know his family I have been able to relax and be myself around his mum and sisters. Rob never met my parents until recently, but I always known that they would get along, so I had no worries about introducing him to them. We have met some of each other’s friends, some of Rob’s friends are lifelong friends, ones that I knew from primary school and I have found it really nice to be back in contact with them and hearing their stories about the things they got up to in the years we were not in contact. Our whole relationship has felt like coming home.
Now, after a year of being together and living together we are planning our wedding for August 2021 and I really can not wait to spend the rest of my life with this guy that has been a big part of my life in so many ways.
Written by Suzi Tench
Suzi has a degree in Photographic Art, works as a Payments Officer, is a part-time blogger, loves colour and her dog Roxy.
