Along the Way

The day Ashley and I met, I’d been having camera trouble and I was in our mutual break room.  It was late November, and holiday festivities had already begun. Being in the United Kingdom section, we were to host their incarnation of Santa Claus, and his freshly-cleaned robes were hanging on the rack.  While I was on the phone with my coordinators, trying to sort out my tech issues, Ashley came out of her dressing room and, noticing the clothing rack, screamed, “FATHER CHRISTMAS IS HERE!” I think I kind of just shot her a blank stare, to which she apologized.



After I got off the phone, we began to talk.  I’d been around a little while, and knew a number of her coworkers, but I’d never seen her.  

I asked, “How have I never worked with you?  How long have you been here?”



“Five years.”  She was apparently one of the more senior — even if not actually older — girls in her group.  “But I don’t really use Instagram or Facebook often, and I’m not usually over here; I spend a lot of time in the other parks.  [This one] is too much of a Ravenclaw for me.”



“A Ravenclaw,” I had to ask. “So what’s [the other one] then?”



“A Hufflepuff for sure.  Hufflepuffs are particularly good finders.”



I didn’t let on, but I recognized the Very Potter Musical quote.  Her nerd credit was showing.  Somehow, during the continued times I kept having to troubleshoot my equipment, her Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry came up, and she mentioned that her pet hedgehog is named after her favorite chemical compound: dicyclopentadiene — Tadi, for short.  I’m pretty sure that’s where she had me hooked.  I did some serious social media searching to find her, texting mutual friends, searching on both of my breaks; I wanted to know more about this mystery girl.  She was smart and cute, okay?



My day soon ended, but Ashley still had a couple more hours left, and I had an idea.  She mentioned in our conversations that — in her years there — she basically only had one photo of herself in that location.  Unbeknownst to her, since my friend Monica had borrowed my favorite camera lens, I had to drive home for my camera, meet her then-fiancé, Ryan, with the lens at a nearby parking lot, and race back to where I just left, a few hours earlier.  When I showed up, I’m fairly certain she was surprised to see me again.  I snapped a few photos and left, and I’m told Ashley had no idea how I planned to send pictures to her.  That is, until after work, she picked up her phone and saw a Facebook friend request from me.  I sent her the photos the next day, and that was that.



We didn’t talk for two weeks.



I was worried by her Facebook page, pictures with some guys, and not being sure if she was already dating someone. Basically, I overthought it to the point of talking myself out of asking her out, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her.



I was out at a Celebration Town Tavern (later to become “the bar”) with Ryan and Monica, and I was two drinks in.  It’s the exact right amount with which to help make difficult decisions.  This decision?  Messaging my future wife.



AMH9x23x88: Hey so question


xxashley53xx: Hey 🙂 yeah what’s up?


AMH9x23x88: Every friend I’ve asked has already seen Fantastic Beasts, with no interest in going a second time, and I’ve never made a habit of going to movies in the theater by myself. X-D Would you want to see it again?  

(Worthy of note is that I hadn’t actually asked anyone else. Oops.)
xxashley53xx: Haha I literally just saw it again :’-D but heck yes