Circa: March of 2003
On our way to the jewelers to pick out our wedding bands. We headed out on a wintery Saturday, late morning. We were headed up Finch on our way to Classic Creations, and were only a few miles away, when an old lady in a very nice and new Acura came thundering past us.
I say thundering, because you could hear her probably for miles...One of her tires was completely flat and not even there, and she was literally driving on the metal rim, gouging out chunks of the road, sparks flying. Brian, the good Samaritan, catches up to her, flags her down, and makes her pull over. She was a very old lady (definitely over 70), but very wealthy, you could tell (by the real fur coat and jewelry she was wearing). She had a cell phone, and roadside assistance program, but no idea how to use either.
So we called for a tow truck. She was very distraught at the whole ordeal as it was making her late for "an affair", as she kept saying. It was later revealed that the affair kept in wait was a hair appointment. It was winter, freezing cold, and she didn't want to be left alone waiting. So we climbed in the back seat of the car and kept her company. She was hilarious. And Jewish. She asked me repeatedly if I was Jewish. Nope. I'm not. Well, I just look *so Jewish* she kept saying. I took this as a not so subtle hint about the size of my nose. Thanks lady. Her sons were doctors and lawyers. Her husband had been an impressive man, but was dead. Her car was brand new, and she didn't know anything about it. And it was extremely troubling to have to miss an affair. She had no idea when she would be able to get another appointment made.
Tow truck. Finally. It had been over an hour (a particularly cold day, so lots of people needed jump starts or something). They hooked her up and were on their way as we waved goodbye. Now! On to pick out our wedding bands! What a funny lady!
My little navy Mazda Protege had been parked this whole time, with the hazzards on. It had been a long time...and I guess my car battery didn't like being all 'hazzard-ed out' in the cold like that. Battery, dead. Tow truck, gone. No problem Brian says, just pop the clutch! Small praise for standard automobiles. No praise for girls who don't know how to drive them. Or aren't strong enough to push a car.
We were not parked on any sort of hill. Of course I could drive the car just fine, but the whole clutch popping to start it thing was completely new to me. Brian explained the theory. He would push it and yell NOW NOW. Fail. Again. NOW NOW. Fail. Again. NOW NOW NOW. Fail. Angered mutterings from Brian. They may have been yellings, if he weren't completely out of breath from pushing the car about a mile:-) Theory, re-explained. Again. NOW! Success. Which was a sheer accident, I still have no idea how to do that. He started yelling other instructions about what to do (or not to do), hopped in the car, and off we go!
We were extremely close to the jewelers when this all went down, so we pulled into the parking lot about 2 minutes later. Brian, completely panting, jumps out of the car, and runs around the parking lot. I kind of assumed he was mad at me for not being able to pop the clutch. But as he runs off all the energy and adrenaline created from pushing the car for a really far distance and get his breath back, I thought I would try and be nice and not let it ruin the day. I knew enough not to shut the car off, so there I am idling the car to charge the battery, while he runs and walks around the parking lot.
Finally we were ready to go into the store. The romantic mood the day had started out with was completely ruined. We went in and were like, oh great, diamonds. gold. pick something. hurry up. Hahah. But we did take our time, and our moods improved. Diamonds seem to have that effect on people:-) Brian got a ring stuck on his finger, and they used Windex to get it off. This made me laugh and think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
We made our careful selections, and were very happy with the end results, so thankfully, the day ended on a high note. While telling the jeweler how we wanted the bands inscribed, with the Gaelic words gaol, dilseachd, cairdeas, I was about halfway done spelling it out, when he says with a laugh "You know, most people just get the date". I laughed and kept on spelling. We are not most people, obviously!
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| Inscribed with love, loyalty, friendship, in Gaelic |
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