I was seventeen years old and working at the movie theater. It was the "go to" place in our town, where all the kids hung out and the parents would drop off their teens during the weekend for the movies to babysit the kids. It was directly across from the mall, so a lot of people used it as the hang out zone. The smell of popcorn is forever a nostalgic smell for me. When we walk into one, immediately, the memories start to come back. When you start working at the movie theater they put you in concessions. You learn to pop popcorn, fill cokes, hand out candies, work the registers and do a lot of dirty disgusting work. It gets crazy and insane. The coveted place to be is in box (ticket sales) or in booth (the projector area) you don't get as dirty and you don't have to carry the smell of greasy popcorn home with you. Most of the girls would work box and the boys would work "Door" which is basically clean up duty of the theaters and crowd control. I was working concessions on my first day when around the corner comes a crowd of hooligans, a bunch of guys hooting and hollering. They all came to meet the new "meat" aka the new girl (me). They introduced themselves to me, little did I know that the one that told me his name was "lucifer", would be my husband.
My husband called himself Lucifer because "sympathy for the devil" was his theme song. He was funny, cute, and had an amazing smile. There was another guy I was more interested in at the time. He had dreamy blue eyes and dark hair. He was tall and could charm a snake. I really liked him more and flirted up a storm with him. Eventually I was 'promoted" to box and this is where the real magic began.
With Randy (my husband) working "door" he had the chance during the day shift and weekday nights to hang out around the ticket area. He would tear the tickets and tell people with theater the movie was in. What was nice is that he would be able to talk to me during the boring times when no one was buying tickets. This is where I got to know the real Randy and start to get a crush on him. Soon after we starting talking he notice another new girl who started working concessions. She was cute, bubbly and bouncy...everything I am not. He was definitely interested in her. After some encouragement from me he finally asked her out. During the entire relationship he would seek me out for advice on what to do, where to take her. She and I had started to become good friends. After a short while she told him that they are not meant for each other and that he needs to ask me out instead. One week later we were dating.
We never really told people that we were boyfriend and girlfriend because we never discussed it. One day under the full moon and a beautiful starry night Randy gave me my first kiss. I told a friend that because we kissed we were boyfriend and girlfriend she told him what I had said and that is how HE found out that he was my boyfriend and no longer on the market.
Several years before in Young Womens our leaders were talking about how we need to know when we have the "right one". They said that he would be the perfect man in some ways. He would be endowed, a return missionary, gentleman.....on and on the list went. I started to get overwhelmed because A) i was homeschooled and the boys that I knew would never ask me out in the church and would only meet guys outside of the church B) the boys at church were too scared to ask me out because of my parents C) I had a feeling that I would never marry a mormon. I went home that night and prayed to my Father in Heaven and told Him that the "sign" for me to know that the man was "the man" he would give me a single white rose (my favorite flower) After that I never told anyone what my favorite flower was. I would always tell them my second flower a sunflower (they are the happiest flowers in the world!!)
Randy took me on our first official date to Applebees (we had been seeing each other for a good while but never really went on an actual date until a few months later). He ordered me a surprise desert and took me back to his home where he had candles lit all over his living room with two big beautiful sunflowers in a vase in the center of the coffee table. We ate our dessert in candle light and i was really starting to fall in love with this guy. He was so handsome and sweet and kind and loving and everything that I wanted and it was becoming harder and harder to see myself without him.
One day after a very long day at work I was tired and met up with him at his house. He was outside with his buddies hanging out, i walked up to him and gave him a kiss, he handed me a single white rose and said "Because I love you and I thought of you when I saw this flower" That day was the day that I knew I would marry this man in the temple. He fulfilled all my dreams and answered my prayers..it sounds silly to think that a single rose could do that but it did.
Randy was not a member of the church. He did not believe in the church and had no intention of joining. Rand proposed to my after we had been dating for 5 1/2 years, He proposed to me after he had graduated from college (I told him I would not marry a bum) on a Sunday in front of my whole family. I was so happy I cried like a baby. We were married on December 31 2009 in candlelight in my parents home surrounded by white roses.
Randy started to get interested in the church when we found out I was pregnant. The teachings of the church surround family and that is what really spoke to him. We were sealed in the temple on July 2, 2011 when I was seven months pregnant with my oldest.
Our story is not so special but it is our beginning. It is perfect to me and will forever be the best love story.
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