As told by Rich:
Ah yes the story of us…a tale as old as time, no nothing terribly unusual. Really your typical boy meets girl tale. I almost hate to bore you with the details but I supposed for the sake of the web site I shall indulge our guests and share the story of when Richie met Jenny.
Picture it, September the year of our Lord two thousand and eight. I had made my annual pilgrimage back to Ohio on leave to celebrate family, friends and of course football. So there I was on a warm autumn afternoon with my good friend Joseph Pierre Gallagher. We had just finished setting a record for most homes built in a day for Habitat For Humanity. We stopped by his place to change clothes before heading to the orphanage to read to the blind orphans. I finished first and was waiting for Joe in the kitchen when I was overcome by a strong sense that I was being watched, no …hunted. I was so overcome by this feeling I almost felt naked. But before I had time to wonder who or what had me in their sites, my thoughts were interrupted by a voice, and the overwhelming aroma of Jameson Irish whiskey.
“Well you’re a tall glass of water” a beautiful, yet tipsy, blue-eyed beauty said to me as she joined me in the kitchen. All I could think of to say back was, “I’m actually not that tall”. The young lady responded, “Tall, short, whatever….it’s sexy and mommy likey”. I introduced myself while Jenny ran her fingers through my hair and playfully tugged at my collar. I tried to make small talk but was distracted by Jenny’s busy hands which she was having trouble keeping to herself. She offered me a sip from her mug of whiskey but I explained to her that I don’t drink alcohol…..ok, ok if you were buying any of this story I am sure that last comment lost ya. That night did happen (slightly adjusted) and that is a funny story, but the most important thing you need to know about it is that it was the first time I laid eyes on Jenny (which I remember vividly) who happened to be the best friend of one Rachel Burns aka Joe’s main squeeze. Technically, acting as her chaperone for a fake bachelorette party was the first time I met Jenny but it is only a minor footnote in the saga of how the two of us became a “we”.
Flash forward to June of 2009. I had been accepted as a recruiter and better still I was headed back to NE Ohio to work as such for four glorious years. Yes, I was going home and couldn’t be happier about it. Of course like with any new endeavor I had set some professional and personal goals for myself that I was hoping to attain in those four years. The most important one was also the one I was the least optimistic about achieving. I had certainly had my share of ups and downs when it came to love and relationships but still dreamed of meeting a nice girl from Cleveland (or in this case Brunswick) to make my bride. I figured it was a pipe dream but always kept it in my mind and heart. Anyway, I spent the next few months working my butt off recruiting and spending every free minute I could with friends and family trying to make up for lost time.
A good chunk of my leisure time was spent with my dear friends Joe Gallagher and his lovely fiancée Rachel. As you may recall from two paragraphs ago Jenny is best friends with Rachel so in addition to lots of quality time with Joe and Rachel I also got to see a whole lot of the lovely Jenny Miller. The truth is initially I didn’t even think of Jenny in that way. Of course anyone with eyes can see how beautiful she is but again being Rachel’s BFF she was forbidden fruit and not to me messed with. Still we found ourselves paired with one another time and time again when we would all hang out together. It was over these weeks and months together that an amazing thing happened…Jenny and I actually got to know one another and before I knew it I had developed strong feelings for her. In other words, I was smitten and there was no turning back.
So all I had to do was make a move and we’d be together and live happily ever after right? Wrong! This girl was something special alright. She was so much more than forbidden fruit now. I was crazy about her but I knew that I had to do things right and either go all in or not at all. This was one thing I couldn’t afford to mess up. Eventually, my overwhelming need to make her mine surpassed any nervousness I had inside and we were able to become more than just friends. Our relationship has grown and grown since then I guess you could say that I knew from the beginning that she was somehow special and that our meeting would lead to something amazing. Still not even I could’ve guessed that one day we would be getting married sharing a lifetime together. I finally found my girl from Cleveland and am making her my bride.