How we met

Written by Barbee

The first time Brian and I met was in Floretta Thomas’ Singles Bible Study class at Central Church of God in Charlotte.  For the first few minutes of class, Floretta would ask new members to stand up front and answer a few questions about themselves, so that others could get to know them.  One day she asked me to get up and introduce myself, and I got the dumb joke I hear all the time from the audience, “Hey Barbee!  Where’s Ken?”  Hardy har.  As if I haven’t heard that before!  But that did make Brian notice, and somehow got him started thinking.     

Some time after that, I began to notice Brian looking at me. He would watch and watch, but would never do anything.  He didn’t come talk to me, he didn’t try to make friends, and he didn’t even try to get close to my girl friends.  He just watched.  It seemed a bit creepy and stalker-like to me, but not threatening. 

Getting Together

After a while of me noticing his noticing, and several others noticing his noticing, I had an errand to run after church one night.  Tabitha Henderson suggested I “throw him a bone!” so I asked him to come.  The evening was less than spectacular, but it did move us into a new chapter in our relationship. 

From then on, every few months or so, Brian would ask me if I’d like to do something with him, dinner, a movie, or just hang out.  He would politely ask, and I’d always say that I was incredibly busy, and he’s always say “ok” and go away for a little while. 

After a year of this, it was coming up on July fourth weekend and I was getting ready to head down to Edisto Beach to spend a few days with my friend Lori’s family.  Brian asked me out again, for the fifth or sixth time.  Wow! I thought, this guy has kept this up for a year!  How could I not give him another chance?  So after talking it over with Lori, I decided that his perseverance definitely showed character and that I must give him another try. I was persuaded by his gentle persistence…

The First Date

So on Sunday July 14th, 2000, we met after evening church and had dinner at the Cooker on Fairview Road.  We talked, he listened and I listened.  What a nice guy!  Ok, so I chuckled behind my menu at a few things he did, but all in all, we had a good time.  Brian was such a sweet surprise to me, I never could have imagined then how our relationship would evolve.

After that, he started calling and we started going out a couple times a week.  Things were going pretty well, but I hadn’t completely decided if he was for me or not.  Was I just taking advantage of a nice guy?  Was the relationship deepening or did I just enjoy having his attention?  After two months, I decided the thing to do was to cut him loose.  But on the night that was going to do it, we had a long talk and breaking up never entered my mind.  As we talked that night, I was struck by his wise and kind words, our similarities, and even more, his sweet demeanor.  There was a lot to get to know about this Brian guy, and I was interested in learning more.

Is This For Real?

I still had a few remaining questions in my mind, but wanted the relationship to continue.  I didn’t really know how Brian felt.  Then at work one day, I mentioned to him that I was having a bad day.  A few hours later, to my amazement I received a gigantic vase of gorgeous flowers!  It was a beautiful arrangement, and so heavy that I could barely carry it down the hall! 

Well, those flowers just changed everything.  With them Brian told me loud and clear that he cared for me.  And after taking my flowers on a trip to see my brother in Virginia for the weekend, Brian knew that I really was starting to care for him, too. 

Our relationship has grown quietly and steadily over the last two years.  Many people who’ve watched us have asked when we’re going to “get on with it!” but looking back we truly appreciate the months we’ve spend growing together.  If you’d like to see a sweet review of our first year together, click here for the website Brian created for our first anniversary when he was beginning to learn Flash.