My story- April 2002

I wrote the first part of this story a few weeks ago, click here to read it.


  After our first kiss, I stayed up most of the night thinking about the future. I didn't want to over analyze it...afterall, Jake did have a girlfriend still. I just felt so happy. It was the kind of feeling I couldn't explain. Since Jake had told me that he was going to call me the next day {Saturday} I made sure I stayed by my cell all day.  (I even laid my phone right next to the tanning booth, so I could grab it easily).{no call} Finally by 8pm I decided to go out with {my girls}...annoyed and worried.The girls and I did our usual driving around laughing and talking. Finally about 9pm Jake called. (i know now that he was trying to act cool, so he waited ALL day to call)  Jake and I talked for over 3 hours about anything and everything. I was smitten.
   Although I was hoping Jake would call Sunday, I wasn't sure, since it was Easter. Instead he called me around 6 and asked if we could hang out later that night.  He came to my house, hung out with my "big family" eating popcorn and watching kids wrestle. I didn't want to scare him too much, so we went for a walk around the neighborhood. We talked forever on the porch swing. I didn't want him to leave.
   The next day was my grandpa's funeral. I saw my grandma hugging the coffin and crying. She said, "65 years wasn't enough!" I immediately thought about Jake. I thought about the way I could talk to him for hours and I wanted more. I thought about the way he treats me. It hit me that this was real. I loved Jake Willis.
    Jake and I talked or hung out everyday over the next week. I asked him on Thursday if he had broken up with "the other girl" yet. Nope. {he hadn't talked to her yet} I couldn't wait for the weekend to come so that we could spend every moment together.
    It was general conference Sunday, so we went to the Stake Center to watch conference. In between sessions he "officially" met my parents. He ate lunch with my dad. Although my dad fed him a "roast sandwich" that was 10 inches thick with half a roast in it, Jake ate the entire thing. He told my parents about his roofing company, about the house he had bought and was remodeling, and about his mission. {he spoke spanish...my dad was in love} My mom and dad kept glancing over at me and giving me the, "holy crap, this guy is a keeper!" look. That was the first time I had ever kissed a guy in front of my parents {on purpose}. We watched the last session of conference and then he took me to the house he had bought the month before. He was remodeling it, so it was completely gutted. I secretly pictured myself living there oneday.
   The following week, I got a call on Tuesday after I left my night class. Jake told me that he had met with and "talked" to "the other girl". Apparently she was shocked that he had another girlfriend. (as was I) I was jumping up and down inside...Had he just called me his girlfriend? Good, he was thinking the same as I was.
   I started to wake up in the morning and plan when I would see Jake...it was a given. Since I had night classes until 10:30pm, and he went to work at 4 am, he sacrificed alot of sleep so we could see each other. After a week had gone by, he called me on my way home from class. He was somber. "can I talk to you?" he said. My heart sank. "Sure. Meet me at my house." When I got to my parents house, he was waiting on the porch swing for me...in slacks, a white shirt and tie... at 10:30 pm. I nervously sat next to him unsure of what I was going to hear. He told me that he had been at the temple for the past 5 hours. He had been praying about "us" lately. He grabbed my hand.  He told me that he felt he had an answer to his prayers.  He had done baptisms and had recieved his answer...He needed to "Marry Jenni" He had done a session after that to be sure and he had gotten the same answer. "I don't want to scare you, or rush anything, but I need you to know how I feel.", he explained. I just stared at him...I'm sure I was smiling. Then I kissed him...hard. "Sounds good to me."
   After Jake had gotten his answer, I decided to really begin focusing on praying about it for me. It came quickly and easily. No fireworks. Just quiet and reassuring. I knew we would be together.
   One Sunday, a little over two weeks since our first kiss he came with me to a jazz concert at Tempe Town Lake {an assignment for a class} after we listened for a while, Jake, leaned over and said, "there are so many people here, let's go somewhere quieter." So we drove to the roof of the airport. {when that was still allowed} We sat watching planes take off and land and talked about where we would go if we could go anywhere in the world. He told me he loved me. The breeze was blowing and it just seemed too perfect to be true. This is the point when I looked at Jake and said, "I wish we had a video camera, so we could put this exact moment on our wedding video." That was the first time I had mentioned anything about "marriage" {out loud} before. "Oh, good." he responded, "I was planning on being on your wedding video."
  That was the proposal. {jake and jenni style}
  We started talking about dates, telling friends and family, ect. We decided to wait at least a week to tell friends and family, so we didn't freak anyone out. (since just 2 1/2 weeks ago both he and I were "dating" someone else) I told him he needed to ask my dad before we could make this "official". I slept really well that night. Things couldn't be more perfect.