The first time I met Allen, was in 1998, when I began real estate school. He was a real estate agent and a construction worker. Before I knew his name, I saw him across the room and I knew that I was going to marry him. I went home and told my mom. Not to long after that, I was so sure I was going to marry him, that I bought a wedding dress before he and I were even a couple.
I had asked about Allen and soon the broker of the real estate school and company came over to talk to me about Allen. He told me that Allen was not married, how unhappy Allen was, how Allen deserved to be happy, and what an amazing man Allen was. I told the broker that I liked him and would like to get to know him better. With that, the broker paired us up so that I could learn from “the best” on how to be a real estate agent. Allen always drove a truck and often the broker would go with us and I would have to sit in the middle. I loved being so close to Allen and I would always brush my leg and arm against him. I had caught him staring at me many times and he flirted a lot when we were out of the office. I remember that I would wear appropriate but short skirts and high heels to work and I would come and sit on top of his desk and cross my legs while he was sitting there doing paperwork.
One vivid memory I will never forget is when Allen and I went to check on a house that was listed for sale. I guess since I had been teasing Allen, he was going to get revenge. As we were walking through the home, he would get very close to me and made a point of getting so close I could feel his breath on my face. He pretended to trip and we just happened to land on the bed of this home, where he acted like he was going to kiss me but did not. I thought my heart was going to explode.
Soon after Allen left real estate, as his construction company took off. He would be traveling most of the week around Missouri and Kansas building, fences, decks, and swimming pools. He asked me to go with him and be one of his workers. Which of course I did, I impressed him because I worked harder and better than most of the men he hired.
I do not know exactly when we kissed, but not too long after we did and eventually we became a couple. At the time, I had blonde hair, not a good look for my ethnic features. So, I dyed my hair back dark. I showed up at his house to go on a construction job, when I stepped out of my car, I will never forget the look on his face. I knew at that moment he was mine and that he loved me. He could not move or breath, he was entranced by me. In fact, on this particular construction job, we went to Popular Bluff, MO. After work we went to a small bar for a couple of drinks and Allen and I danced and he told me he loved me for the first time. I will never forget how I felt when he said those words. It was as the world had stopped and all noise went silent.
Not too long after, I asked Allen to marry me. I had this Native American ring I always wore and I tossed it to him and said lets go to Vegas and get married. He said all right, lets go and so we did. We only had $300, barely enough for gas, but we did not care. We drove all night from Missouri to Vegas and stopped only to sleep a couple of hours in the truck. When we arrived at Vegas, we stopped at a hotel/casino, The San Remo (now the Hooters Hotel, OMG). We went in and asked the guy at the front desk how much a room was for the night. The guy asked Allen, “What price do you think is fair?” Allen being his normal ornery self said $10, and guess what that is what we paid. We had a cup of change we always kept during our trips and so we used it for gambling, it was fun. We also found an all you can eat prime rib buffet for $4.99 per person. We went out walking around and came upon a timeshare tour. Of course, they asked why were in Vegas and we told them to get married. They told us if we went on the time share tour, they would pay for everything for our wedding, send a limp to pick us up and everything. So we did and we got married for free July 13, 1999. The only negative was we had no money for pictures and so we had a couple take pictures while we were outside the chapel, but the film was stolen. I have no pictures, but I have plenty of images and memories in my mind. On the way home we stopped along the desert and made love on a blanket next to some cactus. We also stopped at the Grand Canyon and took pictures.
We were so in love and so married. We had only known each other for three months when we got married. We had twelve years together, before God took him May 31, 2011. Through all the pain and tears, even if I had known my husband would be taken from me early, I would not change marrying him. In fact, marrying Allen is the best decision I ever made.
