How The Witty Gritty Couple Met
Beginnings
Tom Rubino had already sweat through summer Greek by the time Christine Dow graced the hallowed halls of Covenant Seminary in the Fall of 2005. They met for the first time at Growlers (a local pub) and even had a few classes together that semester, but neither thought about being more than friends.
Then, one of Tom’s professors suggested that Christine might be a great woman to think about pursuing. Slightly more interested, Tom tried to flirt with Christine a little in class and one time, even purposely stopped to talk to her while she was in a library study room. Announcing that she “Really needed to study.” Christine promptly shooed Tom away after just a few measly minutes of intoxicating conversation.
Though bumping into each other a few times around campus and having several exchanges (“We should really hang out sometime.” (Tom) “Call me.” (Christine – with a playful flirtatious heel lift), nothing ever happened.
The last time they saw each other was right before Christine left for the summer, when she earnestly asked Tom to pray for her time in Annapolis.
The Summer of Stepping Up to the Plate
During an April wedding, Tom had experienced an epiphany. Sitting in the pew, he had sarcastically asked himself: ”When am I going to get to go to one of these for myself??” It was then Tom heard a still small voice answer: “Tom, if you want to get married, you kind of have to spend time with women.”
Was it Tom’s common sense trying to slap him into reality? Was it the Lord leading him in the way he should go? Was it the heart’s cry of a mother (933 miles away) longing for more grandchildren before she saw the golden streets of heaven? Who can say? All Tom knew that it was time for him to step up to the plate and take some initiative.
And that he did… several times, in fact. But, as Tom began to ask out a couple of the seminary women that had caught his eye over the past year, none of his efforts seemed to be fruitful. Even an e-mail he had sent to Christine was followed by her response that she was dating someone.
His cynicism confirmed by repeated failure, Tom clenched his fist, turned his face to heaven, and defiantly bellowed: “Why, God? Why?? Argh!!!”
The Dinner to End All Dinners
The next time Tom and Christine saw each other was at their first student council meeting. Though her heart had been broken by a”boy of summer,” Christine still found that her interest in Tom grew after he shared his reasons for running for council.
Tom’s interest grew when, at the following seminary Fall picnic, Christine put her elbow on his shoulder, batted her eyes at him, and asked: “You played football in High School, didn’t you?” Too bad Tom was on the soccer team during football season.
Everything changed when Tom was invited to Christine’s apartment to have a “friendly” dinner with her and her roommates. That night, Tom was completely blown away by Christine’s sense of humor, playfulness, and her depth (a rare combination).
Ironically, while Christine was fretting that her endearing antics may have scared Tom away, Tom was in his car declaring: “I have got to get to know this Christine Dow!”
Umm… You Wanna Go Out Sometime?
Amazingly, after that dinner, Tom and Christine seemed to be always “bumping” into each other. Tom always seemed to find a seat next to Christine at chapel and when Tom stopped by the girls’ apartment for a visit… and Christine wasn’t there… she always seemed to just show up a few minutes later.
Suddenly people started to have something to talk about. Questions were being asked about the soon to be couple. Nervous answers were being given. Tom was wondering what the heck he should do.
One day, hoping that Christine’s heart had healed enough from the pain of the summer break-up, Tom sat on the couch next to her and (with as much confidence as he could muster) asked: “Is Mama ready for me to ask her out on a date yet?”
Who knew that five months (to the day) later, Christine would also be saying “Yes” to another very important question?
Buying “My Precious” for My Precious
After Tom “hit the ball out of the park” with her parents over Spring break, Christine was certain she wanted to marry him. Tom’s certainty was confirmed when his family fell in love with Christine over Easter break.
Christine’s parents had whole-heartedly given their blessing and Tom’s mom had bust out laughing when Christine pulled her famous “I’m going to break out in a huge smile when I’ve purposely stuck something in between my teeth” joke.
What further confirmation was needed for these BFFs? That is (for you less hip people out there), Best Friends Forever.
Knowing that there is almost no way to surprise Christine about anything (she always manages to figure out what’s going on), Tom decided that he would honor her request to pick out her engagement ring together.
After coming dangerously close to having a coronary (when Christine decided to try on a $10,000 ring to “Just see what it feels like.”), Tom joyfully signed all the paperwork, excitedly grasped the hand of his future bride, and triumphantly led her through the doors of Shane Company, Inc.
We’re Engaged!!
As Tom prepared to pick up Christine on the big day, he was brimming with excitement, but also a little nervousness. He knew she would say “Yes”, but he wanted everything to go perfectly on this special afternoon.
As they drove to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Tom kept rehearsing what he would say in his head, as he also tried to avoid answering any of Christine’s questions about where they we going. After all, she already knew he was going to propose to her that afternoon… he had to surprise her with something!
After arriving at the gardens, Tom pretended to begin the proposal several times at several “perfect” spots (another one of Tom’s attempts to have some fun with Christine and surprise her). Then the happy couple made their way to the Japanese Garden, where Tom finally popped the question.
At first, Christine thought Tom was crying wolf again, but when he got on both knees and began to confess his love for her, she knew it was really happening!
It couldn’t have been any better. There they were in this secluded spot overlooking the beautiful lake and not a single soul came down the path or even walked around the lake the whole time Tom was proposing! What a blessing!
After many tears and several digital photos, Tom and Christine made their way around the rest of the gardens, being sure to tell everyone they came across that they had become engaged.
Thus began the season of squeals, screams, and hearty slaps on the back… not to mention loads of phone calls, text messages, and e-mails!
So now you know the story of how Tom and Christine traveled down the road to getting married. Please pray that the Lord will continue to bless the union between these two best friends!
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Does Christine know about your third eyeball? It might come up.