I first saw Arnaud on October 3rd, 2009. He was smoking outside the Frontier Room in Seattle. I was a hot mess, and he was unbelievably attractive. His English was terrible, my French non-existent, but Lordy Jesus did we hit it off. He danced with me/let me dance for three hours without touching me: and I was smitten.
I got his number at the end of the night and texted him at 3:30am when I got home. He texted back; my stomach did a flip. He came over for dinner the next night and I cooked for him. He kissed me with his perfect kiss and took me to bed with his perfect everything; my stomach flipped so many times it threw up a little. I was so in love with him. I didn't tell him, of course. I had to be cool. Grown-up. Mature. But the fact remained: the moment I started loving Arnaud was the moment I saw him: October 3rd, 2009.
I took him fly-fishing that first week. I think that's when he fell for me. This is the first photo of us: 2 days after we met.
We saw each other almost daily until he went back to France on October 30th. I took this photo of him the day he left.
I ached when I later looked at this photo : I missed him horribly. He missed me too, thank GOD.
I found this photo on my camera later: a little good-bye gift he had left for me.
I went to France for three months starting in January of 2010. I met his family and I photographed beautiful things, but what I really wanted to do was photograph him. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen; I simply could not get enough of him.
When I was in France I admitted it: being with Arnaud was home.
We traded visits across the ocean until he found a way to be in Seattle for 9 months. So many hard and wonderful things happened in that 9 months. He continued to be my favorite person in the world. He grew a beard and I named it Stanley and had an affair with it.
We decided to get married when I was visiting him a few months later in Ath, Belgium.
We got married in France in July of 2012 and partied in Seattle in August.
We honeymooned and fished in Montana, where both of our hearts were stolen completely.
I moved to France in November, and now we live in Brussels.
We love Brussels. We love our little home and life.
This summer we hosted my Mom and aunts for their very first visit to Europe: Arnaud genuinely loved having these precious women in his world for 10 days. He also loved seeing me with my Mama. He asks me about my family nearly every day when he gets home from work. He understands what it is to live far away from almost everyone you love.
Last night we ate at a very nice restaurant beside our house where we were the only people present. It rained the whole time we ate, and the staff of 6 treated us like royalty. We laughed until we cried, we ate good food and we were both exactly where we wanted to be.
He is still the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, and I still cannot get enough of him.
Our life-rules remain: No pants, No dying, No panic.
I break the third rule almost daily, forgetting where I am and who he is, and he always brings me back. Home for me now is with a good man who sees me, likes me, needs me and loves me. How the hell did I get so lucky?
Tonight we have a fantastic night planned of doing absolutely nothing. We are both so excited it's basically Christmas at Chez Brice-Souquet. After weeks of travel and work and illness and missing each other, to snuggle up together with a Belgian beer and to just be home feels like heaven.
I am so lucky to have had four years with this sweet man who is proud to call me his girl.
Cheers to 1000 more, since neither of us is allowed to die.
Arnaud, je t'adore.
LOVE this ma'am.
OhmaGAWD I didn't know you had this! I'm going back to the first post and getting comfy. :)
Posted by: plus.google.com/116868327389080006564 | October 04, 2013 at 02:50 PM
It's hard to believe that was four years ago. Of course, it's harder to believe that you two haven't just been together forever. :) xoxxx
Posted by: Ploughyourownfurrow.wordpress.com | October 04, 2013 at 11:27 PM