When I was 18 years old, my best friend, Stacie, and I would go to Lake Eufaula for the weekend to stay at her parents lake house. Oh, man.... It was always so much fun to get away from the rest of the world and spend a weekend laying out, riding four wheelers, drinking beers in the woods so we didn't get caught, and hanging out with our lake house friends. It's truly some of the best memories I have from my teens.
My first trip to the lake house, I remember Stacie telling me about her "lake house boyfriend", Charley. She just thought he was the cutest thing, and she was always so excited to see him. Before I met him, she told me he had a best friend named Jesse. She went on and on about how perfect Jesse and I would be together, and how much fun her and I would have if we all hung out. Like always, I was weary about meeting someone that a friend claims "I am so perfect for". Typically, that would mean he's a total doucher, and I probably wouldn't like him at all.... Boy, was I wrong this time...
Jesse was gorgeous.
He had dark, dark brown hair and thick, manly eyebrows. (I don't know what it is about a man with thick eye brows, but I am all about it) He had a rock hard, tan stomach, like that of a surfer from California. His skin was kissed by the sun, and that's all I could think about doing to it, too. Even though he had a body of a surfer, he had the style of a skater. His ears were gauged out with black earrings to match his dark hair, and his hat was the typical DC brand that skaters liked to wear. Basically, Jesse was exactly what I never expected to see when I thought of who Charley's best friend would be. He was better, and we instantly hit it off. I was smitten as soon as he smiled at me with his genuine, I-am-really-a-nice-guy-even-though-I-am-deadly-gorgeous smile.
Since Jesse lived in Eufaula and I lived in Midwest City, our time together was few and far between, but we spoke as much as our busy schedules would allow. Anytime we were able to, we would make a point to visit each other and spend time together. We both continued our own lives, even though we cared about each other, because let's face it, we were young and wanted to have fun. I remember him saying things like, "I want to move to OKC so we can be together" or " if we lived closer, I know it would be different", but we never assumed that it would actually happen.
After about 3 1/2 years of the whole back and forth ordeal, Jesse called me up one day and told me he had decided to move to Oklahoma City. He actually had a friend who lived in Edmond that he was going to move in with. I doubt he planned to move close just for me, but since I am a typical woman, it was always a thought in the back of my mind. Naturally, I was over joyed to hear he would be living closer to me, and that I would have the opportunity to see him WAY more than I was able to before.
At the time Jesse decided to move here, I had just settled myself into a new life. I moved into the Paseo District in Oklahoma City, and I was living with two guys and my best girlfriend at the time. My life was focused around freedom and partying. I was doing new things, meeting new people, and experiencing life as a new age hippie. I wasn't focused on being with or finding anyone. I just wanted to have fun. Due to the outlook I had on life at the time, the idea of Jesse and I being together was pushed to the very back of my thoughts. Of course, I wanted to see him and spend time with him, but the likeliness of us actually starting a relationship was slim to none.
Once Jesse arrived in Edmond, he really struggled looking for a new job. It was the first time he had moved away from his friends in Eufaula, and he was having a hard time adjusting. I maintained my positive outlook and continued to tell him he would find a job and that he shouldn't worry. We hung out a few times after he moved here, but it wasn't a lot. Eventually, his financial situation became worse, and his phone ended up getting turned off because he couldn't afford the bill anymore. Once that happened, there was absolutely no way of me contacting him.
The moment I realized there was no way to contact him, I quickly realized that, after all these years, I could not remember his last name. I remembered a brief conversation we had when I first met him, at 18, about his last name, but it never stuck. I mean, why did I need to remember it? He was always my "lake house boyfriend" or "Jesse from Eufaula". I never associated him with his last name.
I assumed that, even though I didn't have his number anymore, he would still have mine. Weeeellll, he never contacted me. I assumed it was because something had happened to his phone, and he lost my number in some crazy I-dropped-my-phone-in-the-toilet accident or something to that nature. Months went by, and I ended up changing my number due to a crazy ex who I wanted to quit contacting me. Once that happened, all hope of ever finding "my lake house boyfriend" was lost.
I refused to believe I would never see him again, so I began my search for Jesse from Eufaula. It started with a few phone calls to his old phone, hoping that it would be turned back on, or the new owner could somehow point me in the right direction. The old number quickly proved me wrong. The new owner only divulged his irritation of me calling numerous times and being told the same thing, "there is no one by the name of Jesse who owns this phone". Fail. First attempt was a failure, but I continued my search anyway. I would Google his name, his hometown, his school, aaaaannnnnnd every time, I came up with nothing. I even went as far as going through every last Jesse on Facebook in hopes that one would be him. I even messaged random people on Facebook to ask if they knew him and knew how to find him. Pathetic, I know, but I was bound and determined.
After three years of searching for him high and low, I was bored at work the other day and decided to Google him once again, like I have done a million times before. I typed in "Jesse from Eufaula" like I always had, but this time was different. The heavens were on my side that day, because one website took me to another website, which led me to another website, which finally brought me to him. "Is this really him? Did I ACTUALLY find him?" I thought to myself. I typed the full name I found through Google into the Facebook search bar, and sure enough, it brought up his Facebook page. I could not believe it. I was beside myself. I had reached a point to where I thought I would never see him again, and there he was, living in Tulsa, only hours away.
Of course, I requested to be his friend and messaged him immediately. After all, I had been waiting three years to speak to this man, there was no way I was going to wait for him to make the first move. I was taking it into my own hands. I emailed him something like, "Jesse!! I cannot believe I found you. Call me or text me as soon as you get this. I hope you didn't forget about me." And I gave him my number. I waited a couple days, impatiently might I add, for him to respond to my message. Two days later, I received a message. It was him. I still couldn't believe this was happening. He responded with, "Me forget you?! No way. I have been searching for you since the last time we spoke, but I couldn't remember your last name."
My heart skipped a beat.
He had been searching for me just as I had been searching for him. Wow. This was more than I ever imagined.
We are now communicating, and I am scheduled to visit him in Tulsa on the 30th of this month, less than two weeks away. I am beside myself excited. Blown away, really. Maybe, just maybe, I have found my purple sunshine.......
