Unforgettable

One unforgettable afternoon in April 2001, I went to see a high school play with a girl I barely knew.

Last June, she said “I Do” when asked if she would marry me. Between those two points in time we’ve shared lots of laughs, but last Saturday’s might just take the cake.

With both of us being 26 years old, we are right in the wheelhouse when all of our friends start pairing off and getting hitched. In fact, it’s getting a bit ridiculous. On the way to my friend’s wedding last Saturday, Amanda actually got, not one, but TWO phone calls from good friends that wanted to let her know they just got engaged. Ever since we tied the knot in June however, we’ve seen weddings in a different light. Now, we not only get to celebrate good friends expressing their love for each other, but we get to reminisce about our own nuptials, both amazing whirlwind of a wedding day all the way to the frustrations of planning it. We always remark how truly unforgettable our day was. Everything was perfect and went off without a hitch.

We were in the midst of one of these strolls through memory lane last Saturday. Our friends Jase and Carrie were smack dab in the middle of their first dance when someone asked “What was you guys’ first dance?”. All of a sudden, a wave of sheer terror washed over me. I couldn’t remember the most important song of my life. I had been so proud of our first dance! We had taken a few lessons and I hadn’t stepped on Amanda’s feet once. Later, family members even praised our dancing skills, including my impromptu “worm” that occurred near the end of the evening. But here I was, less than a year later, stumped when someone asked such a simple question. What was I going to do?

I sheepishly turned towards Amanda and let her answer. But what was this? The look on her face was the same as mine! “This is embarrassing but I can’t remember!” I told her and our table-mate. “I completely forgot too” she said. We both laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation but sat there in momentary silence trying our hardest to remember.

“The Way You Look Tonight?”

“No, that was the last song.”

“At Last?”

“Closer, but no.”

It was one of those tip of the tongue memories that was frustrating the hell out of the two of us. We knew it would eventually come to us, but I needed instant gratification. As always, my solution involved technology. A quick text to my dad, one of those that was so proud of our dancing skills that day, would quickly resolve the issue. As soon as he replied I was expecting one of those “AH HAH!” moments followed by a brief chuckle at our mid-twenties forgetfulness. Instead, I saw the reply from my dad and began bellowing with knee-slapping, irony induced laughter. Amanda gave me a look that seemed to say “Maybe I made a mistake marrying this guy.” Then I showed her the text. It read: “Too funny.” Followed by the one word title of the song that we will never forget again……..

“Unforgettable”