...So Every Moment Was Magical.

Remember how I said this story was very related to faith? Well, before heading off to my unknown fate in Switzerland, I had a very strong feeling that something truly right and wonderful was about to happen. Funny how that sense of rightness can get buried in our worries and we easily forget what God has been whispering to us. I still have a lot to learn about taking counsel from faith rather than fears.

Bern Temple Celestial Room

After every temple session, everyone filters into a beautiful room known as the Celestial Room--it's seen as a symbol of heaven and is generally one of the prettiest rooms inside of a temple. I got in first and carefully selected a spot where Roby was sure to see me and sit next to me. I had a few moments to decide exactly how I wanted to lay my cards on the table before he came in.

Finally the moment arrived--Roby came up the stairs and took his place beside me. We both shifted awkwardly in our seats, attempting to return to our comfortable conversation from before. Trying to help things along and not yet ready to be bold, I asked him to finish telling me about that dream he'd mentioned. He began talking about how we had been together and someone was trying to hurt me. In an attempt to protect me, he had grabbed my hand--and right at that moment in his story, his hand was suddenly holding mine in reality.

I don't know about all of you, but in my world, holding hands is tantamount to saying "I want to date you and no one else." And, fortunately, I didn't have to guess at Roby's intentions because he accompanied the hand holding by asking if I'd be his girlfriend. Funny how I had half expected him to ask a weightier question...

I have no idea what we talked about after that, but whatever it was, we spent two hours discussing it. Somehow, my brain has created a golden haze around the rest of our time in the Celestial Room--like one of those sappy old movies that switch to soft focus during the love scene. Or maybe it's just that I'm becoming like Jane Austen and zooming out of the first-acknowledgement-of-mutual-feelings moment. Either way, I do remember that everything felt almost magic. And I can't imagine a more perfect place in the world to officially begin a relationship than in one of the most sacred rooms in creation.  It finally occurred to me that no one else was in the room and that we probably ought to find my friends and get some lunch.

We went our separate ways to change into normal clothes, planning to meet out front. I made it out before he did to find my friends impatiently waiting, but the big news would have to come out later. Roby soon joined us and we decided that since he had to leave soon, the two of us would wait on lunch and let the others go find something to eat while we took a little stroll.

They were primroses--I'll always love them now...And
actually, all yellow flowers have become a special
symbol to the both of us. :)

As we were walking, I noticed that one of the yards of the surrounding houses was covered with beautiful yellow flowers springing spontaneously out of the ground. I stopped to comment on them, because where I come from, flowers don't really grow unless people plant them--I loved how in Switzerland they grew on their own right in the middle of someone's yard. And as I turned to tell him how much I loved those flowers, I realized he was going to kiss me.

Now, you have to know that kissing someone on a "first date" is not my style at all. But somehow, I knew it was the perfect moment. Besides, I already felt that we had known each other forever. And that perfect moment and all of the emotions I'd been feeling throughout the day gelled into the sweetest, gentlest kiss I could have imagined.

Though I took this picture months
later, it actually looked just like
this on our little walk.

We continued our walk through a nearby forest--another wonderful thing about Switzerland is that large clumps of very tall trees are never that far away. We found a small grove and stopped to talk and enjoy the newness of our relationship with a few more gentle kisses. After only a few minutes, however, one of his friends found us and told him they needed to leave as soon as possible.

Before I knew it, he was gone. We had just enough time to snap a quick picture to send to my mom before he hopped in the car and drove away. I was left to talk everything over with my friends, who of course wanted to know all of the details. My head felt detached from the rest of my body. Had that really happened or had I imagined the whole thing? We had only spent a total of eight hours together, and everything was as new and delicate as those primroses. In most situations, a new couple wants to spend every available moment together to cultivate the budding relationship, but in our case, that proved to be impossible; Lyon is as far from Lecce as San Francisco is from Salt Lake. I wouldn't see him again for six weeks.

The happy couple on that glorious day