How I Met Serach, Part IV: The "Sister"

This is Part IV of a series about how I proposed to Serach. Part I is here, Part II is here, and Part III is here. I'm currently giving the background of the story...

During night seder, November 26th, 2003...

[beep] Ez: Hey B, what's up?

B: Hey - whatcha doing tonight?

Ez: Actually, remember that girl Serach I told you about? I'm meeting her for the first time tonight.

B: Oh! Is it a date?

[pause]

Ez: Umm... no, I don't think so...

B: You sure? Kinda sounds like a date... (!) Eh-zeeee!!

Ez: No - I don't think it is. We're just meeting up.

B: O-kaaaay!!!

Ez: Okay, gotta get back to learning before Jon kills me. Byee!

B: Byeeeeeeeeee!!!

Ah, B. My dear friend B. It's time to go back into the past a bit...

For a long time, I had a friend Bracha, whom I (along with many others) called Bracha B, or often simply "B". We were friendly since I was in high school (she is a year younger than I am), and had become exceptionally close as we each went through hard times when we were in Israel - for me, it was a rough Shana Bet (second year in Israel post-high school), for her, a rough beginning to Shana Aleph (first year). One call, right around Sukkos of that year, was one of the major catalysts of our relationship. The highlight: My saying to her, after she gave excellent advice and listened to me for about an hour...

Hey, Bracha - I never realized you're not a ditz!

Brilliant, right? For some reason, after a few minutes of apologizing and trying to explain that one, she (kind of) forgave me, even if has she never let me live it down. Then again, I will always tease her about the time she called me in a panic because she'd just burned off some of her hair, but I digress... Over the rest of the year, save about 6 weeks in the middle, we would speak quite often, and this continued over the summer and into the next school year, when I was in Lander and she was in college at home. We had become so close, we considered ourselves to be brother and sister - one of the ironies being that her birthday was exactly the same as my [biological] sister. Bracha was, and always will be, one of my best friends, and she really is like a second sister to me.*

* Just to clarify, there was never any chance Bracha and I would date. Long story, but it was never even a thought in our minds...

So... Bracha B was very excited about my "meeting" - and decided she would call me later on in the night to see how it went. She had heard quite a bit about this "Serach" girl, who had (gasp) interfered on occasion with "our" talking time, and was interested in learning more. Meanwhile, I thought nothing of it - I was wearing my gray OJ hooded sweatshirt (really comfortable), my Skechers slip-on shoes, and hadn't shaved in who knows how long.

After night seder with my good friend Jon, my talk with my 'sister' Bracha, and Ma'ariv, I headed out to meet Serach for the first time. Little did I know that I'd be meeting a new best friend...

Ezzie: I'm writing the story as I remember it, and unfortunately that sometimes results in skipping some details. When I remember them, I'll try to fill them in; possibly in the comments, possibly in the posts if it won't make it too disjointed. If anything is unclear or you have any questions, feel free to ask! Serach won't admit it, but she's been reading the story - maybe she'll fill in some of the details and her perspective at some point. I'm still hoping. :)