Our Story of Adoption--Part 3

Bryce and I walked home together nearly every evening. I worked in the Biofeedback lab at the Counseling and Development Center, and Bryce worked at the front desk in the Services for Students with Disabilities. Many nights he'd come all the way to my apartment, where I would make him dinner. I was very good at following directions on a box and I loved arranging the Hamburger Helper, orange slices, and canned green beans in artful patterns for an appreciative audience of one.

He taught my roommates to play the crazy card game Mau Mau. What were the rules? I remember making great plays, only to have Bryce say, "Oh, I forgot to tell you that you can't do that if there's a 2 played before a 9" or "Yeah, sorry, I should mention that this play is only valid during the full moon" and other such lunacy. We had many fun nights laughing and shouting, "SNOOPY FLYING ACE OF SPADES!" while Garth Brooks' "The Thunder Rolls" or Smetna's "The Moldau" played in the background. He was more popular than I was in that apartment.

And we spent our Saturdays volunteering, of course.

He was smart and funny and kind and upstanding. Many times we studied together for my religion class and I felt the Spirit very strongly as we discussed the Scriptures and the words of the Prophets.

He was a great friend. And I knew, as time went on, that he wanted to be more than that.

But I wanted to keep my options open. My heart was in more than one place. I had a missionary and I was keeping things light with dating.

But guys stopped asking me out when they assumed that I was already taken.

But really, was that bad?

Because I really did like Bryce and I had feelings for him.

And so I stopped sitting on the fence.

And I let myself choose romance.

And I was not disappointed.

{Then or now.}