Be Careful What You Ask For

                                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
      The shrill sound of the door bell almost drowned out the sound of Shelby's rapidly beating heart.  She was so happy, excited and nervous at the same time.  The reason for these emotions could be summed up by one name.  Lee Peterson.  Shelby's mind went back in a flash to there first meeting.  She was a senior in college when she first heard that name.  It was raining so hard that day, cats and dogs would be putting it mildly.  Of course her umbrella was where all umbrellas were when you needed them, in the car.  Shelby looked like she had decided to take a swim fully dressed.  If that wasn't bad enough, as she was running to get out of the rain, she missed her step and fell.  She fell so hard tears came to her eyes.  She was so embarrassed and outdone, she didn't want to look or get up.  It was then that Lee became a part of her life.
"Are you okay? Here, let me help you up." Shelby saw a smooth dark hand with long fingers and clean nails take her arm, funny she noticed details, and gently helped her up.  Her eyes traveled up to see a face etched with concern.  Shelby could barely catch her breath.
      "Who is this gorgeous knight in shining armor?" She thought. That's what he was to her at that moment, steadying her with one hand, an umbrella in the other, holding it over them both.  For the first time, Shelby was thankful for the rain. It mingled with her tears.  She was already embarrassed and she didn't want him to see that she was crying too.
"Please, let me get you out of this rain." He maneuvered them expertly through the hard rain to the nearest building.  Once they were inside, he dug into the duffel bag he was carrying and pulled out a towel. 
"Don't worry, it's clean and unused!" He laughed.
They started laughing and Shelby was sure that she would never hear another sound that would mean so much to her.  He began to carefully dry her face and hair.  Shelby was thinking how gentle he was, how good it felt.  She was vaguely aware of the people that were passing by.      It seemed that she only had eyes for him.
      This tall, gorgeous and kind man then held out his hand and said "Hi, I'm Lee Peterson."  Shelby shook his hand and looked up into piercing dark brown eyes that she knew she'd never forget.
"Hi, and I'm Shelby Benton.  Thank you so much for your help, Lee."
He then looked at her closely. "Are you sure you're ok? Do you need me to take you anywhere?"
"No, no, I'm good.  Again, thank you so much.  It was kinda rough out there" Shelby answered and smiled.
"It was my pleasure, pretty lady.  I hope I'm around if that should happen again." At that moment they burst into laughter again. 
Lee was a senior as well and they had both finished with their classes for the day, so they ended up at the book store around the corner from campus.  They sat and enjoyed each others company for hours.  They drank cappuccino and laughed at each other's jokes.  There was such a strong connection and they knew that they would be friends.  At that moment, Shelby knew she wanted their friendship to grow into a relationship.  She prayed to God that Lee Peterson would be that special person she wanted in her life, her soul mate.
Shelby's last relationship was a bad joke.  The thing was nobody let her in on it and she didn't laugh at all.  That unfunny joke lasted two years.  This time she wanted to laugh, smile and be happy. 
      While Shelby and Lee were talking and sharing, he shared that he was in a relationship with someone.  This bit of information just happened to come out after she sent up that little prayer. Although she was disappointed, she couldn't help but appreciate Lee's honesty. Lee was such a kind, caring and honest man.  He explained that there were serious problems and although they had broken up before, they had both decided to try again.
      From that day, she was in love with Lee.  However, Shelby and Lee remained friends, but friends from a distance as to not cause confusion or more problems, but knowing that they would always be there for each other.  It wasn't the easiest time for her.  She longed for Lee with everything in her and made a decision to wait.  Wait for Lee.  Wait for God to answer her prayer.  She believed that they met on that rainy day for a reason.
That was five years ago.  Now Shelby took one last look in the mirror.  Her cinnamon brown skin was glowing and she knew it had nothing to do with her makeup.  She then grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.  A thought came to her and she smiled. Be careful what you ask for... when you get it, you've got to be ready for it.  Shelby opened the door and standing there was the love of her life, her answered prayer.
"Hi pretty lady." Lee Peterson said. "We better go, looks like rain!"