Making Decisions

So, we were engaged, but what next? There were all kinds of decisions and plans to make, but getting married involved more than just Moe and me, it changed the life of our children, too.

Stephen loved Moe from the beginning. The very first night he came to our house, bringing his rope with him, Stephen invited him to move in with us. “I need a dad,” Stephen told Moe as he was leaving that night.

Russell wasn't quite as exuberant, but he also enjoyed the hunting stories, cowboy activities, and the male influence in our heavily feminine household.

Holly was Moe's biggest fan to begin with. It was her phone call that induced him to come over that first night, and she basked in the glow of match-making success.

Alyssa and Linnea were more cautious extending their friendship, but gradually they got used to the idea of Moe. He and Linnea developed their own kind of truce, sparring with each other every time they got together, teasing and one-upping each other in a friendly war of “who's wittier than who?”

When Moe was just a fun guy who came over to visit it was easier on the kids. When he became the “guy who is going to move into our house and become our second dad,” things got more complicated. Still, for the most part, everyone accepted Moe and me getting married pretty well.

There were a lot of issues we needed to resolve, though. For one thing, we had to decide if I would continue teaching school or stay home to be a homemaker again. Moe made a good income for a single guy, but was it enough to support a family of seven? As long as Sheldon made his child support payments on time, we would have that to add to Moe's income, and although he didn't make a great deal of money it was more than I made as a school teacher. I thought it sounded like a good idea for me to retire, but in truth it was a real sacrifice for Moe. He had dreamed of retiring soon, moving up to the mountains, and living there happily ever after in solitude. Instead, I was asking him to move in with a large, noisy family, and to spend years more working hard to provide for us. Talk about a romantic thing to do. The mere fact that he chose me over peace and quiet was amazing.

We also had to decide where we would live. There simply wasn't room for all seven of us to live in Moe's little, two bedroom house in Lehi. Moving the kids out of their schools and away from their friends and family at the same time they were getting used to having a new man in their life also wasn't a very good idea. So, again, Moe sacrificed for us and agreed to move out to Gilbert and in with us, and Mom and Dad when they returned from their mission.

Hardest of all was deciding when to get married. We wanted to get married in the Temple, being sealed for time and eternity, but that meant getting a Temple divorce from my ex-husband first. That took time. I had to write a letter to the Prophet and his councilors explaining why I divorced Sheldon in the first place, and requesting clearance to be sealed to a different man. My bishop also had to send a letter, and get in touch with my first husband, hopefully obtaining his agreement on the Temple divorce. For us, that was not difficult, since Sheldon had married again soon after we got divorced. Still, it took time to gather the necessary letters, send them to Church Headquarters, then wait for the First Presidency to review them and give their permission. My Bishop warned me that the whole thing could take months to be completed, and I was ready to get married now.

Moe was working in the Temple one Thursday evening in the middle of November when the Temple President saw him and pulled him aside to see how things were going with our courtship. By this time, pretty much everyone in the Temple was following our story. Moe explained we were just waiting for my temple clearance to come through before we got married, but it might take some time.

“Why don't you just go ahead and get married, then get sealed when the temple clearance comes through?” the Temple President asked.

“We want to get married in the Temple,” Moe explained, a little surprised the Temple President would propose any other option.

“You can still get married here,” the Temple President assured him. “It will be the same exact ceremony, only instead of marrying you for time and all eternity, it will just be for time. Then when Gale's clearance comes through, you can come back and be sealed for eternity. That's what I would suggest you do.”

Moe called me when he got home that night. “Would you want to do that?” he asked me after explaining what the President had said.

“I think it would be great!” I assured him, “as long as you think it's alright.”

“Well,” Moe told me more cautiously, “it's not what I always thought we'd do, but the Temple President said it's what he would recommend, and it sure would be nice to just go ahead and get married now and get on with life.”

I was thrilled! “Thanksgiving is next week,” I reminded him. “There won't be any school on Thursday or Friday, so it would make a good time to get married.”

Suddenly things were just falling into place.

The Proposal

I really wanted a different kind of wedding ring the second time I got married.  For six-and-a-half years I'd been examining every ring I saw, wondering how it would look as a wedding ring. One day I found a costume jewelry ruby ring that I loved. It had a large ruby in the center with tiny rubies and diamonds on either side. I wondered how it would look with a wedding band of rubies and diamonds next to it?

By the time Moe and I began talking about rings, I had decided I wanted my wedding ring to be a ruby instead of a traditional diamond. Moe was happy to give me whatever I chose, so we took my imitation ruby ring with us when we went to the jewelers.

“Do you think you could make an engagement band and wedding ring like this?” I asked my brother-in-law, who worked part time at the jewelry store.

“I think we could do it,” he told me after examining my ring. “It wouldn't be exactly like this, but it would be close.”

“How expensive are rubies?” I asked, hoping I wasn't going to make Moe spend too much money.

“They're cheaper than diamonds,” my brother-in-law assured me, “a little.”

Having a ring designed and created from scratch took longer than buying a ready made ring, but one thing for sure; no one else would have a wedding ring like mine. Perhaps I was kind of vain, but I liked being different from other people. I enjoyed thinking of myself as a bit of a character, maybe even a little eccentric, and Moe didn't seem to mind.

Until he had the ring, Moe wouldn't let me tell people we were engaged. “You can tell them we're talking about getting married,” he told me, “but we aren't engaged if I haven't proposed, and I can't propose without a ring.”

Actually, that seemed kind of silly to me, but if Moe wanted to be old fashioned and romantic, OK.

The ring was finished the last of October. We went by and picked it up at the jewelers, and I couldn't have been happier. It was gorgeous! I wanted to start wearing it right then, but Moe took it and put it in his pocket. “Let me do this right,” he told me..

We had a family Halloween party the next night with all of my brothers and sisters and their children. I helped my kids get dressed up, and even put on an old prom dress I'd worn years earlier for my costume. I told the kids I was a princess.

Moe came after work, bringing me a beautiful bouquet of red roses with one white carnation in the middle.

“Red roses are beautiful,” he told me as I happily gathered the bouquet into my arms and took a deep breath of their amazing fragrance, “but we've always got to have at least one white flower to remind us of the Temple.”

I gave him a big kiss, and then he admitted, “I really wanted to get you all white roses, but they didn't have any.”

“These are perfect,” I assured him. “And having one white flower in the middle makes it stand out, and seem even more important.”

At dusk we gathered all the kids and took them trick-or-treating.  Moe and I walked behind, holding hands and enjoying the cool evening air. You could always count on it finally cooling down for Halloween.

After we got back to the house we ate dinner, then the kids scattered to play games and eat their candy. My brothers and sisters congregated in the big family room to visit, but Moe whispered in my ear, “Would it be OK if we left the kids with everyone else for a little while?”

“Sure,” I told him. I'd been suspecting that he might be going to 'officially' propose to me this evening.

My brothers and sisters were happy to shoo us out the door, they knew what was going on, so Moe and I said goodby to the kids and walked out to his truck.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked him happily.

“You'll see,” he answered.

It didn't take me long to guess. We headed straight into the heart of Mesa, right to the Temple. How appropriate. This was the place were we met, the place were we would soon be married, and the place which would start our happily ever after.

Moe parked in the back parking lot, opened my door, and led me by the hand to the front steps of the Temple. We walked up about three steps, then he stopped, knelt down, and pulled the ring box out of his pocket.

“Gale, will you marry me?” he proposed.

“Yes,” I answered with a big smile, but my heart was singing, Of course! What do you think? Absolutley! You'd better believe it! And half a dozen other similar phrases.

And so, Moe and I were officially engaged. He told me later that he had really wanted to take me up to the cabin, to a special hill I had showed him where I'd always dreamed of building my mansion and living happily ever after. But logistically, he couldn't figure out how to get me there and back in the amount of time we had available. Personally, I thought it was much more appropriate, and romantic, for him to propose to me right there on the steps to the Temple, where our story had begun, and where we would soon be sealed together forever.

Asking Dad's Permission

Moe and I just sort of slipped into planning for our future together. There was never a definite moment when he said, “shall we get married,” or a time when I asked, “are we a couple now?” we just were. Still, Moe wanted to do things right, the old fashioned way, and for him that included asking my parents for their permission and not being officially engaged until he had an engagement ring.

Since Mom and Dad were in Germany on a mission, it wasn't that simple to ask Dad for my hand. Of course, I'd been writing to them constantly about Moe, telling them we were talking about getting married. Still,  it took some planning to find a time when Moe and I could get together at Moe's house (because he was determined to make the long distance call and pay for it from his own phone) at a time when Mom and Dad would be available and near a phone over in Germany. (Germany is 8 hours ahead of Arizona time.)

We finally determined to call them on Friday evening after Moe got through with his shift at the Temple.  That made it almost 11:00 pm our time, and 7:00 am theirs. Moe was nervous that night when he picked me up and we drove over his house. He'd never talked to my parents before. Also, it was the first time I'd been to his house, and perhaps he was nervous about that. I suppose it was about what I'd expected. After all, he'd been a bachelor with grown sons for many years, so I wasn't expecting a cute, well decorated house. Still, he'd worked hard to make a small den/office for himself, complete with wood paneling, a roll top desk, and all his scriptures and church books as well as a phone and computer.

He had me sit in the desk chair, while he stood next to me as I dialed Mom and Dad's number. I hadn't talked to them much on the phone while they'd been gone, so I was excited to hear their voices, as well as excited to tell to them about our plans.

“Brother Russell,” Moe began in a slightly nervous sounding tremor when Dad answered the phone, “Gale and I were hoping we could talk to you and Sister Russell about something really important.”

I could tell Dad must have said OK, and I imagined he had Mom standing next to him, all the way on the other side of the world, their heads next to each other as they both tried to listen to the phone. “Ummmm, well...... we wanted to tell you, I mean, we wanted to ask you if it would be alright if we got married? I mean, I wanted, sir, to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage?”

Poor Moe. He sounded just as nervous as if he'd been a 20 year old kid instead of a 48 year old man. Then his face relaxed, he grinned, and I knew Dad and Mom were doing their gracious best to make Moe feel at ease. He talked and listened for a minute more, then handed me the phone with a big smile. “They say, Yes!” he whispered happily, so we were officially OK to go ahead and plan on getting married. Of course, we still had to talk to the kids, although they knew what was going on better than we did, get a ring, and then Moe wanted to actually propose before we were officially engaged. But we were getting there.

Our First Kiss

The following weeks blurred together into so much fun. Moe came over most evenings, and although we didn't go out on any fantastic dates, we sure had a great time hanging out with the kids.

One night Moe and I went to the Temple to do sealings. For those of you who aren't familiar with Latter-day Saint Temples, they are holy places where couples can be married for time and all eternity, not just till death do you part. Because so many people have lived, loved, and not been blessed with the opportunity to be sealed, this ordinance can also be performed in the Temple for couples who are dead..

Moe and I spent a lovely evening being proxies for many couples. Usually the couples performing this ordinance are husband and wife, and sometimes the sealer will wink when he's completed a marriage and ask if they'd like to kiss, just like in a normal wedding ceremony.

Moe and I had been seeing each other for a long time by now, but I was still floored when the sealer gave Moe a big wink, smiled at me, and said, “You can kiss each other if you'd like.”

I blushed, and wondered what Moe was going to think of this. He wasn't a very showy person, and I kind of thought he might be uncomfortable kissing me for the first time, especially in front of other people, but I shouldn't have worried. Moe had an even bigger grin on his face when I looked back at him, then he leaned over and gave me a big, wonderful kiss!

That Wonderful Monday

We ended that wonderful, 1993 October Conference Weekend by going to Woods Canyon Lake on Monday, sailing.

Moe had a sailboat, a REAL sailboat, and he towed it up to Kohl's Ranch behind his truck. There wasn't any spot where he could fit both his truck and the boat trailer in the parking lot, so he unhooked the boat and pulled it into a parking space of it's own.

Monday morning the kids were up early, excited about the coming day. We ate breakfast together in the hotel's cafeteria, then Moe went back to his room to grab his stuff, and the girls and I went back to our room to get ours. Russell and Stephen begged to help Moe hook up the trailer, so he told them to meet him by the truck in a couple of minutes.

Perhaps the boys thought they were stronger than they were. Maybe they thought the boat was lighter. One way or the other, they rushed outside and decided to pull the trailer over behind Moe's truck so it would be easier for him to hook it on. He came outside a few minutes later just in time to see the boys struggling to hold onto the trailer before they lost their grasp and it started slowly rolling backwards, down the steeply sloping parking lot.

By the time the girls and I got outside Moe had everything in control, the trailer caught and hooked onto his truck, but he was still a little green, and although he chuckled as he told me the story, his laugh was a little bit shaky.

Woods Canyon Lake was delightful that autumn day. We had a picnic along the shore, we rode in the sailboat (although there wasn't much wind so we didn't go very fast), and we laughed and played.

“If we left now,” I told Moe and the kids early in the afternoon after a couple of hours on the lake, “we'd still have time to drive by the cabin and show Moe where it is.”

I had all been telling Moe about the cabin for a long time now, and I kind of wanted to show it off. Moe had had a cabin of his own, up on Blue Ridge Reservoir on the other side of Payson, and he had loved it. We were all sure if he saw our cabin he would think it was wonderful, too.

“OK,” the kids agreed easily. They loved any excuse to go to the cabin, just the same as me.

Pulling the sailboat out of the lake turned out to be a bigger job than sliding it in, but we all helped as much as we knew how. We just didn't know much.

“Hold this cable,” Moe instructed Russell as he worked on pulling the boat out of the water. “Gale, you stand over there and guide the boat up, girls, you stand here,” and Moe began winching the boat up onto the trailer.

Suddenly, the huge mast which held up the sails fell down, crashing into place instead of slowly being lowered the way it was designed to come down. We never could figure out exactly what happened, but we were sure glad no one was badly hurt, although the cable Russell held wrapped around his wrist and left a scar he's carried for the rest of his life.

That kind of sobered us up, but Russell was a trooper and didn't complain even though his arm hurt. We quickly finished loading the sailboat, then drove down the rim to Colcord Trail and the turn off to the cabin, where Moe left his truck and boat and climbed into the van with us. As we drove towards the cabin we told him all the old stories: how Dad had bought it when I was two, how I'd broken my arm when I was seven, about each of us catching our first fish, about the creek and the swimming holes and the Indian Ruins, and how much we loved that place. By the time we got there, I think Moe was beginning to understand just what that cabin meant to me, and to my children. I was a little worried what he would think of itm after all, our cabin was not a summer home or a resort spot. It was just a tiny little cottage nestled on top of a ponderosa covered hill, between a rough,winding dirt road and a clear, cold, tumbling creek.

Maybe it was because of our stories, maybe he was just being nice, but when we drove up and parked the van outside the gate, (I hadn't thought about bringing the keys with me this trip) and the kids jumped out and crawled through, Moe took my hand and stood next to me, looking at the cabin and the scenery behind it.

“This is beautiful, Gale,” he told me quietly, squeezing my hand. “It's just exactly like the kind of place I've always wanted to have. Secluded, quiet, far from everything. Listen to the quiet.”

I listened, but what I heard were my children; laughing and giggling as they ran around the cabin, coaxing us to follow them over the fence so they could show Moe Grandma and Grandpa Russell's cabin down below the hill, and the creek and the swings and the blackberry patch and the tree house and the outhouse and all the other wonderful things that made up the cabin. Still, I knew exactly what he was talking about. There was a peace, a stillness, an amazing quiet here at the cabin that you couldn't find anywhere else. It was home, my happy place, and now I was here with the man I had decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life, and eternity, with. And he loved it. And I was happy.

He Thought About Me!

The kids and I ended up driving into Payson to watch conference. During the break between sessions we got lunch and explored some of our favorite shops in town. It was about 4:00 when we got back to Kohl's ranch, and began watching for Moe. He walked into the lobby a little after 5:00.

“He's here, he's here,” the boys shouted as soon as they saw Moe.

“Hi,” I greeted him, as excited as they were.

It just felt right, having Moe with us to enjoy our adventure. His room was not far from our own, and we spent most of our time together. Moe was great with the kids, playing arcade games with them in the game room Saturday night, exploring the woods and hiking a little way up the creek between sessions on Sunday, and playing card games with us Sunday night. I finally got him to myself late that evening, after the kids had settled down.

We walked hand in hand down to the lobby, sitting on a leather couch in front of the crackling fire.

“This has been so nice,” I told Moe happily. “I'm really glad you were able to come with us this weekend.”

“We're going to have even more fun tomorrow,” he assured me.

I always took an extra day off for conference, giving us a three day weekend, so we still had Monday to play and have fun before heading back down to The Valley. Moe had towed his sail-boat up behind his truck, and we planned to drive on up the rim to Woods Canyon Lake for a picnic and some boating.

“The boys are dying to go sailing,” I agree with him, “and the girls are looking forward to getting some sun. You sure are showing them a good time this weekend.”

“They're great kids,” Moe praised.

“Yes, they are,” I agreed happily. “Thanks for liking them so much.”

Moe smiled and squeezed my hand. “I'm really enjoying getting to know them, and you.”

I looked at him, wondering if I should tell him just how much I was enjoying getting to know him, too. I didn't want to scare him off, but it seemed right to tell him what was in my heart.

“You know,” I began hesitantly, “I feel like it's really not just an accident that I met you at the Temple.”

“I feel the same way,” Moe told me, still smiling. “I knew I was going to get blessings for working there, but I wasn't expecting one of the blessings to be meeting someone like you.”

“How long have you been working there?” I asked, kind of surprised that I'd never asked him that before.

“Almost a year,” he told me. “I was called to be a Temple worker last November.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised. It was last November that my Bishop told me he was sending me to the Temple to meet my future husband.

I had not planned to tell Moe about that, but somehow the story just slipped out of my mouth. “I've actually met quite a few single men this past year,” I concluded, “but you are the only one I've felt right about.”

I looked at him shyly, hoping I hadn't just ruined everything by pushing too quickly. He grinned back at me, squeezed my hand again, and said, “You know, I've been single for a long time, and I really haven't been looking to get married again. But a strange thing happened while I was out hunting last month.” He stopped, cleared his throat, then started again. “I was happy to be out hunting, to get a chance to forget about work and everything at home, but for some reason you kept popping into my mind. It was really strange, and it almost worried me. I mean, I was out hunting, doing my favorite thing, but I kept thinking about you.”

“Really,” I asked, squeezing his hand tighter and feeling like my heart was floating. This was turning into the nicest weekend I'd ever known.

October Conference and Kohl's Ranch

Every six months the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a general conference, the first of April and the first of October. The kids and I had made a tradition out of going someplace new each conference, renting a hotel room, and watching the four conference sessions on TV. Occasionally we found ourselves someplace that didn't carry conference on TV, then we went to the local meetinghouse and watched, but most of the time we were able to watch from the comfort of our hotel room. During the break between sessions and in the evening we went out exploring.

I looked forward to these mini-vacations with great anticipation. For me they presented a time to relax, unwind, and have fun with my kids, as well as an opportunity to hear the words of the prophets, learn more about the Savior, and have my spirit filled.

I told Moe all about our conference tradition and invited him to join us for October Conference, 1993. We were going to Kohl's Ranch, about 20 miles North East of Payson. Kohl's Ranch was one of my favorite land-marks on the way to the cabin, an old-time ranch turned into a hotel, situated on the West side of Tonto Creek. Every time I passed Kohl's Ranch I craned my neck out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of its swimming pool before I zoomed past, but I'd never actually stopped to go inside, so I was excited about our plans to stay there.

Moe said he had never stopped at the ranch, either, and he thought it sounded like fun. The problem was that his oldest son's wife was expecting their first baby, and he wanted to be around when she went into the hospital. He reserved a hotel room, and then waited to see what happened.

The kids and I left after school Friday, made the hour and a half drive up the Beeline Highway to Payson, turned right, and drove on to Kohl's Ranch, getting there about 5:00. We checked into the hotel, then carried our bags and suitcases down to our room. I loved the old time western feeling of the ranch.  There was a huge log burning fireplace in the lobby, elk and deer heads on the walls, and carved wood and leather furniture everywhere. Our room continued the theme, with country quilts covering two queen size beds and rustic pictures on the walls. It was just delightful!

I called Moe from our room to see how things were going. His daughter-in-law had just gone into labor, and he was heading down to the hospital.

“It looks like I won't be coming up tonight,” he told me over the phone, “but if everything goes well I'll try to come tomorrow afternoon some time.”

“That would be great,” I told him. “I hope everything goes well with the baby, and we'll see you if you can make it.”

First of all the kids wanted to find the swimming pool. It was lovely outside. Ponderosa pines towered overhead, the forest came right up to the parking lot, and we could hear the creek tumbling over boulders not far away. We found the swimming pool behind the ranch, but due to the lateness of the season it was closed. There was a hot tub, though, kept open year round, which made the kids happy. They quickly ran back to our room, changed into their suits, then ran back out to the jacuzzi.

I stayed in the room, unpacking and arranging things while trying to figure out what channels we got on the TV.  It didn't look like the hotel's cable carried conference.

The kids came back an hour later, toasty warm from the hot-tub, laughing and enjoying themselves. They dried off, the girls took showers, then we all got into our pajamas and watched a movie while we lay in our comfortable beds. I called Moe about 10:30. His daughter-in-law was doing fine, but she hadn't had the baby yet.

The next morning I woke up early, showered, and got ready for the day. I called Moe about 8:00 to see how things were going.

“Are you a grandpa yet?” I asked when he picked up his phone. His voice sounded pretty groggy when he answered, but happy, too.

“Yes,” I am,” he told me proudly. “My daughter-in law had a little boy about 2:00 this morning.”

“Congratulations!” I told him. “I bet you're worn out now.”

“I am pretty tired," he agree. “I think I'll sleep a bit longer, but then I'll drive up this afternoon, so I'll see you tonight.”

“Great,” I told him, excited he was going to be able to come for part of our weekend.

Our First Date

The doorbell rang, and the kids raced each other to see who could pull it open first. Moe was standing on the front step, grinning from ear to ear. He hadn't been able to come for Family Night on Monday, but here he was on Tuesday evening, the day before Stephen's eighth birthday.

“Moe, Moe, Moe!” Stephen chanted, while Alyssa hopped up and down and Russell smiled off to one side. Linnea and Holly were too cool to join in the fray, but they were standing in the door to the kitchen, watching.

“I brought you guys something,” Moe began, laughing as he tried to extricate himself from Stephen's hug, “Come out to the truck and help me get it.”

We all trooped out front with Moe. Reaching into the bed of his truck, Moe flipped a tarp over, exposing a saw-horse cow!

“What do you think?” Moe asked as he lifted his creation out of the truck. “Won't this be easier to rope than Jeffrey?”

Stephen shouted in excitement. Russell circled the saw-horse carefully, examining every inch of it, and Alyssa ran back into the house to grab the rope Moe had left for them to play with two days earlier.

Moe laughed when she ran back out with it. “Hold on, partner,” he suggested. “Why don't we take this cow into the back yard and set him up so you can really get to roping him?”

Stephen and Russell helped him carry their new pet into the backyard, then Moe helped the boys re-do the lasso at the end of the rope. It had come undone as they used the rope tying each other up over the past two days.

“Thank you,” I told him once the kids were busy trying to rope the saw-horse. “That was really nice of you.”

“No problem,” Moe grinned again. “Every little boy needs a cow if he's going to learn how to use a lasso.”

We laughed and visited on the back porch while the kids played. Moe stayed for dinner and we had a nice evening, although the kids monopolized his attention. In fact, that's what happened most of the time. Moe came over more and more, and we all enjoyed him, but I kind of wished for a chance to be with him by myself.

“One of these days,” I told Moe the following Friday night as we visited while he ate his dinner in the Temple cafeteria, “it would be fun if we could go out on a date all by ourselves.”

He laughed, but I guess he thought about it, because the next Friday night while we visited he said,

“We haven't had a chance to go on a real date,what with Stephen's birthday and his baptism and everything, but would you like to go out with just me tomorrow night?”

Of course I wanted to, but I was a little concerned about leaving the kids alone. Linnea and Holly were way to old to need a babysitter, but they had other plans for Saturday night. Russell was 12, but he wasn't the most reliable babysitter.

“Don't worry,” Moe assured me. “We'll stay close.”

The doorbell rang right at 7:00 the following night. “I'll get it,” I told Stephen as he ran around me, trying to beat Alyssa to the front door. There stood Moe, grinning like always, holding a bouquet of flowers and plastic grocery bag.

“Thank you,” I exclaimed in surprise. I hadn't dreamed that Moe would bring me flowers!

“You're welcome,” he told me. “Since this is our first official date, it seemed like a good idea. And these,” he said holding up the grocery sack, “are for the kids.”

He opened the bag and pulled out a handful of candy bars, making the kids squeal with delight.

Our date turned out to be quite simple. We just went for a long walk around the neighborhood, walking slowly, enjoying the cooler evening air; but it gave us a chance to be alone and talk quietly.

The following day I invited Moe to dinner. We always ate Sunday dinner with Sharon and Colton and their little boy, Jeffrey, since they lived in my parent's side of our double house while mom and dad were on their mission. I also invited my sister, Linda, to bring her kids and eat with us. Linda and Sharon and Colton had a great time joking around with Moe, mostly trying to guess what his real name was. I'd asked him months ago if Moe was his real name, and he'd explained that it was only a nick-name his parents had given him, but he wouldn't tell me his given name.

We tried to figure out what it possibly could be, I mean, what could Moe be short for? Moses? Moroni? We just couldn't figure it out, and Moe didn't offer any suggestions. I finally got him to admit that his name really didn't have anything to do with his nick-name. In fact, he couldn't even remember why his parents had begun to call him Moe, so we stopped trying to find a connection and just began guessing names. None of them were even close.

Eventually Linda got on the phone and called her friend from Moe's ward. “Do you have a ward list handy,” she asked her, and can you look up Moe's name in it?” Moe blushed scarlet when he heard Linda, but he didn't stop her. Finally her friend came back on the phone and told her what she'd found. Linda told us, and we were all pretty amazed. Moe's given name sure didn't have anything to do with his nick-name, and we finally began to understand why he didn't us it all the time.

“I'm actually a junior,” he told us. “I'm named after my dad, but he hated it too. When he was a kid he'd beat anyone up who used his full name.”

We laughed over the fact that his dad would pass on a name that he didn't like, but most of all I admired the way Moe accepted our teasing, joking right back with us. He really was a neat guy, and I was having a ball getting to know him better and better.

Moe Came Over!

When it rains, it pours.

Moe's hunt ended on a weekend in the middle of September. I saw him the next Friday, and he came right up to talk to me.

“You're back,” I greeted him. “Did you have a good hunt?”

“It was great!” Moe answered with a big smile. “I'll call you Sunday and tell you all about it. There's not time now, and I probably shouldn't be telling hunting stories in the Temple, anyway.”

“That would be great,” I told him, “but you don't have to wait so long. You could call and tell me all about it tomorrow.”

“I won't have time before Sunday,” he apologized. “I'm afraid I'll be too busy. I've still got to unpack.”

Honestly, Moe was the SLOWEST man I had ever met!

That same week I got a call from my sister-in-law's friend who'd been interested in me the previous spring. His divorce finally went through that week, and he wanted to take me out., and I didn't know how to tell him no without hurting his feelings. He came to the Temple Friday, but I'm afraid I wasn't very polite to him. I was washing out the Salad bar when he came in, and instead of going and sitting down with him and visiting I just kept on cleaning. He stood around talking for a little while, then finally left to go on a session. After he left one of the ladies I know came up and scolded me for not talking to that 'handsome' man.

Saturday I went on a blind date with a fellow one of my friends worked with. His wife had just left him, so my friend wanted to cheer him up and help him meet some new people. She and her husband doubled with me and her friend. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner, and it was really nice. My date was very good looking, he kind of reminded me of Paul Newman, but he was short, and small. Not that there's anything wrong with being small, I always wanted to be, but I wasn't. One of the nicest things about Moe was that he was 6' 4”, so even though I was 5' 10'' I felt small when I stood next to him.

Sunday morning I almost called Moe to invite him to dinner, but I chickened out. After church Holly decided she should call him and invite him over.

“Do whatever you want,” I told her, “but I'm not going to have a thing to do with it. I've got to take Stephen to see the Bishop so he can be interviewed for his baptism.” Stephen would turn eight the following week, and was getting baptized the week after that.

When Stephen and I got home the kids were jumping all over each other with excitement. Holly had called Moe, and he had said he would come!

I couldn't believe Holly had really called him, nor could I believe that he had actually said yes, but he had.

Moe came over at 6:00. Stephen grabbed his hand as soon as we opened the door and exclaimed, “Come see my bedroom!”

“Mine too,” Alyssa cried, not to be outdone by her little brother. After all, she was only nine, and just as excited to show off as Stephen. Russell was twelve, Holly thirteen, and Linnea fifteen, but that didn't stop them from taking Moe to see their rooms, as well. Then Linnea made crepes with blackberry syrup for our supper while the rest of us visited.

After we ate Stephen began showing Moe some Chaps he'd made out of old Levis.

“Where's your rope?” Moe wanted to know.

“I don't have one,” Stephen told him sadly.

“Well, you and Russell go look in the back of my truck,” Moe suggested. “There's lots of rope in it. Bring a piece inside, and I'll show you how to lasso a cow.”

The boys were so excited. They found the rope, brought it into our big living room, and Mow taught them how to tie a lasso. At first they tried throwing it over a chair in the middle of the floor, but pretty soon they discovered it was more fun to catch people. Jeffrey, my little sister Sharon's toddler, was just the right size for roping. He would laugh and run around the room while Stephen and Russell threw the rope at him, missing most of the time. That got kind of rough after awhile.

“Who thinks they could get out I tied them up to this chair?” Moe asked. Of course Russell and Stephen were sure they could, but the girls weren't about to be out-done, and they also wanted turns. They spent the rest of the evening tying each other up to see who could escape the quickest. They laughed and played so hard I thought I'd never get them calmed down.

Eventually Moe had to go home, but he left his rope so the kids could keep practicing.

“Will you come back tomorrow?” Stephen wanted to know.

“Yes, come back, come back,” Alyssa plead, Russell joining in with her. Linnea and Holly were too mature to beg, but they were smiling and sure had enjoyed themselves.

“Sure, I'd love to come back for Family Night some time,” Moe told them as he extricated himself from Stephen's hugs.

We said good by, then watched as he walked down the front sidewalk to his truck. It had been a fun evening. My cheeks actually ached from smiling so much as we watched the kids play. I really liked Moe.

“Now, if I can only get a chance to talk to him by myself and get to know him,” I thought. “One thing's for sure. As long as I get Holly to ask him, I think he'll do anything.”

I Called Him!

The summer ended, school started, and still Moe hadn't asked me out. He called me the last Tuesday of break, but I wasn't home. Holly answered the phone, so he told her to tell me he'd called. When he came into the cafeteria that Friday he came up to me and said, “You're in big trouble, you know.” I looked at him in surprise and asked, “Why?”

“Because you didn't call me back,” he told me.

“Sure,” I laughed. “And how am I supposed to call you if I don't know your phone number?” You've got to remember this was back in the days before cell phones, or even caller ID. “Anyway, girls aren't supposed to call men.”

Moe laughed then, let me ring up his dinner, and took it over to his favorite table. While he was eating he asked me to come over and talk. There wasn't much time because he had to get back to work and I was busy in the cafeteria, but he did tell me that it was OK for a girl to call a guy once. “It says so in the Bishop's handbook,” he told me jokingly, and then he wrote down his phone number and gave it to me.

Well, all Saturday I toyed with the idea of calling him and asking him to come over for Sunday dinner, but I kept telling myself, “No. If he calls me I'll ask him.” Of course, he didn't call.

Sunday the kids and I came up with the idea of inviting him over for waffles and blackberry syrup in the evening. We'd picked buckets and buckets of blackberries up at the cabin that year, and they were delicious! During church, though, they announced a meeting for all the teenagers and their parents that night, so that idea wouldn't work. Still, Moe was on my mind all afternoon. Finally about 6:30 I got fed up with the whole thing and decided to call him anyway and invite him over for Family Night the next night.

I'll tell you, that was the hardest phone call I've ever made! I started to dial his number at least three times before I had the courage to finish dialing, and then it was busy. I was so glad. Then I had to call back, and it was still busy. It was getting close to time to take the kids to the meeting. I told myself, “Just try one more time. If he doesn't answer, then you can quit,” but this time he answered. I was so unnerved that the first thing I said was, “Darn! I was hoping you wouldn't answer your phone!” Now, was that a classy opening line or what?

Moe laughed. “Are you using your one phone call?” he wanted to know.

“No,” I blustered. “I was just calling because I didn't get a chance to find out what you tried to call me for last week.” Which was another highly intelligent and stimulating thing to say.

Well, we talked for about twenty minutes. I should actually say he talked. Each time we talked on the phone he did all the talking, which was kind of funny for a man who was supposed to be so shy. This time he told me about some of the neat things that had happened in the Temple that week. He really did love working there.

At last I told him I'd have to go, and that the real reason I'd called was to invite him to Family Night.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to go deer hunting up on the Kaiabab Plateau. I got drawn for archery deer this year, and the hunt lasts two weeks.”

“Oh,” I said, but before I could tell him we'd love to have him come when he got back he went on.

“I've also just been made the singles representative for my Stake,” (that's what our church calls a large group of individual wards) “and they have a combined Singles Family Night three weeks out of the month that I will have to go to.”

“Well, have fun hunting,” I told him, but I couldn't help wondering if he was just trying to get out of accepting my invitation.

“I wish he'd just tell me to bug off or something if he's not interested,” I thought as I drove the kids to the meeting. As it was, I still didn't know if he was interested or not. All I knew was that I was going to have to wait another two or three weeks for him to get back from hunting before I would see him at the Temple again, and then I'd have to try to find out.

"Peace, Be Still"

I was impressed with Moe's sense of patience, but it was also driving me crazy. By the middle of the summer I was convinced he was the one the Lord had sent me to the Temple to meet, but I didn't know how to tell him.

“He's driving me crazy,” I told Linda one afternoon. “Why can't he ask me out?”

“Well,” she told me, “I talked to my friend in his ward yesterday, and she told me she talked to him on Sunday. She asked him if he would be interested in dating again, and he told her he really didn't like being set up on blind dates, but that for sure he didn't want to date anyone who had already been sealed in the Temple. He says if he gets married again it will have to be in the Temple, and he thinks a woman who's already done that can't do it again.”

“You're kidding,” I agonized. “That's just not true. Of course I can get married in the Temple again!”

“I know,” Linda reassured me. “It's just what my friend says Moe thinks.”

Oh, brother! So that was his hang up. He knew I had been married before, in the Temple, and he had the wrong idea about how Temple sealings worked, so of course he wasn't interested in dating me.

The truth was, if couple was married and sealed in the Temple, and then one of them broke the covenant they had made, the Temple sealing was no longer in force. When Sheldon and I got divorced I'd wanted to get a Temple divorce at the same time, but my Bishop had explained that I needed to wait until I got remarried before I did that.

“You see, Gale,” he'd told me, “when you were sealed to your husband you and he both made covenants and promises to each other and to Heavenly Father that you would take each other as husband and wife, be true to each other, and keep the commandments. In turn, Heavenly Father promised to bless you and seal you together in this life, and in the world to come. Just because Sheldon broke his part of the covenant, you are still worthy of the blessings the Lord promised you, and you don't want to break that sealing until you are ready to be sealed to someone else in the Temple. You're just not sealed to Sheldon anymore, since he broke his end of the covenant.”

It made perfect sense to me. I couldn't figure out why Moe was having a hard time with it. One day I stood at my kitchen sink, worrying and praying about this problem.

“Heavenly Father,” I plead. “what should I do? I can't just go up to Moe and tell him he's got the wrong idea about Temple sealings, but somehow I need to help him understand. What should I do? Who could I ask to talk to him? Should I call his bishop? No, that would be dumb, and really awkward. Since he works in the Temple, should I talk to one of the Temple Presidency and have them talk to him? No, I can't do that. What would I say? Hey, there's this guy I really want to marry, but he doesn't know it yet, and he's got the wrong idea about women being able to be sealed after they've been divorced, so would you talk to him so he can date me and I can tell him I'm the one? Yeah, right. Heavenly Father, what am I supposed to do?”

I stood there, looking out my back window, my hands in the dishwater, when all of a sudden a scripture popped into my head. I don't think actually heard a voice, but the words of this scripture rang through my mind. “Peace, be still. Stand still and see the salvation of God.” It was as if a wave of peace washed over me at that moment, a calm, quiet assurance that I didn't need to worry about things any more. And I knew, then, that Heavenly Father was in control of things, and that He would take care of everything. All I needed to do was just stand back and watch. So I did.

The Summer of '93

The summer of 1993 was at once the funnest and the most frustrating summer I'd ever lived through. Every Friday I enjoyed visiting with Moe, but he never once mentioned going out on a date. Mom and Dad were in Germany on their mission, but I took advantage of their absence by spending every possible moment up at the cabin with the kids. (If dad had been home he would have insisted we wait to go until he could go, and I would have felt guilty for taking up his time.)

Sometimes we went by ourselves, often we took cousins or friends with us, sometimes their families came too. I would drive up on Monday mornings and come home Thursday or Friday, always in time to work at the Temple on Friday nights.

Linnea and I fixed up the cabin that summer. She made a Personal Progress goal out of cleaning and redecorating the kitchen and the bathroom, and designing a rock garden out back. Linnea painted the bathroom, stuck down vinyl tiles on the floor, and covered the old shower walls with new contact paper. Then we painted the kitchen and I painted strawberry's on the kitchen cupboards, while Linnea worked outside. It was so much fun!

All the while I worked, I wondered about Moe and if he was interested in me. I read the scriptures, studied and prayed, always with the plea that the Lord would help me find the husband he had prepared for me. Over and over I assured him that I wanted His will to be done and would accept whatever blessings he saw fit to bestow on me, and I begged him to help me know His will and recognize my blessings. Most of all I wanted to know, was Moe the one?

Often when my sisters and I got together they would talk about Moe with me. Each of them had by this time seen him one way or the other. Sharon was the first to hear about him, her hairdresser had told her all about Moe, so she recognized him when she and her husband came to do a session. Linda knew Moe vaguely from the time they had lived in the same ward, and she had pumped her friends for all the gossip they knew about him. Even Julie had sort of met Moe.

One Saturday morning she called me to tell me about what had happened to her in the Temple the night before.

“I went to go through a session,” Julie told me over the telephone. “I was sitting on the front row, waiting for the session to begin, and I noticed the brother standing in front of us, ready to officiate the session. He had the nicest smile. Well, anyway, everyone was there and it was time for the session to begin, but something must have gone wrong because the session didn't start. Everyone just sat there, waiting, and pretty soon we were all wondering what was wrong, but the officiator just stood there calmly, smiling and waiting for someone to fix the problem. I felt really sorry for him, obviously he didn't know what was wrong, but he didn't get flustered or upset, he just stood there and smiled and waited, and after awhile someone was able to fix the problem and the session started. I didn't realize it at the time, but later I got to thinking about how you described your Moe. I bet he was the officiator.”

The next time I talked to Moe I asked him if it was him.

“Yes,” he told me somewhat embarrassed. “It was the first time I ever officiated, and something went wrong with the audio-visual equipment. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there and waited for the engineer to fix it, and eventually he did.”

“Well, you made quite an impression on my little sister,” I told him thoughtfully. “Your calmness and smile saved the day.”

Rocky Point, Again

Spring came and went, but Moe didn't come any closer to asking me out. He seemed perfectly satisfied with visiting while he ate dinner on Friday nights, then calling and talking to me on the phone once a week. We were getting to know each other, but slowly!

I wrote mom and dad and told them about Moe. “He reminds me a lot of Grandpa Russell,” I told them in my letter. “He's like an old time farmer, slow and careful and down to earth. Not at all flashy or debonair, but reliable and safe. Comfortable.”

The problem was, I am not slow and careful and safe. When I decide something is good or needs to be done, I want to get on with it. Patience is one of my least developed traits. Perhaps that's why the Lord feels the need to keep teaching it to me?

As summer drew closer the kids and I began to make plans for our vacation. What we really wanted to do was go to Rocky Point again, but it seemed unlikely. I knew it was unwise to take the kids to Mexico all by myself. Just driving over the lonely stretch of desert between the border and the ocean would be dangerous. What if we had car trouble? I couldn't speak a word of Spanish. I asked all my brothers and sisters if they'd like to come with us, but everyone had other things to do. By the end of spring the kids and I had just about given up on going to the beach, but then one day my big brother Keith called.

“Do you still want to go to Rocky Point?” he asked.

“Yes!” I answered. “But I don't suppose we'll be able to do it this summer.”

“Well, Becky and I have been talking about it and we thought we'd go down the first week of June,” he told me. “We'd love to have you and the kids come if you want.”

Yeah!

We had a wonderful time down in Mexico. The weather was nice, although different. The first day it was a little too warm, but then a low came in, and the last two days were windy. It made the waves so high we couldn't go snorkeling or swimming, but we had a ball playing in the sand and surf anyway, and it was awesome to watch the huge waves role in and break on the beach. There was a full moon, so the tides were at their peaks which was also fun. Low tide went way out, uncovering all kinds of interesting sea creatures and tide pools for the kids to explore. High tide came up so far it covered the whole beach and was amazing!

Since we couldn't swim we decided to drive over to a beach we heard about that was supposed to be very sandy, with a lot of good shells. Of course, it was hard to understand directions, and there were no signs pointing which way to go, just tire tracks leading off in different directions over the sand. We must have taken the wrong road because we ended up looking out over a marsh. There were roads going either direction along the marsh, and Keith decided to take the road to the left. It wasn't a real good choice because we only went about twenty feet before we got stuck real good in the sand. I thought we would never get out!

We were all packed in my old Chevy Astro-van. When we piled out to look we found the gas tank was buried in the sand, and the wheels just spun around and around. We tried to dig the van out, but without a shovel or any tools that was useless. I sent the kids to scour the desert, looking for boards or anything else they could find to put under the tires, but there wasn't much there except cactus. At last Keith jacked the car up and started digging the sand out from under it with a piece of hard cactus. I called the rest of us together at the back of the van.

“We need help,” I told them, “so lets say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help us get the van out.”

“What about Uncle Keith?” the kids wanted to know. “Shouldn't we go get him to say prayer with us.”

To tell you the truth, Uncle Keith was pretty darned busy at that moment. He was frustrated and worried. Becky told me later that she thought I was just scared to ask him to stop for prayer. Maybe so, but I told the kids, “you've got to remember, 'Faith without works is dead'. We've got to have faith right now, and ask Heavenly Father for help, but we've also got to keep on working and do as much as we can for ourselves, so let's let Uncle Keith keep on digging while we say the prayer.”

We all folded our arms and closed our eyes right there behind the van, and I asked Heavenly Father to please help us get our car unstuck, and help us get safely back to camp. Then we trooped up to where Keith was working to see what we could do.

He had the sand dug out from under the gas tank, so we helped pack pieces of cardboard the kids had found behind the wheels. Then Keith got in and started the car. Carefully he put her in reverse, and he was able to back her out of the sand.

In my next letter to mom and dad I described our experience, ending with, “It was a little spooky there for awhile, but Heavenly Father was watching out for us. Keith said it was a good experience for me to learn how to get a car out of the sand, but I think it was a better lesson on how not to drive into the sand in the first place. I think I'll avoid all sandy roads from now on.”

The last night we were there the kids and I took lawn chairs and blankets up onto the deck of the recreation building and watched people light firecrackers on the beach and gazed at the moonlight on the ocean. It sure was pretty, but I couldn't help thinking about Moe and wondering if some day he would come with us to Rocky Point, and I'd be able to sit and watch the moonlight with him.

Getting Acquainted

Moe called me on Saturday afternoon. I was afraid it would be kind of awkward at first, after all, we had just talked the night before, and I'm not very good on the telephone. I listen well, but I can never think of things to say. I shouldn't have worried. For someone who was supposed to be so shy, Moe had no problem keeping a conversation going.

He told me all about working at Sky Harbor Airport: how he had learned to be an airplane mechanic during the Vietnam War and how he now worked at the fuel farm for the airport itself and not for any particular airline, which meant he didn't get to fly for free, darn! I learned all about the celebrities whom he had met during his years at Sky Harbor, but not much about himself personally. It was OK, though. I was just glad he had called me.

“I can't believe it's three o'clock,” he said after we'd been talking for two hours. “I've got to get back to work or I won't be able to go home tonight.”

“I'm sorry,” I apologized.

“Oh, no, don't worry about it,” Moe laughed immediately. “I really wasn't busy, and it was fun talking to you. But now I'd better let you go. I'll see you next Friday.”

“OK,” I said, “and thanks for calling me. Don will be happy when I tell him, too.”

“Good,” Moe laughed. “I'll see you later.”

I hung up smiling, but just a little disappointed. I had been hoping he would ask me out. But maybe next week.

He didn't, of course, but we had fun visiting in the Temple, and Moe called and talked for a couple of hours the following Saturday, too. In fact, we seemed to settle into a pattern of seeing each other on Fridays, visiting on the phone on Saturdays, then waiting a whole week to do it all again. I was getting to know Moe, and I liked what I was learning, but I was also beginning to realize that he was the slowest man I had ever known.

Even slower than my little brother, Phillip. I used to get so mad at him when I had to walk home from school with him when we were kids. He would poke along, running a stick along the chain link fence or watching the horses run around the field next to the street, kicking rocks or sticks as he ambled along. It used to drive me crazy. Now Moe was doing the same thing. Ambling slowly along, getting acquainted with me. I guess I should have learned patience back when I was a kid so the Lord wouldn't still have to be trying to teach it to me.

In the meantime, the fellow Tammy wanted me to get to know was going as fast as he could. He came to the Temple every Friday night and talked to me while he ate dinner. Then he would go through a session and stop by to talk a little more after he was done. (Thank goodness his schedule put him in the cafeteria at different times than Moe.) Then he would call me every Wednesday night to talk, as well. He didn't tell me much about himself, he wanted to know all about me. Why did I keep my married name after I got divorced? What would I do when I got married again? Who owned the house we lived in with mom and dad? Where would I live after I got remarried? Would I want to have more children? All kinds of stuff that really made me uncomfortable.

I tried telling him about the great singles group in our stake, and encouraged him to get active in it once his divorce was final. He told me he really didn't want to get involved in singles stuff, or even date again. He just wanted to get his divorce over and get married again. Ouch! No wonder he made me nervous!

I really tried to be nice, but I was just not interested in him, or getting involved in any part of his life, even when his divorce was done. Finally I realized that being distant was not working. He really seemed to have his heart set on marrying me for whatever reason, although we didn't know each other at all, and my hints were not working. I knew I was going to have to just tell him I wasn't the one, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings, and I felt kind of conceited, like maybe I was assuming he liked me when he really didn't. On the other hand, I had to do something!

“I'm really sorry,” I finally told him one Friday evening while he hung around as I cleaned out the salad cart, “but I'm just not interested in having a relationship right now.”

“Oh, I know,” he answered calmly. “But my divorce will be final in another couple of months.”

“No, it's not just that,” I told him as nicely as I could. I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying it was just him, but how could I explain it otherwise? Suddenly I just blurted out, “Really, there's someone else I'm interested in.”

“You're dating somebody else?” he asked in surprise. “But Tammy told me you didn't have a boy friend.”

“Well, we're not exactly going together,” I hesitated. I didn't want to lie, but I didn't want him to think I was going to change my mind, either. “We're kind of are just seeing each other right now. I'm really sorry, though. You're a nice guy and everything, but........., well, I'm just not available. You know?”

He got it that time. He said he was sorry, and good bye, and he left. Thank goodness. Now if only there was some way for me to get Moe to take the hint and actually ask me out on a date.

Call Me!

So, my friend gave Moe my telephone number, but he didn't call me. I visited with him while he ate dinner the next Friday night, but still, he didn't call me.

“I wonder if he's just not interested?” I told my sister when she asked me how things were going. “I mean, Don keeps telling him how wonderful I am and that he ought to get to know me. Maybe he's just not looking for a girl friend.”

“Who's Don?” Linda wanted to know.

“Oh, he's a guy in our ward. He works in the Temple on Friday nights with Moe, and he gave him my phone number and told him he should call me.”

That Friday Moe came through the cafeteria as usual, grinning from ear to ear when he presented his tray for me to ring up his dinner. He sure didn't look like he was trying to avoid me or anything. As soon as I'd rung up the rest of my customers I picked up my dish-cloth and started wiping off tables. Moe grinned at me again and waved for me to come over.

“How was your week?” he began as soon as I'd walked up.

“Really nice,” I told him. “And yours?”

“Busy,” he answered. “I work at Sky Harbor Airport, and there's never a dull moment there.” Moe went on talking about his work, the other people sitting at his table interjecting questions and comments along with me. Their half-hour break went quickly, and too soon Moe was getting up from his dinner, walking his tray full of dirty dishes over to the cleaning counter while I walked beside him back to my job as cashier. Never once did he mention my phone number or the possibility of calling me.

“Did he ask you out?” Don questioned an hour or so later, as he poked his head in to say goodbye before I went home.

“No,” I laughed.

“What's wrong with that guy?” Don wondered, shaking his head. “I've told him and told him he needs to grab you up fast before someone else does.”

“I don't think he needs to worry about that,” I replied sarcastically. After all, I'd been single for going on six years.

“Well, has he at least called you?” Don wanted to know.

“No. Are you sure you gave him the right phone number?”

“I gave him the paper you wrote it down on. Did you give me the right number?”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I guess he just doesn't want to call.”

“Or he's too scared,” Don suggested. “I'm going to have to work on him some more.”

The following Friday I drove to the Temple wondering what was going to happen. All week I'd waited for Moe to call, but he never had. On the other hand, my sister-in-law had. There was a fellow in her ward that wanted to get to know me. He was just going through a divorce, and someone had told him about me. He called Tammy and asked her what I was like, so she called me and told me he'd like to meet me.

“Is he divorced yet?” I'd asked her.

“No, his divorce has just started,” she told me. “But he's a really neat guy, and he's really interested in you. What should I tell him.”

“Tell him I'll talk to him after he's divorced,” I told her, perhaps a little too sharply.

“But he wants to meet you now,” Tammy plead. “Couldn't you at least talk to him?”

I really didn't want to. I still remembered vividly the heartache I'd endured when Garth's wife decided she didn't want a divorce after all, once she realized someone else was interested in her ex-husband. There was no way I was putting myself through something like that again.

“Couldn't he come down to the Temple on Friday night and meet you in the cafeteria?” Tammy suggested hopefully. “It's not like you'd be going out on a date with him or anything. He just wants to get to know you.”

“I suppose,” I finally gave in, perhaps a little curious about this guy. After all, if Moe wasn't ever going to call me or ask me out, maybe he wasn't the one. Maybe this other guy was?

I had just begun filling salt shakers in the dining room when the door opened and a dark, kind-of nice looking fellow walked in. He came right up to me, stuck his hand out, and introduced himself as the friend of Tammy's who wanted to meet me. OK. He seemed nice enough. We made small talk for a few minutes while I finished filling the shakers, but really I just wasn't that interested. I don't know why, I just wasn't.

Customers began straggling in through the cafeteria, so I needed to go man my post at the cash register. Tammy's friend hung around a few more minutes, then told me he was going to go on into the Temple and go on a session. “I'll come back afterwords,” he promised.

“OK,” I said, concentrating on making correct change.

A little while later Moe walked up to my register. He showed me his customary prime rib dinner, and grinned while I rang it up.

“So, how was your week?” he wanted to know.

“Oh, fine,” I answered, thinking inside, “It would have been better if you'd called me on the telephone though,”

“How was your week?” I asked him.

“Great!” Moe told me happily. “Come talk to me when you're done ringing these people up and I'll tell you all about it.”

There was more of a crowd right then than usual, so I didn't get over to Moe's table until it was almost time for him to leave.

“Sorry I didn't get to hear about your week,” I apologized. “I guess you'll have to tell me about it later.”

“OK,” he said with a big grin before hurrying back to work.

“So much for getting to know you better,” I thought glumly as I watched Moe walk out of the cafeteria. How will I ever get him to ask me out on a date if I can't even talk to him?”

About 7:30 Tammy's friend stopped back by the cafeteria, but I was still busy and didn't make time to talk to him. He gave up and left after fifteen minutes, and I breathed a sigh of relief. At 8:00 I emptied out the salad bar, wiped down the tables one last time, and started closing out the cash register.

“Is it too late to ring one more thing up?” someone asked, and I looked up to see Moe standing in front of me, holding a huge cinnamon roll on a plate.

“No, of course not,” I said, my fingers suddenly fumbling around on the keys.

“Did you all of a sudden just get an urge for something sweet, or did you decide you missed me?” I quipped, embarrassed at myself the second the words slipped out of my mouth.

“Maybe a little of both,” Moe grinned. “I got a break, and suddenly a cinnamon roll sounded like just the thing I needed.”

“Well, I hope you enjoy it,” I told him, handing him his change. But Moe didn't just take his roll and go sit down.

“You know, I didn't get a chance to tell you about my week,” he laughed self consciously. “I've only got a minute, but if you're not in a hurry you could come talk to me now.”

“I could do that,” I said, smiling. “Or........you could call me sometime and tell me about it on the phone.”

“Yeah, I suppose I could do that, too,” Moe agreed, laughing.

“Don did give you my phone number,” I reminded him. “At least, he said he did.”

“Yeah, he did do that,” Moe laughed again. “But I wasn't sure what you'd think about me calling you.”

“It would be fine with me,” I prodded him hopefully. “I like getting phone calls.”

“Well, I guess I'll have to do that sometime,” he said.

Yes, like maybe this week,” I suggested even more forcefully.

“Are you sure that would be OK with your kids?” Moe asked, laughing.

“Just call me!” I laughed. “It will be OK.”

(post note: Just for your information, Moe has always claimed that I stamped my foot when I told him to call me, and how could he ignore a demand like that? I don't think I really did, but whatever......he did call me, and that's all that matters.)