Riley and my brother Tanner had been best friends since 9th grade. So neither of us really remember when we met. I was probably about 13 back then, and the only pre-mission interaction either of us remember was my sophomore year when my homecoming date was over an hour late. My mom was convinced he had stood me up, an I'm sure I looked absolutely pathetic in my up-do and braces. Riley came to pick up my brother to go get their dates and my mom made Riley take a picture with me "since our outfits kinda match". We still have the picture. So random and hilarious!
Fast forward 5 years. My best friend Clara and I decided climbing Mount Olympus (at the butt crack of dawn) was a good idea, and on May 23, 2009, the Stewart's Story began. (P.S. this is how you know Riley and I were meant to be together... Why else would climbing Mt. Olympus be a good idea?) My mom had mentioned earlier that week that she thought Riley would be getting home from his mission soon, and wished she had a way to get ahold of him. To this day, she swears she knew Riley and I would eventually get married. I believe her.
Clara and I were on our way down the mountain when we saw Riley and his little brother Wyatt hiking up. I remember thinking how much taller and buffer he was since he had left. He had a great tan, and that RM glow, and I was hooked. Then, the kiss of death... "when does Tanner get home?". My suspicions were correct. I was still just Tanner's little sister. All I could think was "hurry up and get Clara's number. It's hot. You're hot. But not interested. So let me go home!". The four of us chatted for a minute, then Riley and Wyatt turned to continue up the mountain. And I RAN down to get enough cell service to call my mom and tell her I saw Riley. She asked if I got his number. I told her no and asked if I should go find him to get it. Her response still makes me laugh. "Yeah, Sara. Run up the mountain to ask a guy for his number... No!"
Anyway, somehow my mom got in touch with Riley and invited him over for breakfast on Memorial Day to show us his mission pictures. I remember walking up the stairs that morning in my PJs and seeing Riley at the kitchen counter. I knew I looked like a terror but I didn't care. I was positive Ri was either dating someone, or was interested in Clara. I was just Tanner's little sister. My mom kept texting me from the other side of the room to go get myself presentable. I like to think of her as our non-Jewish Yente.
Anyway, Riley hung out for a while, but showed no interest in me. And that was that.
Tanner got home on June 6, 2009 and when we arrived at the airport to pick him up, there stood Riley holding a welcome home sign. Still tan, still hot. Again though, no interest in me. I saw him again at Tanner's homecoming that Sunday, and once more at Meg's baptism. Nada. The guy was killing me!
Later that week though, I finally got my chance! Tanner and Riley had driven up to Idaho for a companion's wedding and Riley asked Tanner for his permission to take me out. Tanner agreed (thanks for sharing, T!), and since he had recently starting dating Clara, they decided a double date was in order.
I was at a swimming party at my friend Chelsie's when the call came. And it went a little something like this:
Me: Hello?
Riley: Hey, Sara?
Me: Yes?
Riley: This is Riley Stewart
Me: Hey Riley! I'm actually not with Tanner right now, but he finally got a phone. I can give you his number if you want?
R: No, I'm actually calling for you.
Me (thinking to myself): Keep it cool. Be COOL.
Me: Oh. What's up? (Not cool. At all)
R: Picture this... You, me... Wait, no. What are you doing tomorrow?
Me: I don't know. I don't think I have plans yet.
R: Well then, picture this. You, Me, Tanner, Clara, and the Lehi Rodeo Roundup.
Me: Sure. Yeah, that sounds good!
R: Cool. Well I'll call you later for details.
We hung up. And I about died! I was thrilled! Then, mad. I thought for sure Tanner had told Riley of my crush, and Riley took pity on my. Nothing like a good pity date, with your brother in tow.
When I got home that night, I confronted Tanner. What kind of weasel rats out his sisters crush? What is this, third grade?! Tanner assured me it was Riley's idea. And the conversation ended with "Janey, relax. This is a good thing." If only I had known then how good it was.
June 27, 2009.Riley showed up right on time in his cowboy get-up. I knew he did rodeo, and knowing that this outfit was authentic made it ten times more attractive. After the rodeo there was a dirt dance in the arena. Clara and I had been country dancing, and Riley knew how, so we spent a good portion of the night teaching Tanner some moves.
The last dance was a slow song. I Cross My Heart by George Strait. Riley sang every word in my ear and joked about how he was going to sing this song to his wife at his wedding. I felt a sudden pang of jealousy... Fine then! Why don't you go find her?!
When the song ended, he held my hand as we started to made our way toward the car. Now, This part is up for debate. Riley says I let go, I say he did. Either way, someone let go. And I was sad! Looking back, I was 100% in love from day one.
Two days passed and I hadn't heard from him. What the heck?! I thought it was the perfect date. What happened? Finally, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I texted Ri asking when he was going to take me out again. His response? "Is this Tanner?" Wow. Someone get me a rock I can crawl under! "No", I replied. "This is really Sara." He answered that he just wasn't used to girls being so forward. Someone kill me now! Why did I send that text? I was so so embarrassed. Then another text came. "How about Tuesday?" Done. Sold. I'm in.
And the rest is history. We saw each other every day after. I had a date with another guy that week, and even asked to go home early. And called Riley to come get me.
That following Thursday he came up to my family reunion, Rammfest. I had killer allergies, and called him to bring me some Benedryl. For some reason, three days after our first date, Riley drove the two hours to the reunion to bring me medicine. He ended up staying the whole weekend. And after Tanner and I established that Riley was there as my guest, not Tanners, it was smooth sailing! Even my extended family could tell there was something different about this guy. My aunt mentioned she had a feeling we would be seeing him again next year. Another asked him to consider joining the family. And my Poppy took it upon himself to have a little chat with Ri to make sure our plans were in line with one another's.
We got back from the reunion on the Fourth of July and went to watch fireworks at the old Holladay Elementary. We saw tons of people we knew, and I was so proud to be on Riley's arm at our first public outing as an item. Our first kiss was that night. Riley was reeeeal smooth.
It's crazy to me that all this took place almost four years ago. As I wrote this, that white truck that drove us on our first date is sitting in the driveway, and our baby boy is sleeping on my chest. If you had told me at the rodeo that night that in just a year, Riley and I would be getting married. I probably would have responded with something like "I know." And deep down, I think I really did.
Xoxo
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