2004-09-15 - 1:15 p.m.
Mrs. Testiclopoulos
It’s not an easy name to say or spell, but come New Years, that will be my new last name. Some of you already know about Demetrios (pronounced De-me-tri-os, Demi for short), my Greek boyfriend (well, now fiancé). But, for those of you who don’t, Demi and I met last winter, one day before he had to move back to Greece to serve in the military. He said that I was what he’d been looking for during his seven year stay here. My luck seemed to dictate that we would meet the day before he was to leave. We had a wonderful day together, ‘though. He accompanied me on my errands: to the bank, to the post office, to pay bills, etc. Because he said he felt that we were soul mates, I even gave him a Christmas gift (well, I just put some money in a card because he’d told me he was broke). Since then, our relationship has been primarily over the phone. (We talk at least once a month.) He said he doesn’t have a computer, so e-mail was out of the question (although I did once try sending a fax to the number that he said was a local currency exchange—alas, he never received it).
In July I went out there to see him, and a little over a month later, he said he thought it would be a good idea if we got hitched. It will not be easy trying to get him back in the US, as he overstayed his visa by six years and six months, and we won’t be able to be together for some time. “But, when it’s all said and done,” he said, “we’ll have a great story to tell.” The game plan as of now is to get married in Greece over New Years if we can find a justice of the peace that is willing to work (although they’re not a lazy people, I must say that the Greeks seem to always want to put things off), then I’ll come back here and continue with school.
Next summer, depending on how school is going, I might take a year off to go be with him. It might be difficult going to school full time and working at least one full-time job to support my new family. Although Demi will be living with his parents, neither parent works. Because he’s the oldest, he also has to support four younger siblings that range in age from 5 to 16. The worst part for my poor Demi is because of his (I don’t want to say “criminal”) past, it’s difficult for him to find a job. I don’t mind working and sending him part of my paycheck, because as Demi has said over and over again, since he found me, he’s “the happiest man in the world.”
For those of you who have not seen his picture yet, one is attached.
[The above was sent to me by a friend. I read between the lines and that is what I got. What is she thinking?]
