YouTube2Text

Our First Date Was Going Great Until She Said, "If You Want to Leave Because I Have Two Kids." — Transcript

by Love_Maybe · 4,128 words · 655 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Full transcript

  1. 0:00Our first date was going perfectly. We'd
  2. 0:02been laughing for an hour straight. Our
  3. 0:04knees were touching under the table. And
  4. 0:06then Kelsey Ward set down her fork, took
  5. 0:09a deep breath, looked me straight in the
  6. 0:11eye, and said, "Okay, Brett. If you want
  7. 0:14to leave because I have two kids, now's
  8. 0:16the time. I won't be mad. I'll even pay
  9. 0:18for the brisket." She said it like she'd
  10. 0:20said it before, like she'd practiced it
  11. 0:22in the car. And for a second, I didn't
  12. 0:25say anything at all because what she
  13. 0:27didn't know was that I'd already known
  14. 0:29about her two kids for a month. I knew
  15. 0:32their names. I knew their favorite
  16. 0:33snacks. I even knew what one of them
  17. 0:35thought of me. I just started laughing.
  18. 0:38Kelsey's face fell.
  19. 0:40"Okay, wow. Laughing is new. Usually,
  20. 0:44they just check their phone and say they
  21. 0:45have an early meeting."
  22. 0:47"Kelsey," I said, still grinning, "I've
  23. 0:50been under your minivan four times." She
  24. 0:53blinked. "What?" "My name is Brett
  25. 0:56Lawson. I'm 35 years old and I own a
  26. 0:58little auto repair shop on the east side
  27. 1:00of Kansas City called Lawson Auto. Three
  28. 1:03bays, two employees, and a radio stuck
  29. 1:05on classic rock. I'm good at fixing
  30. 1:07cars. According to my little sister, I'm
  31. 1:10terrible at talking to women."
  32. 1:12Kelsey came into my shop for the first
  33. 1:14time back in September. She pulled in on
  34. 1:16a rainy Tuesday morning in a silver
  35. 1:18Honda minivan that was making a sound
  36. 1:20like a dying goose. She was wearing navy
  37. 1:23scrubs. Her long brown hair was in a
  38. 1:25messy braid, and she looked like she
  39. 1:27hadn't slept in about 3 days.
  40. 1:30"Please tell me it's not the
  41. 1:31transmission. I can't afford the
  42. 1:33transmission."
  43. 1:35It wasn't the transmission. It was a
  44. 1:36loose heat shield. I fixed it in 20
  45. 1:39minutes and charged her for 10. She
  46. 1:41looked at the bill, looked at me, and
  47. 1:43narrowed her eyes. "That's not right.
  48. 1:46The computer's been acting up." "Your
  49. 1:48computer is very generous. It's a sweet
  50. 1:51computer." She laughed, a tired,
  51. 1:54surprised laugh, and I thought about
  52. 1:56that laugh for the rest of the week.
  53. 1:58Then she was back. Squeaky brakes, a
  54. 2:00flat tire, the check engine light. My
  55. 2:03mechanic, Hector, started saying, "Hey
  56. 2:05boss, your minivan girlfriend is here."
  57. 2:07Every time that silver Honda pulled in.
  58. 2:10"She's not my girlfriend." "Then why'd
  59. 2:12you comb your hair?" I didn't have an
  60. 2:15answer.
  61. 2:16On her fourth visit, while she waited in
  62. 2:18the little lobby drinking my terrible
  63. 2:20coffee, I finally worked up the courage.
  64. 2:22I wiped my hands on a rag, walked over,
  65. 2:25and said, "Kelsey, I think your van has
  66. 2:28a crush on me." She looked up. "Excuse
  67. 2:31me?"
  68. 2:32"It keeps breaking down just so it can
  69. 2:34come see me. It's kind of embarrassing
  70. 2:36for it, honestly."
  71. 2:37She stared at me. Then she laughed so
  72. 2:40hard she almost spilled her coffee.
  73. 2:42"Is this you asking me out, Brett
  74. 2:44Lawson?" "It's me trying to." "You're
  75. 2:47doing terribly." "I know. Is it
  76. 2:50working?"
  77. 2:51She looked at me for a long moment, then
  78. 2:53she smiled.
  79. 2:54"Friday," she said, "7:00, and you're
  80. 2:57paying full price for my next oil
  81. 2:59change."
  82. 3:00So here we were. Friday night, a
  83. 3:02barbecue joint in an old gas station,
  84. 3:05paper towels on the table, brisket and
  85. 3:07burnt ends in a bucket of fries between
  86. 3:09us, and Kelsey Ward in a green sweater
  87. 3:12with her hair down for the first time
  88. 3:14since I'd met her, looking so beautiful
  89. 3:16I'd knocked over my sweet tea twice. She
  90. 3:19was a 911 dispatcher, 12-hour shifts
  91. 3:22answering the worst phone calls of
  92. 3:24people's lives. She told me about the
  93. 3:26night she talked a teenage girl through
  94. 3:28delivering her own baby brother on a
  95. 3:30kitchen floor.
  96. 3:31"You're amazing," I said. "I'm tired.
  97. 3:35Those are different things." "Can't they
  98. 3:37be the same?" She smiled at me across
  99. 3:39the table. Her foot bumped mine
  100. 3:41underneath and stayed there.
  101. 3:43And then she set down her fork and said
  102. 3:45her line.
  103. 3:47"If you want to leave because I have two
  104. 3:48kids, now's the time. I won't be mad.
  105. 3:51I'll even pay for the brisket." And I
  106. 3:53laughed, and she looked hurt, and I
  107. 3:56said, "I've been under your minivan four
  108. 3:58times."
  109. 3:59"I don't understand."
  110. 4:01"Kelsey, I vacuumed goldfish crackers
  111. 4:04out of your cup holders. There were two
  112. 4:06car seats in the back, one pink, one
  113. 4:08with dinosaurs. There's a sticker on
  114. 4:10your back window that says, "My child is
  115. 4:13an honor student at West Ridge
  116. 4:14Elementary." Her mouth fell open.
  117. 4:17And on your third visit, your DVD player
  118. 4:19was broken. There was a note taped to it
  119. 4:22in crayon. It said, "Please fix or I
  120. 4:25will die. Love, Tucker." The R in Tucker
  121. 4:28was backwards.
  122. 4:30Kelsey put her hand over her mouth.
  123. 4:32So, I fixed it because I didn't want
  124. 4:34Tucker to die.
  125. 4:35She was laughing now, laughing and
  126. 4:37covering her face with a napkin. And on
  127. 4:40your fourth visit, there was a drawing
  128. 4:42taped to your dashboard, a little girl
  129. 4:44with brown braids standing next to a
  130. 4:46woman with brown braids and a man in a
  131. 4:48blue shirt with a wrench. And at the
  132. 4:50top, it said, "Mommy and the car man."
  133. 4:53Signed Mia, age nine.
  134. 4:55Kelsey lowered the napkin slowly. Her
  135. 4:58eyes were wet.
  136. 4:59"Mia drew that?" She whispered. And Mia
  137. 5:02gave me a mustache. I don't have a
  138. 5:05mustache, but I appreciated the effort.
  139. 5:08Kelsey stared at me for a long, long
  140. 5:10time. Then she started laughing again,
  141. 5:12but this time there were tears running
  142. 5:14down her cheeks.
  143. 5:16I've said that line on three first
  144. 5:18dates, and every time the guy got quiet
  145. 5:20and left. One pretended to get an
  146. 5:23emergency call. His phone wasn't even
  147. 5:25ringing.
  148. 5:26That guy's an idiot.
  149. 5:28She wiped her eyes with the napkin.
  150. 5:30"So, you knew this whole time and you
  151. 5:33asked me out anyway?"
  152. 5:34I asked you out because of it.
  153. 5:37She went She went still.
  154. 5:39"What do you mean?"
  155. 5:40I took a breath. I hadn't planned to
  156. 5:42tell her this on the first date, but she
  157. 5:44was looking at me with those tired,
  158. 5:46hopeful, brown eyes, and I didn't want
  159. 5:49to hold anything back.
  160. 5:50"My mom raised me and my little sister
  161. 5:52alone," I said. "My dad left when I was
  162. 5:55four. My mom worked two jobs and drove a
  163. 5:58beat-up station wagon that broke down
  164. 6:00every other week."
  165. 6:02Kelsey was listening so carefully.
  166. 6:05"When I was eight, the station wagon
  167. 6:07broke down on the side of the highway in
  168. 6:09July, 100°,
  169. 6:11me and my sister in the backseat crying,
  170. 6:14and this guy in a tow truck pulls over.
  171. 6:16Big guy, grease all over his hands. His
  172. 6:19name was Frank.
  173. 6:21I smiled, remembering.
  174. 6:23Frank towed our car to his shop, fixed
  175. 6:25it for free, and bought me and my sister
  176. 6:28ice cream while we waited. And then he
  177. 6:30asked my mom out right there in the
  178. 6:32shop. And my mom said the same you just
  179. 6:35said. I have two kids. If that's a
  180. 6:37problem, you should know now.
  181. 6:40"What did Frank say?" Kelsey whispered.
  182. 6:43He looked at me and my sister sitting
  183. 6:45there with chocolate ice cream all over
  184. 6:47our faces, and he said, "Ma'am, that's
  185. 6:49not a problem. That's a bonus."
  186. 6:52Kelsey pressed her heart to her mind.
  187. 6:55He married my mom a year later. He
  188. 6:57taught me everything I know about cars.
  189. 6:59He came to every baseball game. He
  190. 7:01walked my sister down the aisle. He's 70
  191. 7:04now, and he still calls me every Sunday
  192. 7:06to ask how the shop's doing. I shrugged.
  193. 7:10Best man I've ever known. And he chose
  194. 7:13us. He didn't have to. He chose us.
  195. 7:16Kelsey was crying for real now, quietly
  196. 7:20wiping her cheeks with a barbecue
  197. 7:21stained napkin.
  198. 7:24So when you say two kids like it's a
  199. 7:26warning, I don't hear a warning. I hear
  200. 7:29Frank.
  201. 7:30She reached across the table and took my
  202. 7:32hand. Her fingers were warm and a little
  203. 7:35sticky from the sauce.
  204. 7:37"Brett Lawson," she said, her voice
  205. 7:40shaking, "where have you been?"
  206. 7:42Under your minivan mostly.
  207. 7:44She laughed and squeezed my hand so
  208. 7:46tight it hurt.
  209. 7:48After dinner, we walked down the street
  210. 7:51to an old-fashioned ice cream shop. She
  211. 7:53got butter pecan. I got chocolate in
  212. 7:56honor of Frank. We sat on a bench
  213. 7:58outside under the streetlights, and she
  214. 8:00leaned against my shoulder, and we
  215. 8:02talked until the shop closed.
  216. 8:04At her car, she turned around and looked
  217. 8:07up at me.
  218. 8:08"I don't usually do this on a first
  219. 8:10date." she said.
  220. 8:12"Do what?"
  221. 8:13She grabbed the front of my jacket,
  222. 8:15pulled me down, and kissed me.
  223. 8:17It was soft and slow and tasted like
  224. 8:20butter pecan. Her hands slid up the back
  225. 8:23of my neck. I pulled her closer, and for
  226. 8:25a few seconds, the whole street went
  227. 8:28quiet.
  228. 8:29When she pulled back, she was smiling.
  229. 8:32"Mia was right." she whispered.
  230. 8:35"About what?"
  231. 8:36"You don't have a mustache, but you're
  232. 8:38definitely the car man."
  233. 8:40We went slow. Kelsey insisted on it, and
  234. 8:43I understood.
  235. 8:45"They've had enough people come and go."
  236. 8:47she told me on our third date. "Their
  237. 8:49dad lives in Florida now. He calls on
  238. 8:51birthdays sometimes. Tucker barely
  239. 8:54remembers him, but Mia does. And Mia
  240. 8:57remembers him leaving."
  241. 8:59So, for the first month, it was just us.
  242. 9:02Dinners on her nights off, phone calls
  243. 9:04after her kids were asleep, long talks
  244. 9:07in her driveway, sitting in my truck,
  245. 9:10our fingers laced together on the center
  246. 9:12console.
  247. 9:13"Tell me about them." I'd say, and she'd
  248. 9:16light up.
  249. 9:17"Tucker was six, obsessed with trucks,
  250. 9:20tractors, monster trucks, garbage
  251. 9:23trucks, anything with wheels. He wore
  252. 9:25rain boots every single day, rain or
  253. 9:28shine. He slept with a stuffed raccoon
  254. 9:31named Gary.
  255. 9:32Mia was nine, smart, quiet, fierce. She
  256. 9:37read three books a week. She wanted to
  257. 9:39be a marine biologist, and she was
  258. 9:42protective of her mom in a way that
  259. 9:44broke my heart a little.
  260. 9:46She checks the locks every night, twice.
  261. 9:48She thinks she's the man of the house.
  262. 9:50She's nine."
  263. 9:52"They sound like you."
  264. 9:54Kelsey smiled. "That's what I'm afraid
  265. 9:56of."
  266. 9:57After 6 weeks, Kelsey decided it was
  267. 10:00time. "Saturday." she said. "They want
  268. 10:02to see where the car man works."
  269. 10:04That Saturday, I scrubbed my shop like
  270. 10:07the president was coming. Hector laughed
  271. 10:10at me for an hour. At 10:00, the silver
  272. 10:13minivan pulled in. The side door slid
  273. 10:16open and a little boy in red rain boots
  274. 10:18and a dinosaur t-shirt jumped out and
  275. 10:21stared at my shop like it was
  276. 10:23Disneyland. "Woah!" Tucker yelled. "Is
  277. 10:27that a car lift?" "It sure is." "Can I
  278. 10:29go on it?" "Tucker," Kelsey warned. I
  279. 10:33knelt down. "Hey, buddy. I'm Brett. I
  280. 10:36fixed your DVD player." His eyes went
  281. 10:39huge. "You're the one who saved my
  282. 10:41life?"
  283. 10:43"I couldn't let you die, man." He threw
  284. 10:46his arms around my neck, just like that.
  285. 10:48Kelsey put her hand over her heart. Then
  286. 10:51the other door opened and Mia climbed
  287. 10:53out. She had two long brown braids and a
  288. 10:56library book under her arm. She looked
  289. 10:59at me, then at the shop, then back at
  290. 11:02me, slowly, like a detective examining a
  291. 11:05crime scene.
  292. 11:06"You don't have a mustache," she said.
  293. 11:09"I know. I'm sorry. I'm working on it."
  294. 11:12She didn't smile.
  295. 11:14"Are you going to leave?"
  296. 11:16The whole shop went quiet. Even Hector
  297. 11:19stopped working.
  298. 11:20"Mia," Kelsey said.
  299. 11:22"It's a fair question," Mia said, still
  300. 11:25looking right at me. "Everybody leaves."
  301. 11:29I thought about Frank, about sitting in
  302. 11:31that tow truck, 8 years old, wondering
  303. 11:34if this big man with greasy hands was
  304. 11:36going to disappear like my dad did.
  305. 11:39I knelt down so I was eye level with
  306. 11:41her.
  307. 11:42"Mia," I said, "I can't promise you
  308. 11:45anything today. You don't know me yet
  309. 11:47and you shouldn't trust somebody just
  310. 11:49because they say nice things. So, here's
  311. 11:52what I'll do. I'll just keep showing up
  312. 11:55and you can decide."
  313. 11:57Mia studied me for a long time.
  314. 12:00"Okay," she finally said, "but I'm
  315. 12:03watching you." "That's fair." "And I'm
  316. 12:06counting."
  317. 12:07"Counting what?"
  318. 12:09"How many times you show up."
  319. 12:12Then she walked past me into the shop to
  320. 12:15look at the tools.
  321. 12:16Tucker spent the next 3 hours sitting on
  322. 12:18my lap in the driver's seat of a '67
  323. 12:21Mustang I was restoring, honking the
  324. 12:23horn and making engine noises.
  325. 12:26Mia sat on a stool by the workbench and
  326. 12:29asked me what every single tool was
  327. 12:31called and what it did. She wrote the
  328. 12:33answers in a little notebook.
  329. 12:35"Torque wrench." She repeated, writing
  330. 12:38it down. "For tightening bolts to
  331. 12:40exactly the right pressure." "That's
  332. 12:42right."
  333. 12:43"Why does it have to be exact?"
  334. 12:46"Because if it's too loose, things fall
  335. 12:48apart, and if it's too tight, things
  336. 12:50break." She looked up at me.
  337. 12:52"That sounds like people."
  338. 12:54I stared at this little 9-year-old girl.
  339. 12:57"Yeah, kiddo, it kind of does."
  340. 13:00Over the next 3 months, I showed up. I
  341. 13:02showed up to Tucker's T-ball games. When
  342. 13:05he finally hit the ball, he ran all the
  343. 13:07way around the bases, even though he was
  344. 13:09supposed to stop at first. Nobody had
  345. 13:11the heart to tell him. I showed up to
  346. 13:13Mia's science fair. Her project was
  347. 13:16about how sea turtles navigate the ocean
  348. 13:19using the Earth's magnetic field. She
  349. 13:21won second place. When the judge handed
  350. 13:23her the red ribbon, she looked out into
  351. 13:25the crowd, found her mom, and then found
  352. 13:28me. And for 1 second, she smiled. I
  353. 13:32showed up on Tuesday nights for
  354. 13:33spaghetti. Kelsey fell asleep on the
  355. 13:35couch every Tuesday at 8:30, and the
  356. 13:38kids would put a blanket over her and
  357. 13:39whisper, "Shh, Mom's sleeping." Like it
  358. 13:42was a sacred ritual. And somewhere along
  359. 13:45the way, I fell completely in love with
  360. 13:48all three of them.
  361. 13:50Every time I showed up, Mia made a
  362. 13:52little mark in her notebook. I saw her
  363. 13:54do it. She thought I didn't notice. By
  364. 13:56December, she had 47 marks. But then, 2
  365. 14:00weeks before Christmas, everything fell
  366. 14:02apart.
  367. 14:04It was a Thursday afternoon. Kelsey
  368. 14:06called me from her car. She was crying.
  369. 14:09"Kelsey, what's wrong? Are the kids
  370. 14:11okay?"
  371. 14:12"They're fine." She said. "They're fine.
  372. 14:15I just I picked Tucker up from school
  373. 14:18today and his teacher pulled me aside."
  374. 14:20"Okay."
  375. 14:22"They were making Christmas cards for
  376. 14:23their families and Tucker made one for
  377. 14:26me and Mia and Gary the raccoon." Her
  378. 14:29voice broke. "And one for you, Brett."
  379. 14:33"And he signed it to Brett Dad."
  380. 14:36My heart stopped.
  381. 14:38"Brett Dad," she said again. "He's six.
  382. 14:41He's already calling you Dad and I
  383. 14:43panicked."
  384. 14:45"Kelsey."
  385. 14:46"Brett, you have to understand." She was
  386. 14:48sobbing now. "When their father left,
  387. 14:51Tucker was one. He doesn't remember it,
  388. 14:53but Mia does. Mia stopped eating for a
  389. 14:56week. She cried every single night for a
  390. 14:59year and if Tucker gets attached to you
  391. 15:02and this doesn't work out and you leave
  392. 15:05"I'm not leaving."
  393. 15:06"You don't know that. Nobody knows
  394. 15:08that." She took a shaky breath.
  395. 15:11"I can't watch my kids get their hearts
  396. 15:13broken again. I can't." "I think
  397. 15:17I think we need to stop before it's too
  398. 15:19late."
  399. 15:20"Kelsey, please. Let's talk about this."
  400. 15:23"I'm sorry, Brett. I'm so sorry." She
  401. 15:26hung up.
  402. 15:27I called back. It went to voicemail. I
  403. 15:30texted. She didn't answer.
  404. 15:32For the next week, nothing. She'd asked
  405. 15:34me to stay away and I respected that
  406. 15:36even though it felt like someone had
  407. 15:38pulled my heart out with a torque
  408. 15:39wrench.
  409. 15:40Frank called me on Sunday like always.
  410. 15:43"You sound terrible, kid." I told him
  411. 15:45everything. He listened without saying a
  412. 15:47word.
  413. 15:49"Your mom did the same thing to me," he
  414. 15:51said finally. "Did you know that?"
  415. 15:53"No."
  416. 15:54"Six months in, she broke up with me.
  417. 15:57Said she couldn't risk you two getting
  418. 15:58hurt." He chuckled softly. "You know
  419. 16:01what I did?"
  420. 16:02"What?"
  421. 16:03"Nothing. I waited. I kept fixing her
  422. 16:06car for free whenever it broke down. I
  423. 16:08sent you and your sister birthday cards.
  424. 16:10I didn't push. I just kept the door
  425. 16:13open." He was quiet for a moment. "She
  426. 16:16came back three weeks later. Said she
  427. 16:18was more scared of losing me than of
  428. 16:20getting hurt.
  429. 16:22What if Kelsey doesn't come back?
  430. 16:24Then you'll have done it right anyway,
  431. 16:26Frank said. But son, from what you've
  432. 16:28told me, that little girl's been
  433. 16:30counting for a reason.
  434. 16:324 days before Christmas, on a freezing
  435. 16:35Saturday morning, a tow truck pulled
  436. 16:37into my shop. On the back was a silver
  437. 16:40Honda minivan.
  438. 16:41I walked out into the cold. Kelsey
  439. 16:44climbed out of the passenger side of the
  440. 16:45tow truck, wrapped in a big winter coat,
  441. 16:48her cheeks red, looking confused and
  442. 16:50embarrassed.
  443. 16:52I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to
  444. 16:54take it. It just died this morning in
  445. 16:56the driveway. It won't even turn over. I
  446. 16:59know this is awkward. I'll pay full
  447. 17:01price. I'll
  448. 17:02It's okay, I said. Let me take a look.
  449. 17:05She stood there shivering while I popped
  450. 17:07the hood.
  451. 17:08And I froze because taped right on top
  452. 17:11of the engine in a clear plastic
  453. 17:13sandwich bag to keep it dry was a piece
  454. 17:16of notebook paper.
  455. 17:17And next to the battery, the main fuse
  456. 17:20was missing, pulled out clean, exactly
  457. 17:23the way I'd shown Mia one Saturday
  458. 17:24afternoon when she asked me how to make
  459. 17:27a car stop working on purpose.
  460. 17:30I thought it was a science question.
  461. 17:32I pulled the note out of the plastic bag
  462. 17:34and unfolded it. It was written in
  463. 17:36careful 9-year-old handwriting in purple
  464. 17:39marker.
  465. 17:40Dear Mom, I took out the fuse. Brett
  466. 17:43taught me how. I'm sorry, but you have
  467. 17:46been crying in the laundry room every
  468. 17:48night, and Tucker keeps asking where
  469. 17:50Brett is, and he made Gary the raccoon a
  470. 17:53little wrench out of tin foil so Gary
  471. 17:55can be a car man, too.
  472. 17:57I was counting how many times Brett
  473. 17:59showed up. It was 47.
  474. 18:02Dad showed up three times last year. I
  475. 18:05did the math. Brett is the one. Please
  476. 18:08go fix it. Love, Mia.
  477. 18:11P.S. Tucker helped. He held the
  478. 18:13flashlight.
  479. 18:14Underneath in giant wobbly crayon
  480. 18:17letters, it said, "Tucker was here." The
  481. 18:20R was backwards.
  482. 18:22I stood there in the freezing cold with
  483. 18:24the hood of the minivan open and I
  484. 18:26couldn't breathe.
  485. 18:28Kelsey? Brett? What's wrong with it?
  486. 18:31I didn't say anything. I just walked
  487. 18:33over and handed her the note.
  488. 18:35She read it. I watched her face change.
  489. 18:38Confusion, then shock, then her hand
  490. 18:40flew up to her mouth and she let out a
  491. 18:42sound that was half a laugh and half a
  492. 18:44sob.
  493. 18:46She sabotaged my car, Kelsey whispered.
  494. 18:50She did a really good job. She's nine.
  495. 18:54She's a very talented nine.
  496. 18:56Kelsey read the note again, crying.
  497. 18:5947, she said. She was counting. I didn't
  498. 19:03even know she was counting.
  499. 19:05I knew. I saw her with the notebook.
  500. 19:08Kelsey looked up at me. Her eyes were
  501. 19:10red and wet and so full of everything
  502. 19:13she'd been holding back.
  503. 19:15Kelsey, I said, I'm not asking to
  504. 19:18replace anybody. I'm not asking to be
  505. 19:20their dad. I'm just asking to be the guy
  506. 19:22who shows up every Tuesday, every T-ball
  507. 19:25game, every science fair, every time
  508. 19:28your van makes a weird noise. I want to
  509. 19:31be number 48 and 49 and a thousand.
  510. 19:35She was crying so hard she couldn't
  511. 19:37speak, so she just nodded.
  512. 19:40And I'm in love with you, I said. I have
  513. 19:42been since you called my computer
  514. 19:44generous. She laughed, a wet, broken,
  515. 19:47beautiful laugh. Then she grabbed the
  516. 19:50front of my jacket with both hands, the
  517. 19:52way she had on our first date, and
  518. 19:54pulled me down and kissed me.
  519. 19:56Right there in the freezing shop with
  520. 19:59her minivan hood open and Hector
  521. 20:01pretending to work on a pickup truck in
  522. 20:03the next bay while clearly watching us.
  523. 20:06She kissed me like she had been missing
  524. 20:08me every single day because I had been
  525. 20:10missing her every single day.
  526. 20:13When we finally pulled apart, she
  527. 20:15pressed her forehead against my chest.
  528. 20:18I love you, too, she whispered. All All
  529. 20:21do. Even Gary.
  530. 20:23Gary the raccoon loves me?
  531. 20:25He has a tin foil wrench now, Brett.
  532. 20:28He's basically your apprentice.
  533. 20:30I laughed and held her tighter. Then I
  534. 20:32looked over her shoulder at the minivan.
  535. 20:35"So," I said, "should I put the fuse
  536. 20:38back in?"
  537. 20:39"Do you have it?" "No, Mia has got it
  538. 20:41somewhere."
  539. 20:43Kelsey laughed so hard she had to lean
  540. 20:45on me.
  541. 20:46When I drove her home that afternoon in
  542. 20:47my truck, Mia and Tucker were sitting on
  543. 20:50the front porch steps in their winter
  544. 20:51coats waiting. Mia was holding something
  545. 20:54small in her hand.
  546. 20:56The fuse.
  547. 20:58When they saw me climb out of the truck,
  548. 21:00Tucker screamed, "Brett Dad!" and came
  549. 21:02running across the frozen yard in his
  550. 21:04red rain boots. He crashed into my legs
  551. 21:07so hard he almost knocked me over.
  552. 21:09Mia didn't run. She walked over slowly.
  553. 21:12She held out her hand and dropped the
  554. 21:14fuse into my palm.
  555. 21:16"47," she said.
  556. 21:18Then she wrapped her arms around my
  557. 21:20waist and hugged me tight for a long
  558. 21:23time.
  559. 21:25"Thank you for coming back," she
  560. 21:26whispered.
  561. 21:28"Thank you for breaking your mom's car,"
  562. 21:30I whispered back.
  563. 21:31She giggled into my coat. It was the
  564. 21:33first time I'd ever heard her giggle.
  565. 21:36A year and a half later, I finished
  566. 21:38restoring that '67 Mustang, cherry red,
  567. 21:42chrome bumpers. Mia helped me with the
  568. 21:44engine every Saturday. Tucker was in
  569. 21:46charge of honking the horn.
  570. 21:49On a warm June evening, I asked Kelsey
  571. 21:51to come to the shop and see it finished.
  572. 21:53She walked into the garage and gasped.
  573. 21:56The Mustang was shining under the
  574. 21:57lights. Mia and Tucker were standing
  575. 22:00next to it grinning like they knew a
  576. 22:01secret.
  577. 22:02They did.
  578. 22:04"Pop the hood, Mom," Mia said.
  579. 22:06Kelsey looked at me suspiciously. "What
  580. 22:09did you three do?"
  581. 22:11"Just pop the hood."
  582. 22:12She lifted the hood of the Mustang and
  583. 22:14taped right on top of the engine in a
  584. 22:16clear plastic sandwich bag to keep it
  585. 22:18dry was a piece of notebook paper.
  586. 22:21She unfolded it with careful 9-year-old
  587. 22:23handwriting. It was three different
  588. 22:26handwritings. Mine,
  589. 22:28"Kelsey, will you marry me?"
  590. 22:30Mia's in purple marker,
  591. 22:33"And us, will you marry all of us? I did
  592. 22:36the math. It works."
  593. 22:38And Tucker's in giant crayon letters
  594. 22:40with a backwards R,
  595. 22:42"Please say yes or I will die."
  596. 22:46Kelsey started laughing and crying at
  597. 22:48the same time. She turned around.
  598. 22:51I was already on one knee on the shop
  599. 22:53floor holding a little velvet box. Mia
  600. 22:56was on one side of me. Tucker was on the
  601. 22:58other holding Gary the raccoon who was
  602. 23:00wearing his tin foil wrench.
  603. 23:03"Kelsey Ward," I said,
  604. 23:05"on our first date you told me I could
  605. 23:07leave because you had two kids. I'm
  606. 23:10still here. I'm never leaving. Will you
  607. 23:13marry me?"
  608. 23:14"Will you marry us?" Tucker corrected.
  609. 23:17Kelsey dropped to her knees on the
  610. 23:19greasy shop floor and pulled all three
  611. 23:21of us into her arms at once.
  612. 23:24"Yes," she sobbed. "Yes. Yes to all of
  613. 23:27you. Yes. Yes. Yes."
  614. 23:30I slid the ring on her finger. Tucker
  615. 23:33honked the Mustang's horn. Hector
  616. 23:35started clapping from behind a stack of
  617. 23:36tires.
  618. 23:38We got married that October in the
  619. 23:40backyard of my mom and Frank's house.
  620. 23:42The kids walked Kelsey down the aisle
  621. 23:44together, one on each side. Tucker wore
  622. 23:47his red rain boots with his little suit.
  623. 23:50Mia read a poem she wrote herself.
  624. 23:53And at the reception, Frank stood up, 71
  625. 23:56years old with grease still under his
  626. 23:59fingernails because some things never
  627. 24:01wash off, and raised his glass.
  628. 24:04"30 years ago," he said, "I met a woman
  629. 24:07on the side of the highway with two
  630. 24:09crying kids in a broken-down station
  631. 24:12wagon.
  632. 24:13She told me she had two kids, and if
  633. 24:15that was a problem, I should know now."
  634. 24:18He looked at me and smiled.
  635. 24:20"I told her it wasn't a problem. It was
  636. 24:23a bonus.
  637. 24:24Best decision I ever made."
  638. 24:27He turned to Kelsey and the kids,
  639. 24:30"Welcome to the family," he said.
  640. 24:32"You're the best bonus there is."
  641. 24:35These days, Mia's 11, and she still
  642. 24:38keeps her notebook. It's on her
  643. 24:40bookshelf, full of tally marks. She
  644. 24:43stopped counting at 500.
  645. 24:45She said she didn't need to count
  646. 24:47anymore.
  647. 24:48So, tell me, what would you have done if
  648. 24:50your date said, "If you want to leave
  649. 24:53because I have two kids, now's the
  650. 24:55time."
  651. 24:56Have you ever been chosen by someone who
  652. 24:58didn't have to choose you? Share your
  653. 25:01story in the comments. And if this story
  654. 25:04touched your heart, hit like, subscribe,
  655. 25:07and I'll see you in the next one.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Our First Date Was Going Great Until She Said, "If You Want to Leave Because I Have Two Kids." by Love_Maybe, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,128 words across 655 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.