Cookie Love

     Hi, I’m Jacob, and this is Operation Cookie Love. It all began on one fine day when I fell in love with a beautiful girl named Emily Cathy Rose, but then again, everyone did. She was the prettiest most magnificent girl in town. We first met when we were little. We were next door neighbors and our moms hung out a lot so we were best friends. Are moms used to plan vacations at the same place at the same time so they could hang out and Emily and I could play together. Then middle school started and it all changed. 

     When middle school started we, for the most part, went our separate ways. She started hanging out with the popular girls and the sporty boys. I was the math athlete at my school that meant you were lame and nobody liked you. One day Emily was outside with her dog Buster. Her dog is a pitbull border collie mix. He was the cutest dog I had ever seen just like his owner.  Emily was so gorgeous standing in the light of the sun on the crisp fall morning. That’s when I knew I loved her. 

     Now you know the history let me introduce you to my plan: my parents host a Christmas cookie exchange and competition each year. It doesn’t seem very special but it’s a big deal in our town. We invite our closest friends and family and only the best of the best are invited. The Cookie Exchange is like a competition on who has the best tasting cookie. My mom is a very well known chef so she judges them. My mom mentioned this year that I could choose one family to invite. So, as you may have guessed, I decided to invite Emily’s family. I was a nervous wreck the day I had to invite her. Sure, she was my friend but now I wanted her to be something more. I think I rewrote the invitation a thousand times, and I think my sweat leaked through the letter as well. Besides all my anticipation, I knew I had to do this. If I didn’t, I would go back to being the nerd who ate lunches by the dumpster. As I found out days later, all my nerves had been for nothing. Emily simply took the note and said “Sure, I love baking,” flashed me a smile, and walked away. It was the final days leading up to the exchange and I knew what I was gonna do. I was going to make the best cookie that anyone had ever seen. So I started making some basic cookies and worked my way up to create a German chocolate chip cookie dipped in nuts. With a caramel glaze on top. 

     Now it’s time for the plan to unfold. Emily’s family arrived with their batch of cookies. They looked okay but I knew I had this competition in the bag. I still wanted her to win because she was so nice but I knew I had to be the champion. So they put the cookies on the table and the rest of the people arrived. Now my mom had to judge. A couple minutes later they announced the winners. In third place the Leonard’s. That was my mom's friend's family. Then in second was Emily’s Family. Finally in first place was MY COOKIE! I knew my cookie was good but this just proved it. Now time for the hard part asking her out. 

     After the winners were announced Emily came over to me and congratulated me. That’s when I asked her. 

“Would you like to go out sometime.” 

“Of course I would. I’ve loved you since third grade.”

“Really? I thought that you were always too cool to be around someone like me.” 

“It doesn't matter what you look like. It’s what’s on the inside that matters.” 

     We went on our first date. It wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be. Some of her friends didn’t wanna hang out with Emily. Since she was dating me, the loser. But that didn’t matter to her. What mattered was that she and I were happy. Life went on and we ran for prom king and queen. We won and all was great. We had a couple bumps in the road. Like fights and things but we got through it. Our parents were very accepting of our relationship and thought that we were going to get together a lot sooner. Our relationship isn't common. Most of the popular girls date the jock. Not us though we were different but we loved it. 

     Emily and I were about to start our senior year in high school now and each year loved each other more and more. We both decided to go to Texas University. She studied psychology and I studied to be a doctor. Emily graduated first and got a job. I got out of college and started my residency to be a surgeon. I became a heart surgeon. Emily was a school counselor. We got married on May 1st. We got matching tattoos of rings on our fingers instead of an actual ring. Because I was a surgeon I was not allowed to wear rings at work. Eventually I got Emily a ring when I got more money. Once we got our life together and our schedules weren’t so chaotic. A little surprise came into our life. 

     Her name was Abby. She was born on January 3rd. She was the cutest little thing I had ever seen. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes. Our family was complete. We eventually had another baby born on May 1st  and named Eli. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes too. We were the perfect family with two kids and a dog named Sammy. Sammy was a short-haired pointer, with black and white spots with blue eyes. And each year we still host a Cookie Exchange to honor how I asked her out.