Day 55 Eddie and Mary

Eddie is a great comic artist and fellow 100-day pledger. This is the story of how Eddie and Mary got together.

Eddie and Mary met when they were 16 years old. They were both taking a creative writing class during the summer at Edinburgh University in Scotland.

Eddie: We were from two different schools across town. Me from a well-to-do middle class school (called Boroughmuir), her from a slightly less well-to-do middle/working class high school in Portobello, Edinburgh’s seaside area.

Eddie wore baggy jeans and long curly hair, and looked to Mary like a sexy hobbit.

Eddie: We got on well, chatting about films and music. It was that time in your life when you’re discovering all these cool things. I was raving about bands like Eels, The White Stripes and The Pixies, Mary about The Manic Street Preachers and Radiohead.

When Eddie introduced his current girlfriend of six weeks to Mary as a ‘friend’, it became obvious to everyone that he really liked Mary. Eddie and his girlfriend at the time spent all their time making out.

Eddie: It was extremely physical, though never arrived anywhere (I was promised Bra removing lessons, but never survived that long). But Mary and I just clicked on some other level. We were friends first, and I was really attracted to her. Mary was the kind of girl I wanted to be around.

Eddie’s girlfriend realised what was going on before Eddie did and dumped him, telling him he should go out with Mary. Eddie and Mary continued to hang out as friends. Eddie was hooked on Mary’s kindness and her intriguing personality. She was a mystery to him.

Eddie, at sixteen, was socially awkward and had no self-esteem, but he did have a game-plan.

Eddie: I had this long-game dating technique where I segwayed from being friends to going out. All it took was to spend time with a person and flirt and then one day hold their hand!

And so Eddie courted Mary. True to form, they spent time with each other, flirted and one day after talking about Eddie’s family and his grandpa’s mental illness, they held hands. A few days later, Eddie went in for the kill.

Eddie: On the beach, in the October cold I decided to make my move and kiss her. I was nervous and inexperienced and made a complete mess of it. Mary kind of scarpered off, probably shocked by exactly how awful a kiss it was.

Mary liked Eddie a lot, but it was nothing compared to the intense feelings she had for her ex-girlfriend who had broken her heart. Mary had never forgotten her and had almost come to the conclusion that she didn’t like men. Eddie, who had come to like Mary a whole lot by then and who was up for a challenge, persuaded her over the course of a few hours to give him another shot.

Eight years later, Eddie and Mary are living together in Edinburgh. Over the years, they’ve discovered just how much they have in common and have grown to become best friends who really like being around each other. Mary introduced Eddie to comics. Eddie helps keep Mary happy, and he’s become a great kisser.

Mary: we mesh together in a really great way, and our relationship always feels really special. I often get those bursts of love, you know when you just realise you love someone soooo much, even though they are doing something really mundane, like eating broccoli.

check out Eddie's very cool 100-day pledge to illustrate a tiny moment from his past, present or future http://100tinymoments.blogspot.com/