My Story: Who R U?

I had recently moved from Rockhampton to Sydney and was having trouble settling in when a friend invited me to a corporate ball. Getting ready for the occasion, I sent a quick SMS message to his mobile phone asking him to bring his camera. I was all dolled up and wanted to record what promised to be a great evening.

Continuing to get ready for the ball, I heard the familiar "beep beep" of an incoming SMS message: "Who R U and why do U want my camera?" I was shocked. I must have punched in the wrong number. Goodness knows who I’d sent the message to. I quickly replied to the mystery person, apologising.

I didn’t think much of it until later that evening when another message came through: "Who R U anyway?" At first I was reluctant to reply, but reassured myself no harm could come from an SMS message. "A 21yr-old female QLDer in NSW. Who R U?" The reply came back: "A 21-yrold carpenter from Brisbane. Nick."

By now I was far more interested in the guy who was messaging me than the ball I was attending. Pushing my luck, I replied: "Single?" Again he sent back: "Yeah. You?" My heart racing, I replied: "Yes."

As the night went on we exchanged several more messages. We discussed what I was doing that evening and what he was doing the next day (looking at houses). And we left it at that.

A week later I got another message: "Have been thinking about U all week. Tell me about yourself." Acknowledging the alarm bells going off in my head, I replied cautiously – giving as little away as possible. "Wanted to MSG U too. Have 2 bros & 2 sisters. 2nd eldest." He replied straight back: "Me too. 2 bros, 2 sis. I am 2nd eldest."

OK, my guard went right up at this point. "R U kidding?" I asked. "No, serious," he replied. I still found the coincidence hard to believe but asked: "Where R U going to buy house?" His reply: "Buy house wherever U want to live."

Now, this made me uneasy. He sounded like a great guy and we had uncanny things in common, but what did I really know about him? Then he sent another message: "Where do U work?" I replied: "Work 4 a bank. 1st job since Uni. OK, but miss QLD sun." He replied: "Plenty of sun here."

And so it started – a beautiful, funny SMS friendship. I discovered Nick was originally from New Zealand. He worked for a construction company and was also a triathlete – ironically, I had completed my first triathlon the month before. He was funny, athletic, intelligent and had the same sense of humour as me. Often we would message each other at exactly the same moment and even think the same things at the same time.

But we had other things in common, too: I’ve always dreamed of living in a big, old Queenslander timber house. Nick, as a carpenter, has always wanted to build one. After six months of messaging, I finally built up the courage to speak to Nick and phoned him on his birthday. Soon we were racking up enormous phone bills – which we couldn’t afford, but couldn’t go without.

Six months later we decided to meet. I was flying back to Rockhampton, with a 45-minute 24 layover in Brisbane, so we arranged to have breakfast at the airport. Despite a bad case of butterflies in my stomach, I was looking forward to finally meeting Nick.

I stepped off the plane and my heart jumped. He wasn’t exactly what I’d expected (not the tanned Adonis I had often pictured) but he was tall and muscular. His hair was long and he had gorgeous freckles. He held a single gold rose in his hand.

Our romance progressed quickly after that and over the next few months Nick made the ten-hour drive to Sydney three times. Then one day he rang me, excited and unsure. He had found a house in Brisbane he liked and wanted to know if he should buy it. Although it wasn’t the house of his dreams, it was a good price and we decided he could do it up.

Nick moved into the house and two weeks later his work required him to move to New Zealand for six months. It was a great opportunity. Nick asked me to go with him – I had never been overseas and yearned to travel – but I had a great job in Sydney and friends I didn’t want to leave.

A month went by with Nick in New Zealand and our phone bills expanding to a dangerous size, when my roommates decided to move out. My landlord took the opportunity to increase the rent and I knew I couldn’t afford to live there any longer. Fate seemed to be pushing me towards Nick, so I took the hint.

I rang Nick, booked a flight, organised movers to take my furniture to his Brisbane home, and was gone within a week. The five months I spent with Nick in New Zealand were amazing. He was amazing!

A few months later we settled back in Australia, in Nick’s house, and I started a new job. Life was great. Then one weekend we decided to drive to Rockhampton to visit my family. On the way, we stopped near an historic village to stretch our legs. My gaze drifted towards the highway. When I turned back Nick was standing before me with a glinting diamond ring in his hand. I couldn’t help but smile, tears coming to my eyes. I looked from him to the ring and back again. "Will you marry me?" he asked. I was so busy smiling and crying that it took me a few seconds to reply, "Yes!"

We are now busily planning a wedding on February 19. It will be a beautiful occasion that we’ll share with our very large families and dearest friends. But one thing will be different: we won’t be asking our guests to turn off their mobile phones. After all, you never know who might be on the other end of the line.

Jacinta Farrow, 24, is a bank teller and lives in Wynnum, Queensland, with her fiance, Nick, and their two Rottweiler pups.