There was no denying it: She was way out of his reach. But she also, paradoxically, was close enough to kiss – and he intended to take advantage of that opportunity.

It was a school play that brought them together, one in which Jordann Johnson and Thomas Sewell played the cleverly named characters Marshall Art and Sue Duce: A sheriff and a villain, respectively, who were to have an almost-kiss.

Tom, however, concocted a plan to make it an actual kiss, with help from a friend who was supposed to interrupt the moment by calling him off stage. That friend stayed silent, and their plan very well could have been successful if only Jordann hadn't pushed Tom away – adamant that her first-ever kiss wasn't going to be in front of an audience.

Of course, perhaps it would have made a difference if she'd known that kiss would have been with her future husband. But she couldn't have known, really – not with her a senior and him a freshman, and especially not with her off-limits as the principal's daughter (and him familiar with the principal on a much more disciplinary basis).

Due to these realities, it would take nearly a decade for Jordann and Tom to become anything more than acquaintances. But once they did, not even the ocean separating them could keep them from falling fast for one another.

This fall began in January 2013, long after they’d each moved away from the tiny neighboring communities in northwest Kansas where they’d grown up. Tom was quite far away, actually, stationed with the Navy in Sasebo, Japan. And although Jordann was closer to home — attending graduate school in Hays, Kansas — she couldn’t have anticipated the connection to home she was about to have.

It came just when she most needed it, after returning home from a particularly bad blind date. She saw Tom was available to chat via Facebook, and since they’d periodically checked in on each other over the years, she took this opportunity to vent about what an awful night she’d had.

It was telling that even on the other side of the world, in a different time zone and on a boat out at sea, Tom was a better listener than any of her string of bad boyfriends had been face-to-face. From then on, they communicated almost daily. “I guess I’m just a silver-tongued devil,” Tom says in regard to what kept their conversations going — and Jordann strongly agrees.

They often skimped on sleep just to squeeze in a shared window in their incongruent schedules. And although they were technically limited to instant messaging, he surprised her periodically by sneaking a phone call.

Romantic feelings had formed by February — and that Valentine’s, Tom made a point to be a part of Jordann’s day, even if not in person. In addition to having a florist deliver six long-stemmed pink roses, he mailed her DVDs of “Sleepless In Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail.” Appropriately, the note accompanying the flowers (which Jordann has kept to this day) read simply: “You’ve Got Mail :) / From your favorite Sailor / Happy Valentine’s Day!”

If there was any doubt he’d won her over, it had faded by a month later, when they began planning their first date for when Tom returned to the States that May. But with two months for anticipation to build — not to mention for Jordann to plan the perfect outfit and dye her hair red, since Tom had liked the red hair she’d had her senior year of high school — it’s no wonder they weren’t quite able to wait for the dressed-up dinner-and-a-movie night they’d planned. Instead, they got together at their earliest opportunity three days sooner, taking Tom’s dad’s pick- up into a field and watching a thunderstorm in the distance.

jordann + tom

- from missed kiss to meant-to-be -

By Erin Wisdom-Watson

“He dotes on me terribly, 
and I love that.”

The next month passed much too quickly, and before they knew it, Tom had purchased a motorcycle and driven three days to San Diego, where he’d spend his last year in the Navy. Despite his initial distaste for texting, they did a lot of it that year and also took turns flying to see one another. In between visits, Jordann dealt with the woes inherent in long-distance relationships with the help of a penguin in a sailor’s uniform she kept on her nightstand. 

Penguins had become significant symbols to them by that point, in large part because they’re known to mate for life. But for Jordann and Tom, they held another association, as well — one dating back to a picture of a penguin he’d found on Pinterest (which he’d joined to help her reach her 300th follower) and that also showcased the sentiment “I like you a lottle.” 

They adopted that expression to use with each other before graduating to “I love you.” But even after they reached that milestone, penguins remained an important part of their relationship repertoire in that Jordann and Tom continued to call one another “Penguin.” And the symbol popped up in other ways, as well — including on a second-anniversary trip to see the penguins at the Kansas City Zoo and, maybe most importantly, in an illustration on a custom-designed ring box Tom kept hidden away in a closet. 

By the time he had this secret to keep, it was mid-2015. Jordann had moved to Topeka, Kansas, for work a year earlier, and Tom had joined her soon after. It hadn’t taken long for them to start shopping for engagement rings — so Jordann may have had an inkling what it was Tom was keeping from her.

But any suspicion she had as to why he’d want her to dress up for a Sunday outing didn’t steal from her joy when — at a gazebo in a park in a tiny town — Tom presented her with the penguin box and popped the question. Thus, as of July 12, 2015, they were officially ready to set a wedding date. They eventually decided on October 29, 2016, as the day they’ll vow the rest of their lives to one another — before heading off to Florida for their honeymoon and dressing in costume at Disney World on Halloween. 

In the mean time, they’ve bought a home on some land in a small community outside of Topeka and have started their family with a miniature dachshund named Penny. They look forward to adding children, and some apple trees, as time goes on. And Tom, at least, looks forward to them watching “Little Shop of Horrors” together — a deal Jordann struck with him in hopes that by the time marriage finally came, he would have forgotten and she’d be off the hook (which seems unlikely at this point). 

But most of all, they look forward to simply continuing to enjoy their one-of-a-kind connection. Even after three years — or a dozen, depending on which starting mark you use — it’s easy for these two to describe what they first saw in one another and what they’ve continued to appreciate since. 

“He dotes on me terribly, and I love that,” Jordann says, also making note of how hard Tom works without complaining and how he still, even with his demanding schedule, prioritizes their relationship. She appreciates his culinary skill, too, and has high hopes of him learning to make her aunt’s amazing apple pie. 

As for him: He can still remember her as the girl he had a crush on in high school. But in their deeper relationship as adults, she’s also the one who can keep him in line while still appreciating the part of him that likes to be a kid sometimes. 

That latter trait actually is something they have in common and embrace through a love of animated movies and of dressing in character for occasions like the Renaissance Festival (although, ever since the year Jordann accidentally rented him a kilt that was too short, Tom has insisted on sticking to pants). Of course, this tendency toward make-believe also ties them to their true beginning, back on that stage where their first kiss could have been. 

But it’s hard to imagine any alternate history being better than their reality. And whatever the future holds for them, they trust some things from their past will never change. 

“He may be my penguin,” Jordann says, “but he’ll always be my sailor and my anchor.”