If you ever thought match.com commercials were a fairytale guess again. We were both on Match and gave up on it rather quickly. It didn't feel organic. The few coffee dates we went on with other people, before meeting each other, were not great to say the least. The evening I cancelled Match, I was scrolling through the app. I ran across a profile, read it and giggled. Let's just say he was very clear about what he didn't want. I clicked on a distant photo of him on a paddle board and liked it. I thought nothing further of it that is until up pops a message. "Hi, I'm Derek". After three days of texting we decided to meet face to face over dinner. Driving to the date I almost turned around I was so nervous. He was waiting outside the restaurant for me . A total gentleman. Now I'll turn the rest of the story over to Derek. I made a reservation for 6pm at one of our local Mexican restaurants. We met outside and there was immediate chemistry. But I could tell she was nervous. I spent the first 30 minutes of our date talking about who I was and where I had been. The gigantic strawberry margarita definitely helped ease the tension. We ordered dinner and all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw someone heading towards our booth. It was Laurie's friend Melanie who apparently was having dinner the very same night at the very same restaurant., What a coincidence. She spent 15 minutes with us and the interrogation went well. But she wasn't Laurie's "Wing Girl". Of course not. As Melanie slid into our booth, Laurie slid over next to me and the next thing I know she had her hand on my leg. The attraction was there for both of us. Before we realized, it was midnight. I walked Laurie out to the car, she unlocked her car, turned to me, and we embraced with a kiss. We said our goodbyes for the evening, and I walked away. I stopped about 10 feet from Laurie and called out to her. I returned for a second kiss that we will never forget and we have been together ever since.

This one Derek gets to tell. After losing my wife of 35 years to cancer, the last thing I wanted was to jump into another marriage. I just wasn't in the mindset to make that kind of commitment. Laurie and I were both in love, but marriage was not in the cards in the beginning. I was clear with Laurie up front and she understood where my head and heart were. But as time went on, I realized that Laurie was someone very special and we needed to be together as man and wife. It was Christmas Eve of 2020, and this would be the night I would change my mind. I shopped a few day before for a ring that would show her I was serious. But I wanted this to be a special Christmas for Laurie. I took the ring box and wrapped it, placing it in the Bottom of her Christmas stocking. When Christmas Eve arrived, I suggested we open our stockings in private. As we were sharing our small stocking gifts she got to the bottom of her stocking and pulled out the small wrapped box. She started to open it and I said, "Let me help you open this one". As the box was revealed and opened towards her, I asked Laurie "Will You? ". She sat in shock looking at the ring. I asked again "Will You? ". She couldn't talk. I asked a third time and she broke into tears. It was a yes in so many ways. She never saw it coming and Christmas Eve will forever be a special day for both of us.