been married for thirty-five years.
It’s very clear in Linda’s mind and heart that Charlie was her guardian angel. He showed up out of nowhere on the day Linda’s relationship ended, kept her company through her years healing, living far past the time he was supposed to, and “stepped out” when Linda was taken care of and ready for the love of her life.
That dog “knew” something.
This story was told to me by my friend Mel. It’s not exactly a “How They Met” story, but it so supports the “you never know” theme that I wanted to include it.
Over thirty years ago, Mel was best friends with a guy who was “absolutely gorgeous.” So gorgeous in fact, that Mel never gave a romantic relationship a thought, even though he secretly pined for this guy. Being sensible and knowing that a knockout like this would never give someone like him a second glance, Mel contented himself with a wonderful friendship. They were, in fact, almost inseparable, they hung out a lot, the guy always invited Mel places, they had great dinners and spent a lot of time enjoying each other’s company and talking about life. Ultimately Mel was grateful to be friends with this guy, even though he knew it could never be more.
Eventually they drifted apart, and after not too long Mel met Paul and began a relationship that has lasted to this day. He had long ago forgotten about his gorgeous friend, until one day he ran into him in the supermarket and they got to talking. His friend was also in a long-term relationship, and as they began to share the stories of their lives, Mel’s friend looked at him and said, “Were you aware of how much in love I was with you?” Mel replied, “WHAT?!?!” His friend continued, “I tried everything to get you to notice me, calling you up all the time, going places with you, but you seemed so uninterested in a romantic relationship that I eventually gave up.”
Thirty years later both are content to be where they are with the partners they are with, but it goes to show you, “Never assume! And never underestimate your own attractiveness.”
She Didn’t Catch the Bouquet, But She Did Catch a Husband
Victoria’s close friends were getting married and she was going to the wedding without a date.
Victoria had been dating a guy for some time but he had neglected to tell her one small detail about himself. He was married.
About two weeks prior to her friends’ wedding (to which Victoria had invited her “boyfriend”) Victoria was at work (she was a producer for a morning talk show in New York City) when she received a call from a woman who told her she was her “boyfriend’s” next-door neighbor and that she felt Victoria should know that her “boyfriend” was married. Apparently, so as not to get caught by his wife, Victoria’s “boyfriend” had set up a phone line in his next-door neighbor’s house, his next-door neighbor being a close pal of his. When Victoria would call, unbeknownst to her, she was calling an answering machine in the neighbor’s house. The neighbor would then go next door, notify Victoria’s “boyfriend” that Victoria had called, her “boyfriend” would go next door, and call Victoria back from that phone. The guys were pulling it off until the neighbor’s wife got wind of what was going on and felt compelled to tip Victoria off.
A few minutes after Victoria found out the truth, her “boyfriend” called her at the office. Victoria worked in a large open room with a lot of people sitting at desks nearby, so all of her coworkers were privy to Victoria’s top-of-her-lungs tirade where she reamed him out for deceiving her, ending the conversation with, “And you were lousy in bed!”
Now, in addition to not having a boyfriend, Victoria had another social dilemma. She was scheduled to go to her friends’ Pat and Chas’s wedding in less than two weeks, and she now didn’t have a date. The wedding was going to be a very expensive and fancy affair at the Union Club, and Victoria knew that they were paying a lot of money per plate. So she called Pat and asked if she should bring a friend or relative as a date so the table arrangements wouldn’t get messed up, or if she should just come alone and save them the cost of the extra plate. Pat said, “Come alone. We’re going to have a single’s table, so you’ll be fine.”
At the same time, Tony was having a similar problem. Tony, born and raised in New Zealand, had come to Aspen to ski for a season and liked it so much that he stayed for five years, working as a ski instructor and housesitting for the rich and famous. Chas, also an avid skier, was working in Aspen as a sommelier. Tony and Chas hit it off and became fast friends.
Fast forward a number of years: Chas had moved to New York, and Tony was now living in northern New Jersey at Great Gorge, working at the former Playboy Club which had been converted to timeshares. Tony had been dating a girl and Chas invited him to come to the wedding with her, but two weeks before the wedding, Tony and his girlfriend broke up. Tony called Chas with the exact same concern that Victoria had had. “Should I bring someone else to hold the place, or come alone?” Chas told Tony not to worry. They had a singles table and it would be fine for him to come alone.
Although Victoria had been very friendly with Pat for years, and Tony had been very friendly with Chas for years, Victoria and Tony had never met.
Tony and Victoria were both seated at the singles table, though not next to each other. (They later found out that Chas and Pat had assumed that the two of them would never get along, so they seated them next to other, more “suitable” people.) Victoria was seated next to an Italian guy who she found to be snobby and off-putting, and they put Tony across the table next to a girl who he didn’t like either.
Everyone was dancing, and suddenly, in this very fancy Park Avenue club, the air conditioning broke down. It being a formal wedding, with all the men in tuxedos and all the women dressed to the nines, it got very hot in there very quickly. The club was on the first floor, so they opened all the windows to try to at least create a cross-breeze.
Tony took his jacket off and was sitting on the windowsill to get some air. (The club was on the first floor, so there wasn’t any danger of falling out the window.) While Victoria was dancing, and really beginning to feel uncomfortably hot, Tony caught her eye from the windowsill and beckoned her to come over. Victoria gave him a look as if to say, “Me? Who? What?” since she didn’t even know this guy, but he nodded as if to say, “Yes.” So she thought, “Well, I am really hot and he’s sitting next to an open window, so I might as well partake of the breeze.”
Victoria walked over and said, “Are you talking to me?” to which Tony said, “Yeah, you.” The moment she heard him speak, Victoria said, “Oh, where are you from, Australia or New Zealand?” Tony said, “New Zealand,” and Victoria said, “Oh, where men are men and sheep are nervous.” Tony got a good laugh out of that, and Victoria said, “I just got back from New Zealand.” Tony didn’t believe her, telling her, “No way! You’re a city girl.” (She was dressed in a very dressy sequined black dress and heels, and did, indeed, look like a city girl.) Victoria proceeded to inform him that she had spent her trip driving a camper van all around the country. Tony, a country guy who rarely even came into Manhattan, still didn’t believe her, so he began to grill her. “What was your favorite place in New Zealand?” “Oh, definitely Queenstown.” Victoria began describing specific things and places she had loved, and finally Tony said, “OK. I guess you really have been to New Zealand.”
They
