He had me at Hello

We had just graduated high school- it was summer and I started college. My best friend Jana and I were inseparable. One night while cruisin' main street in my '68 Cutlass, she asked me to stop by the "stalls" so she could talk to her friend Bob. The stalls is an area at Ludington park where tourists and those on lunch breaks stop to take in Lake Michigan. It's also a place on the weekends where teens congregate. They're not allowed in parking lots anywhere in town so this has become, for years, the place to meet up with your friends.
Jana and I worked at a full service gas station after graduation. That's how she knew Bob- although he had quit before I started. Bob's a nice guy- the type you just click with and as it happens to be- he's Paul's cousin.
We stopped that night at the stalls, Jana introduced me to Bob and his cousin, Paul. The four of us must have been at the stalls for a couple hours talking and then the cops came and kicked everyone out of the park as it was closing- it was about 10pm I think.
So then we all met back up at Taco Bell only to be also kicked out of the parking lot there. We weren't causing trouble- not drinking or making a rouckus- just talking. Paul and I seemed to click- we talked about cars mostly(big surprise!) and the fact that we didn't even know each other in high school. I teased him about being the shortest kid in school and he was surprised that I was the girl in the cool Cutlass. And that was it- a new friend and that was all.
Months passed, my brother Michael started dating- his first girlfriend, a really sweet girl named Nicky. They were so cute together although I'm not sure they actually got together besides maybe going to the movies once. Mostly their "dating" were conversations on the phone. One night while he was talking to her, Michael asked me if I knew her brother Paul. Not making the connection earlier, I was surprised to learn this was his sister that was dating my brother! What a weird thing! I told Michael that I thought Paul was a nice guy and vice versa was told to Nicky on Paul's end.
Maybe a week passed and on November 10, 1990- Paul called and asked me if I would like to go to his cousin Bob's camp. Not an official date really in my mind, but with my friends and his- a party of course so I was game. I arranged to go with my friends instead of riding up there with him as I wasn't sure of his intentions. I certainly didn't want to be stuck up at some camp in the middle of nowhere. We all followed each others vehicles and drove up. It was a beautiful camp- all knotty pine- a log cabin and a plush hunting camp. I had never been to a camp like this really. Our camp consisted of a green army tent in a beautiful wilderness in Rapid River. He was a heavy drinker as I learned- I was too at that time. I sat next to Paul at the table of the camp most of the night. He never really made a move so I wasn't sure if he wanted to be friends or what. Then he was going out to change the tape in his cousin's truck and asked me to come with. We looked through Bob's selections and then all of a sudden we just leaned in and kissed. The rest of the night, he held my hand. It only took about a week before we both knew we were in love. He proposed five months later- and this week- we were married for 14 years.
I found out later, he had stopped by the gas station I worked at that summer we met to ask me out and Jana had told him I was seeing someone. In the meantime, we would see each other out, but he waited until hearing from his sister that I wasn't seeing anyone. :0)
Michael and Nicky didn't last long unfortunately, although they stood together in our wedding- Bob and Jana were our honor attendants. And they lived happily ever after......