Love Lines 2007

For the third year in a row, we are looking for your true-love stories. We will publish as many as we can on rd.ca throughout the year, and we may share our online favourites with all our readers in the February 2008 edition of the magazine—just in time for Valentine’s Day.

This year, we’d love to see what you all look like. So, please, send a jpg of yourselves—or what you looked like when you met or married—with your story if you can. And don’t leave out any details! Where did you meet? How old were you? Was it love at first sight or did love grow over time? And, please, tell us your true love’s name.

From Paris With Love

In August of 2000, a small town in northwestern Ontario named Terrace Bay gave me my first teaching job. I was 23 years old, and distance and language barriers were nothing to stop a young Frenchman from Montreal full of ambitions, passion and dreams.
I started teaching and met this colleague who was also new to the school. Her name was Alison, she was 29 years old, recently divorced and the proud single mother of a young boy. I recall how gorgeous she was, but I kept thinking she’d never be interested in a young “pup” like me. Then one day, she gave me a call. We started talking at 8 p.m. and didn’t stop until 3 a.m. That is when I realized how much we had in common. She said, “Why don’t you come over for supper?” to which I answered “Sounds good!” It was then that I first met Thomas, her nine-month-old son. It was also then that, after supper, we had our first dance.
The pattern of long phone conversations carried on for several weeks. My dad quickly figured out that something was going on: I was not calling my parents as much, and every time they tried to call me my line was busy.
Not until November 6, 2000, while on a hike, did we finally kiss. Never had I experienced something like this: It truly felt like the world stopped spinning and everything was motionless.
That was it! Passion was ignited. I couldn’t stop thinking of her. However, when the Christmas holidays came, I had already booked a snowboarding trip in the French Alps with my cousins from Paris. The separation at the airport was heartbreaking. I ended up in the Alps and in front of the Eiffel tower at the turn of the Millenium, but my mind was elsewhere. Every day I wrote Alison a postcard and gave her a quick phone call. It wasn’t enough. I realized that she was my soul mate, the one who completed me.
I told my uncle Denis of my decision and asked him to take me to a jewellery store. I tried to tell myself to slow down, to think this through, but I had never been so sure of anything in my whole life. I finally found the ring that I thought would suit Alison and define my love for her—an eternity ring with 26 diamonds all around.
It was time for me to go back and propose to the love of my life. On the plane, I struggled to translate my love poem/proposal into English. Thank God for the stewardess who gave me a hand with it. However, as we were about to land, that same stewardess announced to the whole plane that I was going to propose in the airport! To make matters even worse, a student of mine was at the airport, waiting for her grandparents, who were on the same plane as me.
So, I choked—and ended up proposing in the car while northwestern Ontario was in the midst of a major blizzard. Romantic? From Paris, City of Love, to the small town of Terrace Bay. You never know where true love might await you.

Submitted by Ben Robin, Whitby, Ont.

Love On the Line

I had been single for years, raising my kids alone after my husband died, when a friend and I saw an ad for a singles website one day. Initially, the site was pretty entertaining as I read the profiles of people looking for that “someone special.”

I didn’t think that someone was me until I came upon a very interesting profile: The writer had written a short story rather than posting his wish list for a partner. It piqued my interest, and for a few days, I found myself returning to that one profile. I finally worked my way around to sending him a message—even though I wasn’t looking for anyone! He said he was pleased to hear from me but that he was corresponding with someone else and didn’t feel it was proper to correspond with more than one person at the same time.

A short while later, he sent me a message, informing me he was no longer corresponding with anyone else and asking if we could meet for coffee. I wasn’t ready for a face-to-face meeting, so we “talked” online for about a month before we got together.

We quickly realized we had a lot to say to each other and spent the next few months getting to know one another and falling in love. We were engaged later that year and were married the following summer. Five years later, we are more than happy to tell people that we met online.

Of course, I never stop teasing him that he told me to get lost when I first contacted him. But in all honesty, that integrity really struck a chord.

Submitted by Natalie Reed, Saskatoon, Sask.

Hitching a Ride

Stranded by my boyfriend one night, I was on my way out of the building where I worked when I bumped into Rob. Although we worked for the same company, we were in different departments, so rarely saw or talked to each other. At the time, with him in college and me in high school, we had little in common.

But everybody liked Rob, so when I found myself sans ride home that evening, it was a spontaneous gut reaction that prompted me to ask him for a lift when I ran into him. I approached with little hesitation. “Hey, Rob, would you mind giving me a lift home tonight? I’m stranded,” I said. He immediately replied “Sure” in that casual tone he’s known for.

On the ride to where I lived – which was at least 20-minutes out of his way – I noticed the smell of his cologne, the silver bracelet he wore on his right wrist, the way his lips moved when he talked. We talked the entire time. It was like connecting with an old friend and meeting someone new all at once. I thought to myself, Why haven’t I noticed him before?

Although I had a boyfriend, suddenly all I could think about was spending more time with Rob. More rides home followed after that, and soon my inattentive boyfriend was out of the picture.

“Can we grab a coffee some time?” Rob asked one night, while dropping me off at my parents’ home. I was game, and suggested exchanging phone numbers at our next shift together. To this day, Rob still has the piece of paper I wrote my phone number on.

Our first date was December 12, 1998. I’ll never forget the twists and turns my stomach made that night, in anticipation and excitement. Eight years later, with so many milestones and experiences as a couple behind us, I was sent to Mexico on a contract last December. Rob joined me so that we could celebrate the anniversary of our first date, as we do every year.

Although we had talked about marriage, we had no real plans to tie the knot. Secretly, while repeatedly proclaiming my independence, I had already decided I wanted to exchange vows with this man. So, on the evening of our anniversary, my heart was heavy as dinner came and went without a proposal. By dessert, I had settled for simply enjoying the sunset and celebrating the eight years we had spent together.

Our waiter approached with a gleaming silver tray – the crème brulee I had ordered for dessert. My favourite! Before I could blink, the waiter lifted the lid to reveal a red wooden box . . . holding an engagement ring! It was the most surreal moment of my life. 

It’s amazing what life can bring when we just learn to enjoy the ride. Rob and I will exchange those vows on December 12 this year—the anniversary of our first date and of our engagement.

Submitted by Sandy Braz, Toronto