We had become good friends in a month, bonded over a mutual tendency to take care of others. When he found out I was self-quarantined, sick, in my bedroom, he came down with a cup of the best hot chocolate I’d ever tasted. He tucked me in and kissed me on the forehead. He was the first guy who showed me I was worth being taken care of.

—L

Postscript: It took us over a year after our friendship first formed to finally date officially. But I’ve loved him since that first cup of hot chocolate.

14

The man who had been my mechanic was so generous to loan me his Lincoln town car when I was without my car following my accident. Then he found me a “work car” for $600 and assured me that when I was ready to sell it, he would find a buyer for it and would sell it for more than $600, which he did. Who couldn’t love this man, helping a damsel in distress.

—Casey

Postscript: We have been married for 13 years, both of us with no regrets!

6

I fell in love with my husband when he put my bicycle in a taxi cab during the Chicago riots of 1968. This was our first meeting.

—Diane

Postscript: We have been married for 41 years, and our daughter was a scholarship recipient of the 19th Century Charitable Association.

4

We began dating a week prior to my birthday. He bought me a gaming guide for World of Warcraft and a Bruce Campbell movie and poster—he paid attention to what I liked and didn’t get me the standard flowers or candy.

—Joralyn

Postscript: We’re married and happy and play WoW together. (Yep, we’re nerds!)

2

My slouchy bag dragged in the water as I bent over to pick up debris left over from fixing a summer camp dock. I looked up and that’s when we met. Things were messy, then they were easier, and now I only receive his drunken Facebook messages. He always made fun of that bag. He still makes fun of that bag.

—Sara

Postscript: I don’t want to keep in touch with him. But on occasion I find myself thinking about him and wondering if I should give him a call.

4

We were both rigging our sails at the lake to go sail boarding. I forgot my boom at home. I asked him if he would keep an eye on my stuff while I ran back for it. When I returned an hour later, there he sat, watching my stuff like a hawk.

– Cherie

Postscript: We married, and a few years later, we were still windsurfing together even as I was pregnant with kid number 3.

9

One night after a mixer we were texting and he decided to call me. We ended up talking for 4 hours and I had never opened up to someone so early on. I knew he was someone I would love if not romantically, as a best friend.

—Margoth

Postscript: As of right now we have been dating for well over a year and he is still the person I tell everything to.

9