Share
A chance meeting while shopping in July 2008 put Michael, now 52, on Susan's radar. But Susan, now 48, didn't think she was interested - until she found the scrap of paper in her pocket. Michael tells their story.
The door: A friend of mine and his fiancée were shopping at Lowe's and struck up a conversation with Susan, who was shopping for a new front door. When they realized she was going through a divorce, they told her about me - about my recent separation, my pending divorce and how my brother and father had died within a month of each other earlier that year. They insisted they were not crazy people, and that she should call me. She insisted she wasn't interested, but they gave her my e-mail address written on the corner of a Lowe's ad.
The pocket: Over the next several days, Susan and her two teenage sons moved into their new house. While cleaning out the pockets of a pair of shorts, she found the Lowe's ad with my e-mail address on it. My story made her think of a friend of hers who had recently lost her husband and brother. Susan decided to e-mail me, because she thought no one should have to face the loss of two family members so close together.
The dinner: Her e-mail to me bounced back because my friends got my address wrong. Most people would have given up. But since the address included my place of business, Susan looked on the Web site for my correct address. She re-sent the e-mail, and I invited her to join me and the friends she met at Lowe's for dinner that night. She accepted, and we met for the first time.
The distance: Since both of us had been married for more than 20 years, dating was anything but comfortable. We kept the conversation light and our emotions guarded. We saw each other several more times before Susan left for a week's vacation with her sons. Although I hadn't planned to talk to her until she returned, we began texting. The distance allowed us to let our guard down. Over the next few months our love grew beyond what either of us thought possible. We got married at Morehead City in August. After the honeymoon, we returned to Lowe's together and ordered a custom door for our new home.
Kathy Haight
