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It all began the first week of January 2000. I was going to Atlanta to visit my family. During the week my mom, Barbara, and I were going to have lunch with Sharan Flexner and her daughter Alison. As it turned out, we had to cancel our plans because Alison could not make it. Sharan did not want my afternoon to go to waste while I was in Atlanta, so she called Barbara and asked if she could give my number to this very nice guy named Louis. Barbara called me and I said "Sure, why not. We only live a bizillion miles apart, but go ahead". So when I was in Atlanta, Louis called and we decided to go out to lunch. We ended up having lunch at the California Café where Louis worked. As some of you know, it takes about 30 minutes to get there. Thank goodness, the conversation came very easily and we both had a good time. We wanted to go out again while I was in Atlanta, but were not able to because of our busy schedules. We decided that in order to have a second date, Louis would have to come to Austin where I am in graduate school. We wrote e-mail, sent packages, and talked a lot on the phone over the month. Then about a month after our first date, Louis flew to Austin for our 2nd date. We both admit now that we were pretty nervous and each had "back-up" plans if we didn’t get along!!!. We barely knew each other and were going to spend an entire weekend together!!! We didn’t need those back-up plans because by the second day, over a bottle of wine and an incredible dinner that Louis prepared (I can tell you exactly what he made!!), we knew that this was something special!!! The problem was going to be the distance. But, we were determined to make this work and we did through lots and lots of e-mail, phone calls and trips back and forth. The final test of our relationship was to see what we were like in the same city. So, Louis moved to Austin in September and took a Sous Chef position at the Driskill Hotel. Our relationship stood the test of time and distance and as you can tell by now, it has grown into something very special for both of us. We will always be grateful to our Matchmaker, Sharan. We would not be here today if it wasn’t for her!!! |