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The year was 2004 and I was in the US Army fulfilling a tour of duty at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and I was assigned to the headquarters of US Central Command. It had been just over a year since I had left a very bad relationship, and I was not sure if dating, let alone marriage and family, was in my cards.

Then the email came.

"No" was my first response to my sister's request when she emailed me stating that I had to meet a woman she worked with at her office. "I'm not ready for a relationship, and I'm especially not enthralled by the idea of a blind date set up by my sister" was my reply.

That email followed up with another, and then yet another. I'm not sure just exactly how many emails my sister sent. To tell you the truth I was getting rather annoyed by her persistence.

So how did this situation go from a definitive "No" to "I do"?

About six months later I had gone on leave for a two week holiday around the Fourth of July. My sister manipulated me to accompany her to work under some pretense of needing to pick something up. While waiting for my sister in the lobby she called me on my cell phone and asked me to go up and meet her at the front desk.

When I got to the front office my sister was not there. Instead was some woman I'd never laid eyes on before. There she was on the phone with her back to the office doorway where I was standing. In conversation she started to turn in her chair and the first part of her I saw was an attractive pair of legs. When the woman heard me coming in, she turned to look at the doorway. And my eyes just followed her turn with a view that just continued to get more and more beautiful!

She smiled at me and her brown eyes glittered as she continued to talk on the telephone. As I attempted to pick my jaw off the floor I waved weakly and continued into the office, waiting for the gorgeous figure to finish her call. As it turned out she was arguing with an insurance company over her claim to repair her car that was struck a short time before. If I did not believe in love at first sight before, I saw the light and it was as bright as the noon sun.

My heart fluttered as she hung up the telephone and stood to formally introduce herself, and my mouth was dry. We spoke briefly of my sister and then the conversation turned to the recent car accident she was in; I was trying not to sound like a complete moron.

This woman was amazing and I immediately knew from our short conversation that there was an intelligence and thriftiness with all the beauty, and I believe she even laughed at one of my lame jokes. And knowing me, saying "my" and "lame" in reference to my jokes is truly redundant. She was radiant.

My sister eventually came to get me because her car was in metered parking and the timer was ticking. The woman of my dreams had to get back to work because there were students to help and work to be done, so we had to say good-bye. As I walked out of the office, I realized my life had changed by that one not-so-chance meeting.

My prying sister asked about meeting her friend/co-worker and I immediately confided in her that if her friend was agreeable that I would like to see her again and soon. During my leave I was able to see her two more times, and my impression of her grew more favorable each time. Two whirlwind years later we were married and now I have a wonderful family.

Those annoying emails occurred almost six years ago. I still enjoy recalling that first meeting and re-telling this story to anyone who'll listen to how a tale that began with an outright "no" ended up with an eager "I do".

Learn more about this author, Dan Blade.
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