Monica LaSalle, Nederland. Hearts, rainbows, rays of sunlight illuminating meaningful or suggestive glances, chivalrous gestures and thoughtful gifts – these are some of the things that make up Valentine’s Day. Never mind that history also keeps a long list of tragedies and massacres, in Nederland it has long been a time for love.

Love, in the traditional sense, is not dead. Most of us have been raised to expect to find a life partner. Only some of us have been so lucky. Chris and Gail Eddy are just such a couple. Having been married 32 years, theirs is a love that was started by putting themselves out there and not being afraid to take a chance.

Chris and Gail met through the classifieds in the New York magazine while living on Long Island in 1984. He was looking to meet people in places other than bars and thought he’d explore this option. Putting himself out there as a good-looking young professional, he got 13 responses and proceeded to meet with all of them but one, who he could not seem to get to answer her phone because she was always working and never home.

These were the days before cell phones folks, so connecting was more elusive which made it all the more magical when it finally happened. Or not. For Gail was not interested in getting to know anyone over the phone and gave only one-word answers to all of Chris’ questions until they agreed to meet in person which was more her speed.

They met up at Cottonwood Café, in Greenwich Village, and from the moment she walked in the door, they found conversation to be effortless between them. He liked that she was a substantial person and realized that she was not much for making small talk but gave in depth, intelligent responses to all his personal questions. She thought he was handsome, a good conversationalist and his responses reflected that they shared similar values.

She told all her friends at a party later that night this very thing. He had a 3 p.m. meeting with another potential that was drab in comparison. Two weeks later, they met up again. This time they went to Sweetwater, in Southwest Manhattan, which was a jazz club a few blocks away from the Hudson. They saw Noel Pointer, and proceeded to have another successful date that caused them to miss the closing of the parking garage where Chris had parked his car. Since he had driven all the way out to New Jersey to pick Gail up for this second date…well, how do you break it to your potential new girlfriend who is still getting to know you that you did not intentionally get the car locked in the parking garage so you could surreptitiously suggest getting a room for the night?

They decided to walk around the city and explore the night time sights while continuing to get to know each other and wait for the light of dawn. They watched the Macy’s star being put up, they watched the sunrise, and they ate breakfast in a diner. Chris remarks he was quite pleased and impressed that Gail didn’t panic or blame in reaction to the circumstance, but rather, she chose to problem solve with him.

After this date, they began to see each other every weekend. For Christmas, Gail gave Chris a book of tickets for getting across the George Washington Bridge to see her in New Jersey. For six months this went on, until one day Gail had a meeting in Manhattan and then drove over to Long Island to surprise Chris. They went to a restaurant called Truman’s where it took an exceptionally long amount of time to order because Chris was nervously chatting and working up to proposing. He finally got around to it, and Gail immediately said yes. She says she was not surprised at all by the proposal and was quite on the same page.

A year later, they were married on June 14, 1986. Chris moved to New Jersey to set up a house with Gail, and two years later their first child, Josh, came along, with second child, Bailey, coming along 3 years after that. It was a very happy and satisfying domestic scene with vacations around the country and in particular, several trips to Colorado and the Denver area. They knew what they liked and were searching around for the right spot to move.

Gail had spent a year in Denver working for Mountain Bell in the past. She had maintained contacts in the area. When Bell Labs was newly hiring consultants in the Denver area, Chris came out first to go to work and set up a home for Gail and the kids. They both had visited Nederland in the past and felt the hug that comes at the crest of the canyon from the view of the reservoir and the town. Chris found a house in the Sunnyside neighborhood, bought it, and sent for Gail. They moved in the summer of 1999 and have felt at home ever since.

Hearing this fairy tale, I had to wonder: were there any trials? Where’s the rub? Chris and Gail agree, there really haven’t been any. They went through the typical difficulties most families go through. Chris is an only child and moved his mother out to live with them for four years, taking care of her in her last years. Gail supported and valued the experience whole heartedly, saying her biggest take away from the experience was learning how to be a medical advocate. They both agree that moving to Colorado and Nederland was the best decision they had ever made. And happily ever after they have lived.

(Originally published in the February 14, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)