We noticed one another at the shop, sharing a passing glance whenever we got the chance. Which as it turned out, was around or about every 5,000 miles.

The shop had—and still has—a policy against working on European cars. Brian says it’s because of their unnecessarily over-complicated engineering, but for some reason, Joanna’s Volvo wagon was made an exception.

We never spoke words until the stars aligned one warm, October morning and Brian pulled up in a 1998 Chevy pickup with a fuel-pump problem and joined Joanna who was sitting on the curb.

Two days later we shared our first kiss on a country road overlooking the Oklahoma City skyline, all lit up at night, twenty miles away as the crow flies.

The rest, as they say, is history.

And here we are. Real love, a late start & 'til death do us part.