our story
We both will say we were set up! We also both will argue that one knew more than the other!

We met at a restaurant I managed in the Texas Medical Center called Trevisio. Mutual friends of ours got the ball rolling by mentioning Quinn’s name to me when they came into my other restaurant, Zula, a few weeks earlier. The mention was she was this beautiful, California surfer type girl and she worked with children at TMC. The couple said they had mentioned my name to Quinn a week or so prior but apparently Quinn dismissed the notion immediately. In any event, shortly there after, a late lunch was planned with Quinn and our friend Rhonda. I admit, I had some knowledge they would come as I indicated that I rarely had time to talk during the lunch rush. They arrived and had personal business to discuss and eventually I was free to come and say hello. I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the table. Quinn has quite an impact on most people, especially those that meet her the first time. I was impressed by her beauty, politeness and composure. At some point after visiting the table a few times I was invited to sit a bit and chat. At about the same time, the chef working for me at Trevisio also joined us at the table. Without a lot of detail, he and I did not get along very well so there was some tension and we sort of took little shots at each other. I was able to find some openings in the conversation to talk with Quinn individually. They both needed to return to their offices across the street and I semi-escorted them towards the door. I did motion to Quinn something to the effect of “I look forward to seeing you again.”

I believe that evening Rhonda’s husband called for details. I asked him to get Quinn’s phone number for me. Yes, this was right out of high school!!! Quinn apparently decided I was worthy and gave permission to pass it on. I doubt I waited the prerequisite 2 days us men are trained to do. I was quite excited about it to tell the truth. The first call went very well. It was short and sweet with some discussion of our general schedules so we might plan something in the near future. We planned for dinner during the early part of the following week. Of course, I elected to go with my home turf, Zula. I knew we would be extremely slow that night, plus I was working!!! How often will, a woman go out with a guy while he is at work? We had a nice dinner with an occasional intrusion by a customer or two. I did not cook, though. I only pull that card out if I really like a girl and she passes all the tests.

Things went well enough that evening that we started calling and seeing each other quite a bit. I even started leaving work a bit earlier than normal so we could do some late dinners. Our schedules were perfect as I am a night owl and Quinn gets off at 1am. We quickly became very close especially at being friends with one another and doing everything together. Things progressed quickly in areas such as Reese and family meetings. About this time she had passed all of my tests, and I had a lot of them! I think we both sort of knew that marriage could be a possibility with some minor details to work out. Then it all seemed to happen one weekend as I was looking for a new house…before we knew it we were conceptually figuring out the who’s, what’s, why’s and when’s for the next 50 years or so. Personally, I never thought I would get married again…then again, I didn’t think that there were women in the world as dynamic and remarkable as Quinn. I think one of our strongest traits as a couple is our ability to really breakaway from traditions and norms that tend to, as I say “suck the life out of ya’.” We are non-traditional in so many ways and enjoy the thought that in the entire equation all that matters is that we have one another to feed off of….and always learn from.

In a very short time we have learned a lot from one another. We have discovered what we want from our lives as individuals and as a family. We have learned that two people can make a big difference to one another physically and emotionally. We have decided that our lives don’t fill voids in the other…it just makes them so much better! We are so pleased to be able to share all of this with you and we will always be appreciative of your support in our relationship.

Pura Vida
Lance and Quinn