In August 1971, I was a student at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I attended a party that was given during the first week of classes. At this party, a student named Herbert asked me to dance. He visited me while he was attending Western Michigan but he left Western so that he could help out his mom back in Dayton, Ohio. After my boyfriend was discharged from the Army in 1973, I got pregnant again and we got married. We were married 23 years when he died from cancer in 1995. After the death of my husband, I vowed never to fall in love again and I didn't.

One evening in February 2005, I gave in and answered a blocked call and a male asked for Patricia Ann. I asked who was calling and the answer was, "This is Herbie." I was speechless. After 32 years, someone from my past had been looking for me off and on for five years. If I hadn't changed had my phone number listed under my maiden name, he would not have reached me by phone. He did mention that if he hadn't reached me, he was going to drive to Lansing and ask someone if my family still lived in Lansing.

Even though he had been involved in two long-term relationships, I was surprised that he had never married. Even though he lives in Dayton, Ohio, and me in Lansing, Michigan, we are still together. He still works but we do visit each other and we talk on the phone twice a day. I had vowed that I would never fall in love again, but God touched Herbie's and my heart and brought us back together again.