He first saw her behind the lunch counter. He grabbed some coffee and asked her for some sugar.
It sounds like the beginning of one of those love-at-first-sight stories. Except it isn’t.
Ron and Jessica had already met on a singles Web site—CatholicMatch.com, to be specific—and had been dating online for weeks. That’s not the catch though. This is: Jessica didn’t recognize him, as she was so focused on her job as hospital food service worker.
“He asked me for sugar for his coffee, and Ron said that I was so concentrated at my job that I didn’t even take time to glance at him, just gave him his sugar, and then I walked away to fulfill my other responsibilities. Funny, I know,” Jessica said.
Ron—who works as a home health care worker—knew she worked there. He had been working in the area and decided to drop by on a whim. Although he was curious whether he might catch a glimpse of her, he says he really was there to grab lunch. “I don’t think I pretended to be a customer because I was really a customer trying to get something to eat in the cafeteria,” he said.
Hey Jessica, we met last night
Later that night, he messaged Jessica on CatholicMatch.com to tell her he had met her at work without her realizing it.
“I was just ecstatic that night when I found out—via CatholicMatch chat—that it was him who asked me for sugar for his coffee,” Jessica said. “I just giggled at myself.”
Whatever else the story of their first meeting might say about Ron and Jessica, at the very least it reveals that the foundation for their relationship is deeper than whatever sparks might fly at a chance encounter.
Both had turned to CatholicMatch.com after other ways of searching for a spouse had failed them. Ron, now 42, had his last relationship end eight years ago. Jessica, now 34, had been looking for the “right one” for a long time. The couple—who lives in the Los Angeles county area—had also tried other dating sites before deciding to give CatholicMatch a shot.
I made the Sign of the Cross, and the rest is history
“One Sunday Mass, for some reason, I had the urge to pick up the small bulletin that ushers distribute after Mass which I don’t usually do. I happened to glance at the end page and there was an ad for CatholicMatch. I was kinda frustrated with the last site I was on but I said to myself, ‘I'll give it a try,’ made the Sign of the Cross, and everything else was history,” Ron said.
Jessica, 34, also turned to CatholicMatch after experiencing much frustration.
“I said to myself, I’m gonna try one more time and this will be the last. I hoped and prayed every night. Until one day, a guy—good looking and cute, I should say—messaged me privately and pleasant conversations started. The rest is history,” Jessica said.
Ron and Jessica were both drawn to each other by their shared commitment to their faith. “What attracted me to her was her deep faith in the Lord,” Ron said. He also noted that she has always been active in Church and exudes humility. Jessica also says Ron’s faith was attractive to her. Plus, she loved “his love of life itself” and the fact that he’s “just a down to earth guy."
After that chance meeting in a hospital cafeteria line, Ron and Jessica decided it was time to have a formal first date. They met at a mall, had dinner at a restaurant, and then went bowling. At this point, Ron already sensed he had met the right one for him. What clinched it was finding out they both belonged to chapters of “Singles for Christ” (she was in the West Chapter; he was in the South Chapter).
“Before all of this, I was asking God to give me a sign, and he gave it to me,” Ron said.
In early March 2015, on their three month anniversary, he proposed.
Atop a ferris wheel: time stood still
It was “bright sunny afternoon” in Santa Monica, Jessica recalls. The two got on a Ferris wheel. At the top, it suddenly stopped. Jessica didn’t know Ron had asked the operator to do that on purpose. He apparently didn’t know she had a fear of heights.
What they did know about each other mattered more.
Despite her fear of heights, Jessica says her love of Ron was stronger: “At the same time, I loved it, my heart was racing with exhilaration,” she said. “Then he popped the magic question, ‘will you be my wife and marry me?’ Of course, I said ‘yes.’ Then we lip-locked with a nice, subtle kiss and bear hugged each other, as if time stopped for both of us and cherished that moment.”
Eight months later, they married. Jessica shared their advice for newlyweds: “Mutual respect, learn to live and love each other’s weaknesses, support one another’s dreams and endeavors and above all, put God in the center of your relationship. And I tell you, if you do that, everything will be alright.”
To those who are frustrated in their search as they once were, Jessica says this: “For those who are still looking for the right one in CatholicMatch, ask your prospective partner online this question, ‘Why did you join CatholicMatch?’ and if their answer is to find that special someone to grow old in love and faith in the Lord, then cast the net and give that individual a chance.”
“That’s a first step, at least,” she concluded.
Especially for those who don’t believe in chance encounters.
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