Today MG treated me out to a celebratory lunch at the Refectory. I ordered rock shrimp tacos for the main dish and doughnuts for dessert. They were truly delicious!
The best part of meeting MG today, besides being able to catch up, I got to hear her love story. She met R at the Phillies game. She and her friends got a standing ticket for a match that was super crowded because the Phillies just won the World Series the year before. When the Phillies score big, everyone was cheering and the whole stadium went into chaos. She then was so happy that she turned to a random guy and asked “did you see that?” Before he even answered her question, she asked him another question: “Hey, did you go to Villanova?” because she was surprised at the coincidence that he was wearing a Villanova shirt. They then started chatting for a while. Turn out, R has a seating ticket and he was late, but while he was trying to make his way over to his seat, he had to stop because of this event. He was bringing his son to the game with him. So this event was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. If M never went to the game and R never stopped at that exact place, they would never have met.
But what was more incredible is their back story. Many years back then, R got married to his ex-wife and got 3 kids – 2 guys and 1 girl. Sadly, his wife was addicted to alcohol. She went to rehab again and again, and no matter how much intervention and help she received, she still could not get out of it. So R had to make a tough decision and split up with her. Since then, he was raising the kids all by himself. By the time he met MG, the kids were already teenagers. They welcomed her with open arms and loved her dearly. The ex-wife also respects her and still supports them as much as she could. MG and R got married shortly after. MG was a 45-year-old bride. And… the rest is history.
The way MG talked about her husband and his kids was very beautiful. She gave him so many compliments that I could not see him differently than how she described him to me. She also shared with me that the kids text her often to update her about their lives. She is so proud of them. Hearing her story, I simply feel happy for MG that she found the love of her life at the most unexpected time in her life. I hope they stay together for a long time so she can tell me even more incredible moments of their love.
Trang "Tee" Nguyen 