As the old saying goes, “love happens when you least expect it.” You may not realize that your greatest sorrow could one day be the beginning of your beautiful love story.
That’s the thing about love. It works in mysterious ways. It’s inexplicable, but it requires patience and trust in timing. Somehow, love that is meant to be will always find a way, even if it takes 50 years for it to happen.
This was the case for Janice and Prentiss. When they were forced to part ways and break off their engagement in college, they thought they were lost to each other forever.
The last thing they expected was for destiny to bring them back together 50 years later.
They started as college sweethearts about fifty years ago. Janice Rude was a sophomore, and Prentiss Willson was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
They remember the first time they saw each other as if it were yesterday. It was an early morning in the campus cafeteria.
Although they felt an immediate attraction to each other, they probably didn’t think much would come of it when they first met.
Prentiss assumed there was no way he could ever have a chance with a girl like her, saying, “She was a year ahead of me and so beautiful.” However, he couldn’t help but feel a pull towards her, as if they were somehow meant to be.
To his surprise, it turned out he had also made a strong impression on Janice. She noticed he hadn’t shown up for the university’s pre-Thanksgiving dinner and sent someone to look for him.
She didn’t give up easily on her search. Janice managed to find out where his family lived and traveled 150 miles to Santa Maria on Thanksgiving Day to knock on his door.
Although his mother was initially surprised, she quickly saw their connection and welcomed her in.
Decades after the couple bid farewell, they finally decided to follow their mothers’ instincts and meet for lunch. They never looked back.
They knew they had always been meant for each other, even if it took a lifetime to come back to one another. When they reunited, they fell in love all over again.
At 69 years old, the couple finally set a date for their wedding. They even used their old engagement announcement as the invitation.
Fifty years after they first got engaged, they finally got married, and they couldn’t have looked happier.
