Alfonso and Melissa:  Love at Second Sight

 

She met Alfonso on a bus in Honduras. Twice.  Not your usual romantic meeting place, but you can't choose where cupid will throw his arrows. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer working in a remote mountain village in the country.  She had been in service about a year and she wasn't reallly looking for a relationship.  One day, she was exhausted and returning home by bus from an errand in a nearby city.  The bus was completely packed and she had to stand in the aisle way.  A young man noted how tired she looked and offered his seat.  She accepted and sat quietly most of the trip.  We started talking few minutes before my stop.  In the short time that she chatted with him, she was immediately impressed.  He was handsome, smart, and funny.  She was so struck by him, that she wanted to introduce him to her fellow Peace Corps site mate, Liz. 

 

Time passed, and she hadn't seen him again.  She thought about him now and then, and told Liz that if she ever ran into him again, she would get his phone number.  However, she didn't even know his name and doubted that she would see him again.  Then at one point, about two months later, she was in the capital city for the weekend.  She was on the bus leaving the city for the long trip back to my small village.  As the bus was stopping at the last stop before leaving the city, who got on the bus?  None other than that same guy!  He recognized me instantly, and although the bus was almost empty, sat down right beside me. 

 

At first she was a little weary.  She didn't really feel like making small talk for the four-hour long trip.  But we started talking, and actually had a really great conversation.  He was an engineering student at the university in the capital.  He went home by bus on the weekends to visit his family who lived fairly close to my site.  We had several common friends and several common interests.  About two hours into the trip, she realized that she was starting to like him.  By the time she got off the bus at my stop, she had fallen for him.  

 

Alfonso and she met up several different times, each time better than the previous. They dated for almost two years (yep, she was in the Peace Corps that long) and decided to get married.  They have been fortunate enough to have not only one wedding but two.  They had one wedding in Honduras for his friends and family.  Coming back to the United States, they had a more formal wedding for her friends and family.  That is how we got involved with the Cedars. We had such a wonderful wedding.  Everything was so beautiful and carefully planned by them.  They took care of everything minor detail.  The wedding was complete with Chilean cantante , to give a the wedding a latin flair.  It was such a special memory for Alfonso and her. It was a second wedding for those who found love at second sight.