By Pamela Brown
Sarah and Gal: From Ashes to Happily Ever After
Sometimes it takes a tragic event and a year’s time for love to blossom. In 2004, after a house fire destroyed everything except the clothes on her back, lifelong Chappaqua resident Sarah David never imagined it would lead her to her future husband, Gal. Flash forward one year to 2005 when the family home was being re-built and Gal provided an estimate for garage doors. “When I first saw Gal, I was immediately attracted, but we were both there to do business.
Being professional, he gave me a pamphlet with his cell number and said to feel free to call him with any questions. I didn’t think anything of it at that moment,” said Sarah, who, along with her mother, Arlene and sister, Lily, is an Independent Consultant with Arbonne International; they own their own business with the Health and Wellness company. Sarah is also the store manager of ROCKS by Jolie B. Ray in Armonk.
Throughout that year, every time Sarah saw Gal at the house they flirted but it never went further. Feeling she had to take a chance, she typed a text message asking him out but never sent it, saving it a year. “I kept thinking, if I don’t try, I’ll always wonder what could’ve happened.” One morning a saavy business owner in town grabbed her phone and hit ‘send.’ Twenty-minutes later, Sarah saw Gal called and left a message saying he’d love to go out!
Sarah and Gal’s love story is special because misfortune brought them something wonderful. Gal appreciates Sarah’s warmth, kindness, sensitivity, and dedication to him, work, and family. Sarah appreciates Gal’s gentle touch, his support, his strength, his laugh, smile, his words of wisdom, and the light from within that grabbed her the moment they met.
Alissa and Darryl: A Match Made for Letter Writing
Opposite outlooks on life add up to a successful marriage for Alissa and Darryl Harvey whose unique personalities perfectly balance each other. “D is totally laid-back, relaxed and conservative in his decision making, and ever practical.
“I’m completely impulsive! He reminds me to stop and think while I bring out his adventurous side,” said Alissa.
The couple met via Match.com in 2005 and married in 2008. “Though Darryl’s laidback nature can often mean I’m waiting around for him, his steadfast patience is his most valuable quality. He patiently supports my every endeavor, no matter how hare-brained.”
Alissa may have used a technological tool to meet a mate, yet owns The King’s Scribe on lower King Street in Chappaqua, a stationery store filled with greeting cards, custom invitations and design, and a fun selection of fabulous gifts. “Although I appreciate technology, I wanted a small part in reviving a dying art. There’s a nostalgic quality to handwritten correspondence that’s irreplaceable with a text message or email,” she said. “I want to help people stay connected to the tactile, sentimental quality of words on paper. The life of a letter is a bit of a love story itself.”
Alissa and Darryl’s love story boils down to one of cherished moments spent together. “We work really hard during the week and love to indulge on the weekends. We just got a new puppy in September which has opened a whole new chapter for us,” said Alissa. Their favorite activity is taking her out on long hikes. “It’s important for us to unplug and recharge after a week at our crazy jobs. It would be easy for both of us to work through the weekends, but we make the best of our downtime as often as we can. We lead a pretty charmed life together.”
Lauren and Rob: Second Time Around Rocks!
Lauren and Rob are proof that love can be even better the second time around. “I never lost faith I’d find true love again. I’ve had many life experiences and knew I needed someone who more fits who I am now,” said Lauren Kraft-Rothberg, a 22-year Chappaqua resident and divorced mother of four. Knowing her fiancé, Rob Greene, since she was16, Lauren’s intuition alerted her he was the love of her life.
Rob’s first cousin, Amy, was Lauren’s best friend and the three of them did everything together while attending Livingston High School. “Rob always really liked me but I always had boyfriends, all through high school,” said Lauren. Busy attending college, they lost contact, but three years later when she and her dad were commuting to New York City, she ran into Rob on the train platform.
Thereafter, the three of them commuted together until she moved to the city six months later. Again, the fated couple lost touch for over 30 years. During that time Lauren worked on Wall Street, and is now a manager of the Oasis Day Spa in Dobbs Ferry.
Last March, Jill Grayson, a fellow high school friend who also lives in Chappaqua, convinced Lauren to attend a class reunion. “I wasn’t at a point in life where I had any interest in recapping the ‘good ole days.’ Little did I know, 50 miles away, Rob was in the same situation. A friend forced him into going as well.” At the reunion, she and Rob spent the night talking and laughing and speaking every day from that day on. “Rob and I believe we were put in that room for a reason,” she said. “I’ve never been happier. He’s the perfect person for me and a truly wonderful human being.”
Pamela Brown is a former English professor, prolific freelance writer, and author of Faithful Love, a romance-adventure novel. She has a 17-year-old daughter, Alexis, and they live in Connecticut. Although divorced and single, Pamela is a hopeless romantic who still believes her knight in shining armor is still out there looking for her and soon will make all her dreams come true.
