When we met Bebe in 1998, she had been placing personal ads for several years and was thoroughly disappointed. (There was no online dating — Tinder, Match, OKCupid, etc. — back then!)

"I started to understand the lingo after a while," said Bebe. "'Not materialistic' means the guy has no money. 'Family values' means he is a right-wing Republican. A lot of guys say they're looking for a 21-year-old and describe themselves as 'mid-40s, but I really look like I'm 30.'"

She gave up on them for a while, and then started again, when she noticed an ad. "I read it and thought to myself, 'this is a guy who is upfront and knows what he wants and doesn't want.' I want to learn more."

After three weeks of talking, they met for tea on Sunday, Sept. 28, 1997. "He was gorgeous in person. I couldn't stop smiling. My face hurt from smiling by the end of the date (10 hours later). The next morning we talked on the phone. Later that morning, I received a bouquet of a dozen long-stemmed red roses. We've been dating ever since, and we moved in together July 25. My family loves him, and his family loves me. We share a lot of common interests, and we're very happy!"

Now, 18 years later, Bebe is back with an update. "I was 34, in graduate school and working full time back then. Doug was 32 and just finalizing his divorce after a six-year marriage when we had our first date. Everything was great...until it wasn't.

"While we were living together, I thought we were on track to eventually get married. Unbeknownst to me, after about a year of living together, he was feeling like he had missed out on something by not dating around before getting into a relationship with me. He met a woman at his health club and started seeing her secretly.

"One afternoon, I was in the apartment alone and fell asleep on the couch. I had a very odd dream: I was sleeping on the couch when he came home. I woke up, and he held a pillow above my head for me to reach up and grab hold of to pull myself up. Each time I reached up, though, he would pull the pillow away, higher and higher out of my reach. I then woke up. He came home shortly afterward, and I asked him if he was seeing someone else. He finally admitted he was.

"I moved out, and we broke up. I guess the dream was my subconscious telling me that he was holding his love out of my reach and pulling away from me when I was reaching out for it. Our breakup was not amicable, to say the least. For me, it was maddening. Several relationships of mine had ended because the guy cheated on me. I couldn't figure out why I was attracting these men. So, about a month after we broke up, I asked him if we could meet so that I could ask some questions and get some closure."

Next, Bebe and Doug take a three-hour walk. To be continued...

Have you been in "Tales From the Front"? If so, send your update.

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