A swish of a pink dress, a common interest, a chance meeting after several years -- these are a few memories that came to mind when two couples talked about how they met and fell in love. Here are the stories of two brothers that live next to each other in rural Blooming Prairie; each of their stories and how they met their mates are entirely different.

These two stories of romance will show that passion runs deep out on the prairie.

Daryl Peterson is a quadriplegic. He was in a car accident 27 years ago and this has kept him confined to a wheel chair. He needs help dressing, getting ready for bed and doing daily activities. Eleven years ago his long time personal attendant took a maternity leave. Rae Ann Miner worked for Sacred Heart in Austin and she was hired as a temporary replacement.

Daryl remembers the first time he saw Rae Ann, "She was cute. She had on a green shirt and green plaid pants."

Rae Ann recalled her first memory of Daryl, "He was tall, had dark hair and blue eyes. I thought he was an attractive man."

The two realized quickly that they had a lot in common. They had the same interests, both having grown up on farms. They both loved living out in the country, watching the crops grow and the seasons change, and they both were looking for someone to share their lives with.

"We also have the same thoughts on politics in that we are yellow dog Democrats," laughed Rae Ann. "We both shared a good bond with our families and we had a comfort level with each other. Daryl was slow to ask me out so I thought he had a girlfriend."

On the Fourth of July 1990, Daryl spent the day at the Blooming Prairie festivities. Rae Ann came out to work her night shift and he asked her if she was seeing someone. This was the night they realized how they felt about each other. He asked her out on a date right away.

Rae Ann said, "Our first date was scheduled for 5 p.m. I wanted to look really nice. I started to get ready at 1 p.m. I was all ready at 3 p.m. I sat in a chair for two hours waiting for him to come and pick me up."

Daryl said, "She was dressed in a red dress with white flowers. We saw Pretty Woman; it was our first movie together. I won $25 on a scratch ticket that night and it hasn't happened since."

Labor Day weekend, 1990 Daryl asked Rae Ann to marry him. They were married at Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church on June 29, 1991. They had a large wedding with all their extended families. Daryl is from a family of seven siblings and Rae Ann has five siblings. There were many aunts and uncles and neighbors invited to their wedding. They said that everyone was very happy for them.

"One goal we had was to have children. In 1992 we went to the infertility clinic in Rochester. Our first child, Sally, was born in 1998. We had twins, Amy and Clint, in 2000. Our lives together are full," Rae Ann said.

A 37-year wait

Daryl's brother, Marvin Peterson's story is one that spans over 30 years.

"Marv has an incredible memory for details and dates, it's almost spooky," said his wife, Connie. "He said he remembered the first time he saw me. I had just moved to Blooming Prairie and he was checking out the new girl in school."

Marv recalled, "She wore a pink dress that went swish, swish, swish when she walked."

He remembers their first date. Friends had set up a blind date and they doubled with them. They went to a football game and had burgers afterward at the local hangout, Martha's Supper Club.

Connie jokingly snatched his class ring as he twirled it on the booth table. Pete, (Marv's nickname in high school) said he didn't mind a bit when teased about going steady with Connie.

Connie said, "Marv was always so sweet, so gentle, so dependable, so nice and so sure about us. I remember one night we had a date and it was getting late -- and he was never late. A car pulled up and he came to the door to 'apologize' He'd have to make it another night. He had just been in a car accident and was bleeding, but he made the doctor stop on the way to the hospital so he could let me know why he was late."

This was just one of many times that Marv would put Connie before himself. Connie said that, "no matter what he was also there for me, at least when I would let him be, there were times I was intent on pushing him away. Actually the truth is I was young, troubled, without much self esteem and I wasn't capable of appreciating him."

Marv recalled,

"I remember when we were on the way to a movie and I said, 'You can run away, change your name, dye your hair, and maybe just maybe you'll be safe from me.' These are lines from the movie that we were about to see, 'The Long Hot Summer.'"

Connie laughed, "He teased me then and still does because the irony is -- I moved to Georgia, changed my name to Thomas in memory of my son, Michael Thomas, went from brunette to blond, and obviously he found me anyway."

The two believe something bigger than either of them had something to do with bringing them together after 37 years. Their paths crossed only three times in those 37 years. Once shortly after Marv returned from the Army, Connie had a flat tire right in front of his farm. He changed it for her. Another time they saw each other at a local wedding dance.

"The most meaningful connection was when he came with a friend of his to my mom's to pay condolences after my son, Michael was killed in an army plane crash on December 1985," Connie said. "I was so touched and I might very well have latched on to him then if he hadn't been married. My mother rubbed it in about having let him get away in the first place. She always felt that we should be together."

Sixteen years later as fate would have it, these two finally came together.

"This is the part that I don't think either of us can explain," Connie said.

Even though she felt Marv was the man from her past that she trusted and cared about the most, she couldn't envision being with him. She felt that she had become a big city gal while living in Atlanta. She knew that Marv was a farmer to the core.

"I had remained single since my divorce in 1980. Putting it mildly I'd say I was probably a bit set in my ways and clear that I would rather remain single than be in a bad relationship. At the same time I was praying about my heart's desire for a partner that I truly trusted, could be myself with, and share love and life with," Connie said.

Marvin said "I began having a reoccurring dream and Connie was in it. I felt I had to get to her. I rarely saw any of Connie's family, I knew her Mom had passed away, but I'd lost track of her brothers and sisters. Then one day, out of the blue, I stopped for gas at a store I'd never normally stopped at. I saw Connie's sister, Vicki, but her face looked just like Jan's, Connie's mother. Words came out of her mouth that gave me the encouragement I needed to try to find Connie and see what might happen."

It took a while, but Marv tracked Connie down. He became an amateur sleuth. A nursing home gave out confidential information, someone leaked an unlisted phone number, and a hunt through old newspapers and obituaries gave him leads to more recent names and locations.

"If his determination was being tested -- it sure impressed me" Connie said. "From the very first phone conversation it was like talking to my oldest and dearest friend."

When they did finally meet in Minneapolis, Marv said, " I'd have married her at the airport."

Connie agreed that they knew almost instantly that they would be together.

She said, "I believe that we were brought together for a purpose and a reason. It's about learning and loving with everyday being given a chance to begin again. Unlike Sleepless in Seattle, our story doesn't end holding hands and walking off into the horizon. Thank heavens this is 'Only the Beginning,' our wedding song."

Marv added, "'Dreams Do come True,' our other wedding song."

Sheila Donnelly can be reached at 434-2233 or by e-mail at :mailto:newsroom@austindailyherald.com