Quick Decision Makers

Marie Boyle and Robert Larose

The night we met in May of 2006, Massachusetts was in the middle of a flood crisis. The only reason we could get together was because we both knew routes that weren't flooded. We knew right away it was a matter of when, not if.

Robert was my sixth match and I was his third. After that first night, we saw each other two or three times a week and talked every day. We spent weekends at my place. When his lease was up, he told me he wanted to move in. I told him he wasn't moving in unless he was serious. We went on a vacation in Las Vegas three months later with another couple. While we were floating in the pool on a Friday, I asked Robert what he wanted to do this weekend. He said, "Let's get married."

I said, "Are you serious?"

We married that night at the Chapel of Love in Las Vegas. The wedding was hilarious. They told us we were the only sober couple there for the last month! We bought a package for $300 that included the dress and tux, flowers, a video, photographs and the minister. I wanted a blue and white wedding so Robert wore a blue cummerbund and tie and they sprayed the white roses with a metallic blue mist. Since I didn't have the right shoes, I decided to wear just my socks. Who knew there were broken beer bottles all over the floor and that I would cut my foot?

The next morning, I could hardly walk so we sat near the sliding glass window and Robert used peroxide and tweezers to remove the slivers of glass imbedded in my foot. It didn't stop us one bit. As soon as the glass was out, we jumped right into the pool.

The only others who knew about the wedding were the couple who came with us. I couldn't reach my mother for five long days because her cell wasn't working and they didn't have a land line in their Maine home. We had a wedding celebration for 75 people at Good Harbour Gloucester, Mass., and showed the video. Everyone was laughing hysterically due to the voice of the minister.

We live in my house in North Reading near the woods. He kids me that I married him because he could fix things since he is a certified mechanic. I counter back that he married me because I had a house. Since he was a catcher and switch-hitter for the Red Sox farm team, his favorite thing to do is stay home and watch baseball on TV, especially the Red Sox. We also enjoy home improvement shows. But what I really like best is just sitting next to him and cuddling.