Vera met Peter in school but married someone else. Years later, after divorcing due to falling for a coworker, she reached out to Peter for help. When they met again, Peter had matured and consoled Vera. After a few coffee dates, Vera fell in love with Peter, who treated her well. They married in Las Vegas in 2009 and remain happily married.

1. Lost and Found
Vera was in school when she first met Peter.
She didn't find him very handsome, but he had a cute boyish look about himkind of like
a kid in a candy store - and he sort of was.
It was during her post-secondary educationwhen Vera married. Sure, Peter still had a
thing for her at the time, but he hit on all the ladies. He thought he was a bit of a Don Juan.
Vera had been in programming class for a while when Peter came and seated himself
next to her.
He had big plans - go through school with a blaze and a smile and then move to
Germany. Programmers were well paid in Germany. It would be fun to move to Europe.
Soon, Vera helped introduce Peter to one of the new girls. She was very cute with curly
brown hair, tan skin, and perfect teeth. She even had dimples the kind everybody loves. Vera
was cheering for Peter. He was a good friend.
One day, he was taking prep tests next to Vera and started sighing loudly.
He just couldn't figure it out.
They were asking for the value of x, and the answer was four. For some reason Peter
wanted to say three. Finally, he turned to Verawith frustration in his eyes and nostrils flaring.
She looked at his short dirty blond hair and then flashed a big smile.
Vera was pretty good at programming. In fact, she was on track to get a GPA of 98%.
She took a look at the testGood, she thought to herself. She had taken this test before.
She carefully read the question and then started giggling. The program code was supposed to
produce an answer to a math question.
“You are looking at the wrong variable,” Vera said. “They are not asking for the answer.
They are asking for the value of x once the program is done running.”
The variable x was used to help with the calculation. Sufficed to say it was a trick
question.
Vera ended up leaving school with a GPA of 97% and would go on to be a programmer
at a company making medical scanning devices.
She told Peter about the opportunity but he retorted, “You’re starting out at a wage I
wouldn’t even get out of bed for.”Peter had a good paying job and was in school just so he
could switch jobs. But who would have known he would eventually enjoy fixing elevators for a
living.
It’s funny where life leads us.

2. As for Vera, she was happy in her new job.
Programmers are fun to work with, butsadly, they rarely get to work in teams at bigger
companies. She would learn this the hard way.
Soon,little things started working against her. She was put on a programming language
she had not been trained in.
No problem she thought. It is all just semantics anyway, right?
It wasn't.
She started asking for help butshe couldn't get it going.
Then her boss got news of this. Instead of providing support, he prohibited others from
helping her.
Life suddenly turned cold.
It was cold at home too.
Everything she did with her husband was dictated by him. It was an egotistical kind of
love.
Vera had no real friends.
Girlfriends were a concept that had never worked out for her. Maybe because she was
not so much into shoes and lipstick as other girls were. She just found it easier to work with
men. Perhaps that was why she became a programmer.
In truth, she somehow thought that computers were easier to understand than people.
Computers had rules. If you did something wrong, the computer would spit out an error. But it
would always be willing to let you try again without mocking you.
Vera became detached.
Even worse, she fell in love with somebody else atwork.
There was something about the stubby beard and deep dark voice of Nathan that made
her shiver. She had a dream about him. It seemed real, too real.
She spent the next few months avoiding Nathan as much as possible.
Vera felt bad. She did not want this. Her husband was good man wasn't he? Besides,
Nathan was already in a relationship.
Eventually, the situation became too unbearablefor Vera and she decided she had to
switch jobs. And when she confessed to her husbandabout the situation, he didn’t share a similar
level of understanding.
Their marriage suffered.
They tried therapy but it was too little, too late.

3. Vera moved out.
She was sad.
She felt she had ruined everything she held dear.
Was it a midlife crisis?
Maybe.
She just knew she had to stop dreaming about Nathan. He was not for her. He was too
young.
Vera emailed the only person she could talk to, Peter.
Hopefully he could talk to her; talk some sense into her. He was always a good friend
that way.
Vera had been struggling with the idea of whether or not to move back with her mother
in Victoria. After all, Victoria was a beautiful and peaceful place where she could start over.
He didn’t respond so she emailed him again.
Peter eventually did respond and agree to meet for a cup of coffee. Thank God, Vera
thought.
When she saw him again, a minor chock rocked her. Wow, she thought to herself. Peter
had matured. He did not look anything like he did in school. He looked older and more
sophisticated.
They talked.
Vera listened intently while Peter consoled her. But one thing for certain was that
Peterstill had a flame for Vera. However, she would need a few more coffee dates before should
could reciprocate.
She got them.
She left a boy and found a man - a charming, boyish man who wanted nothing but the
best for them both - one that would ask for her opinion before deciding what to do.
She finally fell in love again.
It was love the way it was meant to be.
Vera and Peter married in Las Vegas in 2009 with their best friends present.
And they are still happily marriedever after.
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