35 www. ReadMPM. com | www.MountPl easantMagaz i ne. com | www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com and it told me there were no matches for me. So, I unchecked a few, and that’s when I found John.” They exchanged a few emails, and John suggested their first date should be the circus. Movies are too quiet; concerts are too loud. At the circus, you can talk without annoying neighbors. He proposed the idea to Debbie, then made an almost-fatal mistake. “I said, ‘This would be great for an article I’m writing,’” he said. “And she said no.” With Debbie unwilling to be his guinea pig, John took another girl to the circus and wrote the article. After Debbie read it, and realized John wasn’t writing caricatures of the women he met, she gave him a shot. Their official first date was at a place where John’s best friend tended bar. A girlfriend of Debbie’s stayed home by the phone that night in case John turned out to be an ax murderer. No one back then knew what would happen when you met an online love interest IRL. The friends on standby would later be a part of John and Debbie’s wedding. The Chitwoods have now been married for over 20 years. Their daughter is a freshman at the University of South Carolina. It ended up being a match made in earlyinternet Heaven. THE PICKUP LINE SO BAD IT WORKED When Mark walked into the Rusty Bull brewery in North Charleston a few years ago, Abbie didn’t really think much of it. He ordered a drink. “I asked if he had a tab already open,” she said. He did. She asked what name it was under. His response? “Love”—which is his last name. We can all forgive Abbie for being a little incredulous. “I looked at him, like are you for real,” said Abbie. “And then he said, ‘Do you know anyone looking for a good last name?’ I’m just so embarrassed that it worked on me. It’s such a cheesy line.” The two started talking and didn’t stop. “I boldly— and weirdly—told him my schedule for the rest of that weekend, and he kept showing up,” Abbie said. An environmental scientist, Mark lived in central Pennsylvania, a 10-hour drive away. He was only in town for work, for a few months at most. They were both in their 20s with great families, friends, church communities and jobs. Neither wanted to move. Besides, it was way too early to get that serious, right? Or was it? The hours of talking at the Rusty Bull set a foundation for a relationship that would deepen and grow quickly. Within a few short weeks, Mark met Abbie’s family at her sister’s wedding. Abbie hadn’t planned to bring him—it was just too soon—but her sisters wouldn’t take no for an answer. “There were four of them,” said Abbie. “They circled me in my parents’ dining room, asking me why he wasn’t coming.” Mark didn’t have clothes for a wedding, but made it work. “I found a polo,” he said. It was awkward, but also great. Mark moved back to Pennsylvania in April, returning to feature John and Debbi e Ch i twood.
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