Story by Charlotte Bailey (BBO: stjforfun)

When I met Alan in 2012, bridge was already a big part of his life. I had no idea it would soon become a big part of mine, too.

Alan was a recent widower and had retired, so he had returned to playing bridge. He had played as a child with his parents and later in college. At first, he was hesitant to date me because I didn’t play bridge. But the date was successful, and we became a couple.

Two or three years later, I decided I should find out what this bridge was all about. I took a lot of lessons, but I never thought I would ever become a Life Master. Well, I did! Since we traveled to Regionals and Nationals, I had all the gold and red points I needed to qualify, but very little black and virtually no silver. Then, after earning another 250 masterpoints, I received my Bronze.

Because of the difference in our masterpoints, we didn’t play together. Alan is a Sapphire, while I am now just 35 points away from Silver.

I am very happy that, at our age, I’m 86 and Alan is 90, we have such an active bridge life together. We are constantly on the go, traveling by air and by water to play as much bridge as we can.

Bridge brought us together, and it has given us a wonderful life full of games, travel, and shared experiences. But after all these years, we still do not play together!