What started as a first date 20 years ago became an annual tradition for a Calvert couple who return to North Beach every year to recreate when they first met and ice cream sparked their romance.
Kevin Clark, 68, and Mary Clark, 71, of Sunderland met 20 years ago on July 17, 2004, on the North Beach boardwalk. They were both divorced at the time, and they connected online through eHarmony.
Unbeknownst to Kevin, it was Mary’s neighbor who had set up her profile on eHarmony and who was the one trying to communicate with him. Her neighbor had decided it was time for Mary to put herself out there, according to the Clarks.
Kevin had gotten started on the dating service Match, but because of a promotion going on, he was able to see some profiles from eHarmony, including Mary’s. She had messaged him and he had tried twice to respond, but it was not going through.
“I could see a picture about the size of a postage stamp of her in a blue dress … I’m severely colorblind so blue happens to be one of those colors I see,” Kevin said. “So I said to myself, ‘Alright, one more time, if it doesn’t work it’s not meant to be.’”
His message went right through and Mary’s neighbor responded and gave him two phone numbers with a message that said she would love to meet him.
“But that wasn’t me,” Mary said.
Kevin and Mary did not officially communicate with each other until a phone call right before their first date, every instance before that was Kevin and the neighbor.
The two decided to meet at the North Beach boardwalk. They met by the clock and sat and talked for a bit before Kevin Clark proposed they go get ice cream at the Dairy Freeze close by.
When they were in line for ice cream, Mary held some money in her hand and said, “I have my own money, I’ll buy mine.” However, Kevin said he was a little old fashioned and asked his date if he could pay.
“I said, ‘Why don’t I make you a deal? Next year you can buy,’” he said.
It had not even been 10 minutes since they met. After that, Kevin bought the ice cream every even year and Mary bought on the odd-numbered years.
“It’s been the best 20 years of my life,” the husband said.
That next day, Mary invited her new friend to a cookout at her neighbor’s house, the same neighbor who had been messaging Kevin before their first date.
“We sat there at that cookout and it felt like we’d known each other a decade,” Mary said. “Everything fell into place.”
They have never missed a year, but they have changed their ice cream location. Now, they go to Cold Penguin Ice Cream on Bay Avenue, which is closer to the boardwalk and a short distance from the clock.
If the shop has it, Mary will order butter pecan ice cream and Kevin will get chocolate chip, despite their jokes about ordering the largest sundae on the menu when it is the other spouse’s turn to pay.
“Little things like that mean a lot to us,” Mary said.
The couple has now been married for 19 years, and between all of the kids they had before meeting each other, they share 10 grandchildren.
Most Popular
Comments / 0