Dad, how long did you wait on the beach?

D: All day. They took forever. But it wasn't like we were waiting specifically for them. We were on the beach; they just happened to eventually show up. Honestly, it was about three or four hours.

M: I didn't do it on purpose. I had to wait for my parents. We eventually got down to the beach and we talked to them all afternoon. We all made a date to go out that night.

D: We went out to the... Beach Club?

M: Beach Comber.

D: No. Beach Club.

M: Surf Bar.

D: Surf Club.

M: That was it.

I'm assuming the date went well?

D: For my friend it did. [Dad makes the "punching fist in the air" sign] 

M: Oh, stop!

D: No, it went well.

Did you kiss her?

D: Yeah, I think I did. 

M: At the end of the night.

And where did it end from there?

M: Well, it didn't end right away. My girlfriend and his friend had split from us. Her mother had a rule: "If you go out together, you come home together." So I had to wait for her on the porch until she got back. Your father waited with me.

D: I went home after they finally came back.

Did you make plans to see each other again?

M: Yes.

And it didn't matter that Mom was from North Jersey and you lived about sixty miles away?

M: Not really. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I mean, I gave him my phone number but who really can know what's going to happen? It could have been just a summer thing.
D: The distance didn't really bother me because my brother lived a town over from her. So if I went up to visit, I could crash at his house.

What was your first official date?

M: We went to the World's Fair in New York City. It was a week or two after Labor Day.

D: I went to pick her up. That was the first time I met your grandfather.

How'd that go?

[Mom laughs]

D: I drive all the way to her house. I knock on the door and your grandfather answers. He doesn't say anything. I say, "Hello, how are you? Is Frances here?" He looks at me and says, "Who are you?" I say, "I'm Tony. I'm here to take her out." This is all happening through the screen door. He says, "Aren't you the guy from Trenton?" I say that I am and he says, "What's the matter? Aren't there any girls to date where you come from?"

M: He knew who your dad was. He was just giving him a little bit of a hard time. My parents were a little strict.

How strict could they be? They let you go into New York City with a stranger from sixty miles away.

M: Well, I was nineteen at the time. I was considered an adult. Plus, it was the middle of the day.

Was it a good date?

M: Yeah, we had a good time. 

D: It was fun. I think it was because we were so enthralled with all the stuff going on at the fair. Kept things moving. 

M: I think we both knew we liked each other.

Were either of you skeptical about a long-distance relationship?

D: Not really. It wasn't that far. 

M: We kept in touch. We talked on the phone a lot. We wrote letters.

Dad! You wrote letters?

D: Nahhh.
M: Oh yes, you did! You did so.
D: Maybe a couple.

Do you have any of those letters?

M: No, I think I got rid of them.

You got rid of them? You have every greeting card you've ever gotten and you threw out letters from your future husband? I find that hard to believe.

M: I don't know if I still have them. Honest.

Okay, since we're being honest, I've got a confession: I found a box of those letters when I was younger. I read the first page of one of them — it was written by Mom — and I was bored to death. Never read them again.

M: Well, they weren't meant for you.

How long did you date before getting engaged?

M: A year.

Dad, did you ask grandpop first?

D: Yeah, through the screen door.

M: We discussed it and then he told my parents we wanted to get married. They loved him, and they were fine with it. We got engaged on my birthday in November. We were married the following October.

And how long have you been together?

M: It will be forty-five years this October.

D: It's funny what happens when you just don't want to go home.

Do your parents have a cool story about falling in love? Email submissions@nerve.com!