A real life fairy-tale ending
Their love story – as kids
Jeremy and Rachael met 21 years ago when Rachael moved to Landsborough for her first year of high school. They first saw each other at ‘The Hero Stand’. (This is where they would catch the bus to and from Caloundra High School and also the local meeting place/hang out).
Jeremy thought Rachael was too pretty for someone like him (who was up to no good most of the time).
Rachael loved sitting at the hero stand watching Jeremy walk across the grass with his long dark hair sticking out from under his hat, she always thought he had gorgeous mysterious eyes and a cheeky Cheshire Cat grin.
The young people kept bumping into each other and eventually they started visiting each other and would spend hours sitting in their bedrooms (usually his), talking about deeper things than you would expect from most teenagers. Jeremy read to Rachael and they would share books like ‘The Celestine Prophecy ’. Rachael felt she saw a side of Jeremy that was hidden to the outside world and was intrigued and impressed by both his intelligence and spirituality.
Rachael moved from Landsborough back to Caloundra and the young couple started to date, though it was a lot harder to see each other. Jeremy visited Rachael and when he didn’t, Rachael raced home every day after school to call his house phone in the hope of catching him. He was a bit of an errant kid and usually hadn’t been seen in days, so Rach would just chat with his Mum. On weekends Rachael would catch the school bus back to Landsborough hoping to find him somewhere around town, or they would meet up at a party.
The breakup
Eventually Jeremy broke up with Rachael: He thought she was too good for him and knew she deserved to be treated better. He didn’t really want to break up with her, and it was hard on everyone. Rachael’s heart broke and she felt like she wasn’t good enough. Jeremy knew she felt like this and it niggled his conscience from that moment.
As a young adult, Rachael moved away to Brisbane but often drove back to the coast and always detoured through Landsborough, the Hero Stand, and past Jeremy’s family home to reminisce, and in the hope that she might catch sight of him. She never did. All she had were the memories of those eyes and that Cheshire smile.
Years later, Jeremy decided to find Rachael to apologise to her, and get closure.
That awkward phone call
By this time Rachael was married with 2 children and when Jeremy called, Rachael was closed off and distant (her husband sat right beside her) and the conversation was unnatural. Of course, Jeremy remembered a different girl and questioned if he’d even spoken to the same girl – and he still didn’t have closure.
Hey, do you remember me?
From time to time Jeremy searched for Rachael on social media to no avail. Years passed, and two more babies later, Rachael popped up on Facebook with her old last name (she had divorced). Jeremy found her and messaged her with “Hey, do you remember me?”… of course she did. She’d never forgotten him.
The pair finally became the couple they were destined to be, and four years later, I married them in a stunning ceremony at one of my favourite Sunshine Coast wedding venues, The Chapel, Montville.
Jeremy still thinks Rachael’s too good for him, but he says, “I lost her once, I won’t lose her again.”
And they lived happily ever after!
