FROM BROWS TO VOWS
— a love story —
eye·brow
/ˈīˌbrou/
noun
1. the strip of hair growing on the ridge above a person's eye socket
2. an anatomical accent that, if neglected, may resemble a Sub-Saharan tumbleweed swaying to and fro across the landscape of one's face
3. the most unlikely genesis for an unapologetically cheesy love story
Victor is a dependable guy. He's the kind of person you want around in perilous situations where attention to detail is paramount. Mark breathed a sigh of relief when he learned he'd be deploying with this squared away sailor.
Preeti is a talented, confident girl. She says what's on her mind, and the artistry of her eyebrow threading would make even Picasso proud. Laura was cautiously optimistic by this virtuoso's foray into matchmaking, discovering there was a guy Preeti wanted her to meet.
Maria is a sweet, proud mommy. She creates meticulously shaped eyebrows, and customers love her contagiously fun-loving personality. It takes a genuine spirit like Maria's to envision such a once-in-a-lifetime blind date like the one on December 1st, 2013.
The barber shop was what you might expect from a military base in the Middle East: a nondescript wooden shack that provided temporary relief from the blistering sun. What wasn't expected was the sight of Victor walking out the front door. After all, he kept his head shaved clean right up to the scalp. What was he doing there?
"Hey man, did you get a haircut?" Mark asked.
"No, I got cleaned up." Victor replied.
"You what?"
"I got cleaned up," running his fingers along his eyebrows. "They do that eyebrow threading there."
And there it was. Mark's introduction to what one theory suggests began in India over 6000 years ago. Ironically, that's almost the exact age difference between Laura and Mark.
Eyebrow Beauty in Brea, California, is convenient for Laura. It's close to her work and Maria, Preeti and the rest of the team are simply delightful to visit. Not sure what the guy-to-girl customer ratio is, but it's unlikely you'll get set up on a date through there... unless the guy has unruly brows worthy of weed whacking or something.
When Mark returned from that deployment, he made his way over to the Mother's Market that had just opened, most likely to get a gallon of organic gelato, but that's neither here nor there. What do you suppose is right next door to Mother's Market? Yep, Eyebrow Beauty. You see where this is going, right?
"Hey, this looks like one of those places that does what Victor had done," Mark thought as he parked. "If threading is cool enough for him, I'll give it a shot." That awesome display of critical thinking skills would change the course of history. Okay, that's a bit dramatic but it would lead to a serendipitous Sunday set-up down the road. Wow, how's that for an alliteration?
Although they hadn't met yet, Laura and Mark became good friends with the girls at Eyebrow Beauty over the next couple of years. Maria would tease Mark about finding a customer to set him up with, and Preeti was busy keeping her eyes peeled for Laura. In this photo of Mark before his first appointment, you can tell the girls had their work cut out for them.
Then on November 25th, 2013, Mark was about to leave Eyebrow Beauty when Maria said to Preeti, "Oh wait! What about that one girl?"
"Which one?" replied Preeti.
"You know, she's long, like really long," referencing how tall Laura is and how, when she sits in the threading chair, her legs extend into the waiting area, around the cash register and back into the restroom.
"Oh yeah... Laura!" exclaimed Preeti.
Boom. There it was. The fire had been lit.
"Hi Laura. This is Mark. Maria made two things very clear: (1) She wants full credit for setting us up, and (2) I should text you because it would be creepy for a stranger to call."
"Hi Mark! I don't know, Preeti said she gets the credit too... and now we're not strangers anymore."
There they are... the text messages that started it all and brought you to this website. Crazy, right?
The couple who intentionally went after the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest blind date ate four meals together and watched the movie Chicken Little over the course of 30 hours and 18 minutes. However, on December 1st, 2013, it took only seven hours for Laura and Mark to meet at Islands, enjoy a Longboard and spinach dip, head to Diamonds where she destroyed him in five games of pool, and walk over to TGI Fridays for coffee. Yes, he held her hand as they crossed the street. Lots of traffic at the Brea Mall at one o'clock in the morning. Can't be too careful.
On their fifth date, Laura and Mark headed over to It's A Grind in Temecula. Mark took a sip of his iced black coffee and said, "I don't want to see anyone else... are you going to finish that scone?" Okay, there was no scone and he wasn't flippant about it at all. As a matter of fact, he was terrified.
Although Laura stopped mid-sip of her almond milk latte something-or-other and made sure she heard him correctly, she felt the same. From that point on, It's A Grind in Temecula has become known as the place where they DTR'd... or Defined The Relationship. Whenever they return and visit with the owner, Patrick, you can almost smell the cheesiness in the air as they sit in the same chairs they did on date five and giggle like fourth graders. Good grief...
If you're still reading this and you actually remember the photo at the top of this page, you may recall the patriotic-themed shirts they were wearing. That was taken moments after Mark proposed to Laura on July 4th, 2016, at Scout Lake in Greendale. Yes, July 4th is Captain America's birthday. Yes, Mark confessed to Laura within the first 30 minutes of their first date that he had recently purchased a $400 Captain America statue. At that point, she could've gone to the bathroom and just "accidentally" forgotten to return to the booth. As it turns out, Laura stayed and that's awesome because now we all get to meet up this summer and celebrate the start of their lives together. From massive brows to wedding vows... you can't make this stuff up. Gotta love it! See you in July.
- S. Marie, April 2017