Fate Works in Marvelous & Mysterious Ways

It all started with a chance encounter. 

 

Debbie Lewis wasn’t really in the mood for a party. It was a Saturday evening that could’ve been a relaxing night in. However, she got out of bed, fixed her hair, and made the 45-minute drive over to Mansfield to celebrate a friend, so she took 3 shots of Tequila Rose and walked into the buzzing living room. Her eyes panned around the space, and she was met with many familiar faces but none she had a desire to stop and talk to just yet. Eventually, her eyes locked with a set of familiar eyes all the way across the room and both brightened. 

 

Then, she heard the words that would change her life. 

 

“There’s my friend, Debbie Lewis!”

 

Melissa Pitillo also didn’t really want to be at the party. She was in a toxic, long-distance relationship and was living alone at the time, so she was not particularly in a party mood. However, while she didn’t necessarily want to be at the gathering, she was really struggling with feelings of loneliness and isolation, and she knew she needed to be around people. That led her to this house party and this moment. 

 

She was standing alone in the living room in her Guess jeans and crisp white shirt when she saw Debbie and immediately called out to her. As their eyes met, everything faded away — every loud voice, every consuming worry, every negative thought. Everything that weighed heavily on her soul lifted, and everybody else seemed to disappear until it was just Debbie and Melissa looking at each other with bright eyes and warm smiles. To this day, Melissa can’t really explain it, but looking at Debbie, she just felt safe. 

 

Everybody has moments in their life that define them. Most of the time, they are choices, opportunities to make conscious decisions to change the trajectory of one’s life. However, sometimes, some extraordinarily special times, they are fate. Coincidence. Destiny. This encounter was one of those moments. The pair only knew each other vaguely, yet Melissa called out to Debbie as soon as she saw her with the ease and familiarity of an old friend. They had no reason to gravitate towards each other in a room full of friends they knew better, but they did.

 

After that, they spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and connecting. In a particularly flirty moment, Debbie put her hand low on the small of Melissa’s back while she leaned over the counter to grab some chips. Both of their hearts were racing, and Melissa felt like she could melt. 

 

Eventually, the night had to end, so Debbie and Melissa got in their cars and drove home. However, in yet another moment that felt dictated by the cosmos, the pair ended up stopped right next to each other on I-35. The first thing they noticed was that it was snowing. In March. In Texas. They rolled the windows down, laughing and marveling at the unlikely occurrence, and Melissa looked at Debbie and said, “Give me a call” before driving away. Debbie didn’t sleep at all that night. 

 

From the very start, Melissa and Debbie were clearly written in the stars. 

 

The pair hadn’t formally met until their adult lives, with Debbie being in her forties and Melissa in her thirties, but things moved quickly after that. After the party, the pair tried to keep their relationship platonic since Melissa was still in her toxic relationship. However, that effort to remain “just friends” lasted all of two weeks. After that excruciating period, they finally went on their first date at a local Mexican food restaurant. Debbie was sweating buckets while driving to pick up Melissa, thinking up different things to talk about. The pair spent the entire night drinking a few too many beers and sangrias and chatting away happily. 

 

By the end of April, the pair already said “I love you,” and within the year, they moved in together before getting a civil union in 2000. That’s how much they believed in their love story. That’s how certain they were about one another. 

 

The couple also eventually started a family and adopted two children from Guatemala — Michael and Riley. They were legally married in 2015 and have spent their days reveling in one another’s company ever since — constantly complimenting each other, holding hands, going out for $2 margaritas at Blue Goose, cuddling on the couch while binge watching tv shows, and collecting sentimental knick knacks and items to showcase in their home. 

 

Today, Debbie and Melissa have a sign that says “There’s My Friend…” in their backyard and a small square-shaped piece of paper underneath their bathroom mirror with the Shakespeare quote, “When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew,” to remind them of that night at the party when everything started.