said .
Alawine mustered the courage , went back inside and asked Shewmake for his email .
‘ Her personality is the first thing I noticed about her ,” he said , admitting he gave her both his email address and phone number . “ She is a very pleasant , outgoing type of person .”
A resident of Collinsville , Alawine had been a widow for eight years when she met Shewmake , who had gone through a difficult divorce a year earlier .
Neither one was looking for a sweetheart when they stopped to eat lunch that day .
“ Dating never even crossed my mind because I was so settled in my ways and did my own thing ,” she said . “ When I went to Dickey ’ s , all I was looking for was a barbecue .” Shewmake , 73 , agreed . “ We believe it was divine intervention that the Lord was putting us together that day ,” he said .
A little over a month after they met , they had their first date .
“ We went out to eat and then rode all over the place looking at Christmas lights ,” she said . “ We just had lots of fun .”
Alawine , 72 , the mother of four grown children , is a retired direct care worker for East Mississippi State Hospital . Shewmake , also retired , is the father of five grown children .
“ We knew after the second or third date that we liked each other . It has grown over the nine years and three months that
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“ We knew after the second or third date that we liked each other . It has grown over the nine years and three months that we have been together .”
WARREN SHEWMAKE
8 • TIMELESS MERIDIAN