All because 2 people fell in love...

I went over to the nursing home today with my cousin MB, her new man Aaron, and my younger cousin Little K to visit our grandmother. Grammy is speaking a bit slower these days and requires a good deal of prompting and reminding to help her get her answers out, but her mind is mostly still all there. More importantly,  her wit and sense of humor is still as sharp as ever. MB and I asked her to tell us the story of how she met our grandfather, and here's how her answer went.

Me: Grammy, how did you meet Pompa?
Grammy (who was born and raised here in Roanoke, Virginia): I had some cousins that lived in the Gila Valley (southern Arizona). They invited me to come for a visit.
(long pause, so I prompted her)
Me: Did someone introduce you? Where did you meet him?
(long pause)
MB: Did you meet a dance?
Grammy: Yes, yes. We met at a dance, and then he asked if he could show me home. (then using her "scarlett o'hara" voice, or more a "i did him a favor" voice, implying it was an inconvenience she rather enjoyed) So I let him.
(long pause)
Me: Did he ask you on a date after that?
Grammy: Yes, yes.
MB: Did you date a lot of men there?
Grammy: Well... (her voice trails off. Whether on purpose to allude that, yes, she did, but a lady doesn't say, or because she's lost her thoughts, is hard to say.)
MB: Pompa told me that you turned down 13 other men before you married him!
Grammy: Well... (this time coyly not answering us)
MB: Is that true, or one of Pompa's little stories?
Grammy (in the cutest defensive, guilty tone an 87 yr old woman can muster): I was just doing my patriotic duty!

Her "patriotic duty" lead to 7 children, 34 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren (with 1 more on the way).