How it began

This story is fodder for a soap opera. Skip this post if you don't like soaps.

My daughter had an on-again, off-again friendship with a South American friend (C). They were on in the fall of 2000. C approached my daughter and asked her to marry one of her brothers so he could be in this country legally. One of them (R) was in the country with an expired visa and false id. The other (L) was, at that time, a dealer on a cruise ship. The ship was to dock in San Diego and the crew had several hours leave. My daughter offered to take C and R to San Diego so they could visit L. It must have been lovely as L called my daughter from the next port of call begging her to fly to Mexico to meet him when he was to have 13 hours leave. How romantic? He paid for the ticket. Who wouldn't have been swept off their feet by this? It was like a movie. Of course, the sub-text was that the $600 he paid for the ticket was money he was supposed to send to his mother for her (and his youngest brother's) support. She went. L was charming, attentive and fun. Two ports later he called her to say that he couldn't face life without her and wanted to be by her side. Both my daughter and C tried to talk him out of quitting...to no avail. He did jump ship at the next port and fly to LA to spend the next 90 days (with a visitor visa) romancing (and sponging off of) my daughter. (She had high paying but stressful job.)

As it turns out, her "clock" was ticking. She was ready to be married and have babies. So, when L proposed it was a dream for her. She was madly in love. At the end of 90 days, L returned to S.A. to live with his mother. Of course, by that time they were in dire straights as his mother did need his salary to survive. Not long after he arrived there, my daughter got the call..."we are starving. we only have rice and mayonnaise to eat." What's a mother to do? I wired $100 so my daughter's fiancee and family could eat.

My daughter spared no energy or money (hired a lawyer) to move the system so L could come back and marry her. In April 2001, the knot was tied.