Distance brings Alex and Maeve closer together

On a chilly March evening, Maeve Cashman sat in the parking lot of her hometown bowling alley, fidgeting as she teetered on what would ordinarily be an easy decision — whether or not to meet up with friends for a drink.

It was only a short ride away and the bars there were open for an extra hour, but still something was holding her back.

Moments prior, she had ran into Alex Jensen, the “little red-headed kid” she hadn’t seen since the days of building forts and playing hide-and-seek with him just blocks from where her friend’s car sat idle.

Maeve got into the car and decided to catch a ride. Having then recently turned 21, it was important for her to explore the late-night scene with the friends with whom she’d already made plans. But then again, something about seeing Alex held her back. 

A few more seconds passed.

“If I leave now, I’m nuts.” Maeve told herself.

She got out of the car and headed back into the Southpark Lanes bar where Alex sat tucked away with his friends in a teal-green leather booth, a glass of Coors Original in hand. 

Among the friends was Alex’s cousin, Jill, a friend of Maeve’s who coerced her to come to the bar in the first place when she was content to hit the lanes and sip on her Margarita.

Now, however, Maeve was thankful for Jill’s pleading, because while the years had painted Maeve a foggy picture of who Alex was as a neighborhood playmate from her youth, one fact was now crystal clear.

“He’s grown up,” Maeve thought. “He’s a man now.”

Alex said he was equally excited to see Maeve return. The two ended up staying until bar close. After all, they had a lot of catching up to do.

Wagons and Poodles

Alex had plenty of playmates growing up on the corner of South Street and Minnesota Avenue, but he’d certainly know if Maeve and her sisters were carousing about the neighborhood since their homes sat kitty-corner from one another. 

That closeness helped to create idyllic memories of childhood in the peaceful Owatonna neighborhood. 

If the boys on the block weren’t busy playing homerun derby and night games, they were helping Alex’s mother Nancy pick and cut green beans from her ample vegetable garden. Maeve’s brother Michael often picked apples for Nancy’s fresh-baked pies.

“I loved living there,” Maeve said. “You could walk into any of your neighbor’s houses and get a cup of sugar, and they’d never expect anything in return.”

The tightly knit neighborhood allowed the two to spend plenty of time together despite Alex being two years older than Maeve. But the collective play with Maeve’s Lhasa Apso-Poodle, Kibbles, and the wagon trips down the hills came to an end when Maeve’s family moved across town when she was 12.

From that point on, Maeve rarely came into contact with Alex since she attended a private Catholic school and adolescence simply got in the way.

Even when Maeve returned to the public high school, she and Alex remained disconnected as each was into their own pursuits. Alex was into basketball and soccer, while Maeve was active in dance.

“We didn’t even see each other in the halls,” Alex said. “We never ran into each other or crossed paths.”

That fact remained true for nearly a decade, when the unexpected spring rendezvous at the bowling alley put Alex and Maeve in familiar territory.

Man of Honor

Alex humbly said he was the benefactor of being in the right place at the right time when it comes to his military career. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines, because they were “the best of the best” while he was still in high school. Though it was mere weeks before the 9/11 attacks on America, Alex went in with the idea of serving a cause greater than himself.

“I didn’t join the military to go to college,” he said. “I signed up knowing what could happen [through combat].”

While he was training as an MP at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., he was recruited for HMX-1, the elite helicopter squadron tasked most notably with transporting the President of the United States, among other dignitaries. Alex was one of only seven Marines to be chosen for the special training out of the four recruit classes at the base.

By the time Alex was active with the “Nighthawks,” the country was at war overseas, but his duties were non-deployable considering the seriousness of protecting the president’s safety.

His mission brought him all over the country and the world, and into places both safe and insecure.

“I was the guy saluting George Bush when he got off Marine One,” Alex said. “The importance of (the duty) is huge.”

But when Maeve crossed paths with Alex in the spring of 2007, he looked unassuming. She knew he had a crucial role with the military but didn’t know the details.

She quickly learned he was only in Owatonna for the Easter holiday as he was set to return to Washington, D.C. and await to be sent on his next mission. This time, he was contracted by the Department of Homeland Security to protect the next generation of presidential helicopters being developed in England.

Maeve knew well that Alex would be leaving soon, still she was content to take the situation for what it was worth. She and Jill returned to the bowling alley the following night just in case Alex might happen to show up. Jill propelled the situation by giving Maeve Alex’s phone number.

Once there, Maeve nervously texted Alex and suggested he come to the bowling alley.

“I’m already on my way,” he responded.

They stayed until bar close and the events repeated for a third night the following evening. 

“I was living in the moment each night,” Maeve said. “I figured it would all be over in a few days.”

The weekend finally came to a close at 4 a.m. Monday morning when Alex had to catch a flight back to Washington, D.C. Since Maeve knew from the first night that Alex was only in town for a few days, she accepted the fact that they would probably never see each other again.

“I don’t remember being disappointed or sad,” she said. “It was just [a feeling of]: I had a great weekend, but now I’ll go back to work and go back to my life.”

What Alex and Maeve didn’t expect was to be so drawn to each other after only reconnecting for a weekend. But soon, each was texting the other talking about what a great time they had.

The Best and Worst Place

Two months later, Maeve’s brother Michael called requesting she drive his car across the country to Fort Eustis, Va., where he was stationed in the Army. He had the caveat that she bring Alex’s cousin, Jill, along.

After the initial shock at the strange request (and intrigue to the budding romance between Michael and Jill), Maeve agreed once she discovered Alex was living only a few hour’s drive away. 

While Jill was spending the weekend in Virginia, Maeve had her first real date with Alex at the Hard Rock Café in Washington, D.C. They both immediately recognized what was happening between them was more than a casual friendship, and they talked about making a long-distance relationship work.

The couple saw each other a few more times that summer before Alex’s work visa cleared and he moved to England and Maeve went back to studying for her nursing degree. They spent as much time as possible on the phone, sending e-mails or video chatting online.

During school breaks, Maeve was able to visit Alex three times in England and even spent an entire summer with him traveling to France, Ireland and Spain. They made a tradition of setting out with no reservations, savoring the adventure of finding a quaint bed and breakfast in the countryside.

“I felt that the whole world was at our fingertips and I was the only girl for him,” Maeve said. “It was just such a fairy tale to go over there and have nothing to do but spend time with Alex.”

Those visits were bittersweet however, as saying hello also meant the couple would soon be saying goodbye.

“The airport became the best and worst place,” Alex said. “One minute your driving around together, and the next you’re driving home alone.”

“There were a lot of tears,” Maeve added.

Thankfully, those highs and lows conditioned Alex for stark changes. His unit lost its contract and Alex was forced to abruptly make an international move and decide whether Washington, D.C. or Minnesota would be his new home. He chose Minnesota, knowing Maeve would be there waiting for him.

By January 2009, Alex and Maeve were both enrolled at Riverland College and had found an apartment together in Austin, Minn. For the first time since they were children, Alex and Maeve were side by side.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Whenever Alex would send Maeve a gift from overseas, he would ask her to wait to open it until he could call and share in the experience, but Maeve never waited — something Alex didn’t find out until after he had returned to Minnesota.

So for their first Christmas back home together, Alex worked up a surprise. Two weeks before the holiday, he placed five wrapped gifts weighted with new towels from his mother to act as decoys under the tree. 

Alex said he knew if only one small box was under the tree that Maeve would easily figure out his plan. 

Each of the packages was meticulously wrapped and secured with ample amounts of gift tape to slow any of Maeve’s attempts to prematurely open her gifts. Inside one of the boxes, Alex included the paperwork and literature on the diamond ring he had bought Maeve for the occasion. For this box, Alex used postal packaging tape to slow Maeve down even further.

While Maeve was getting started on this box, Alex tiptoed off to the restroom to wash up — well, at least that’s what he told Maeve. He retrieved the engagement ring from its most recent hiding place under the sink and brought it back into the living room. He had been hiding the ring at his parents’ house because “she snoops,” he said. Engrossed in opening her gifts, Alex had to get Maeve’s attention by asking: “Do you need help with that?”

Maeve’s eyes moved up towards Alex and saw he was holding a small box. The weight of what was about to happen sank in.

“Will you marry me?” he asked. Maeve started to cry and instantly got up and jumped into his arms and said yes. She didn’t need much convincing.

“He’s a great man. He makes me want to be the best person that he deserves to have,” she said. “I’m proud of who he is and who we can be together. He’s committed to God and he obeys God. He’s a great family man. He treats me like I mean the world to him.” 

Today the couple is looking forward to their travels together as husband and wife. They are once again filled with the feeling that the world is at their fingertips.

“We’re just getting started,” Alex said.