Among the Ruins of a Hurricane, Love Thrives

As every day handed on the seashores of Sanibel Island, Fla., Beth Ann Rueter Sharer and Jay Goad fell extra deeply in love.

The 2 had linked on New 12 months’s Eve 2021 by way of SilverSingles, a relationship web site for individuals over 50, and on Jan. 2, 2022, had a fascinating lunch at a Ruby Tuesday restaurant in Edinburgh, Ind., chosen as a result of it was halfway between their properties (hers in Seymour; his in Franklin). The assembly befell shortly earlier than Ms. Sharer was to depart on a preplanned, monthlong keep at her condominium on Sanibel, an island off the coast of Fort Myers in southwest Florida.

Mr. Goad, 64, a retired chief monetary officer of Cummins, an engine distributor, was upset by this information. Sensing that there may very well be potential for a relationship, he daringly requested if he might be part of her. “I mentioned, ‘This may sound bizarre, however I’m not doing something and, you realize, Sanibel sounds fairly good!’”

Ms. Sharer, 66, a retired dean of the Indiana College College of Nursing, was shocked, however flattered. “I knew I favored him, however I didn’t actually know him,” she mentioned. She advised him sure on the situation that he discover his personal place to remain. “‘I mentioned, ‘Don’t suppose you’re staying with me,’” she mentioned.

Days later, they had been speaking, toes within the sand, for hours upon hours, studying all the pieces about one another as they each began to sense that one thing particular was within the air. “We did a complete lot of nothing,” mentioned Mr. Goad, who stayed in Sanibel for per week.

They shared tales from their lives, and confirmed one another pictures of their grown youngsters and their households. They’d an uncanny quantity in widespread: Each had a son and a daughter from earlier 30-plus-year marriages that had ended three years earlier in divorce, and each had grandsons — she has 5; he has three.

Every had canceled their subscription to SilverSingles, however matched the final day earlier than each had been scheduled to run out. “My mates name him ‘the unicorn’,” Ms. Sharer mentioned with fun.

Mr. Goad ended up returning to Sanibel (in his personal place, nonetheless) for the ultimate week of Ms. Sharer’s keep. Between visits he had despatched roses with a observe that mentioned, “I’ve seen your coronary heart and it’s stunning. To many extra walks on the seashore.”

In Could 2022, after the 2 had been steadily relationship, Mr. Goad proposed. They set a marriage date for Feb. 4, 2023, and determined they wished to marry on the Sanibel Inn, a resort simply down the street from Ms. Sharer’s condominium.

Hurricane Ian had totally different plans.

On Sept. 28, 2022, the Class 4 storm hit Sanibel with over 150-mile-per-hour winds, sending a 12-foot storm surge throughout the island. Ms. Sharer’s first-floor unit dealing with the water on the Coquina Seaside condos didn’t stand an opportunity. The water burst by way of her front room with such power that it ripped all the pieces out, right down to the studs, leaving the condo trying gutted.

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“Every part was swept out to sea — the furnishings, the fridge, all the pieces,” mentioned Mr. Goad, who, together with Ms. Sharer, was in Indiana when the hurricane struck. “It’s onerous to even comprehend, however they’re all on the backside of the ocean now.”

There wasn’t even a waterline on the condominium’s partitions, as a result of the water had been increased than the rooms themselves, Ms. Sharer mentioned. “A few of my mates noticed the condominium pictures and mentioned, ‘You probably did a pleasant job of cleansing that out!’ No, that was Mom Nature.”

Right now, when talking of the storm, Ms. Sharer nonetheless feels rattled and emotional. “There’s a post-traumatic stress that occurs,” she mentioned.

They nonetheless wished a Florida seashore getaway shortly after the storm, in order that they spent per week north of Sanibel, on Anna Maria Island, which didn’t maintain as a lot hurricane harm. One afternoon whereas strolling by way of city, they handed a retailer promoting apparel from the Florida model Lulu-B, and Ms. Sharer was out of the blue overcome.

“I had purchased a bunch of Lulu-B garments and stored them within the condominium for once I visited, and now I didn’t have a single factor — they had been all swept out, and now there are most likely dolphins sporting my shirts,” she mentioned. “I’m not materialistic, however in that second, I simply felt overwhelmed by all of it.”

When she advised Mr. Goad what she was feeling, he urged her into the shop with out hesitation, providing to pay. “He mentioned, ‘Purchase no matter you should change what you misplaced.’ He didn’t suppose twice,” she mentioned. “And that meant a lot to me, as a result of it confirmed me that he was only a good human, and that he actually obtained what I used to be going by way of.”

Having now skilled each hell and excessive water, they doubted {that a} February 2023 Sanibel wedding ceremony would even be bodily potential. The venue the place their wedding ceremony was to be held, Sanibel Inn, is right this moment a carcass of its former self.

However Sanibel’s restoration after the storm has been progressing, if slowly: The bridges connecting it to the mainland had been broken in a number of locations, chopping off entry to the island. However only a few weeks after the storm, entry reopened, and the cherry-picker utility vehicles quickly paraded throughout the causeway, a joyous signal for residents that life would finally return.

Then, in December, the ’Tween Waters Resort, throughout a small bridge north of Sanibel in Captiva, introduced that it might be reopening, however solely to contractors and residents fixing up their homes. (It has since reopened to the general public.) Ms. Sharer inquired about having her wedding ceremony there. “I referred to as them and requested, ‘Is there any probability we are able to do that?’” Ms. Sharer mentioned. An exception was made.

“Once I hung up the cellphone, I simply mentioned to Jay, ‘You’re not going to consider this, however I discovered a spot,” Ms. Sharer mentioned.

Right now, Sanibel nonetheless appears to be like demolished. The street towards the resort is now dotted with 10-foot tall piles of particles — couches, patio furnishings, TVs, garments — and each different automobile is both an enormous black junk-hauling truck or a contractor’s pickup.

Ms. Sharer mentioned some individuals requested why, given the wreckage, she would nonetheless wish to have her wedding ceremony there. “However if you happen to love this place, that is a part of exhibiting assist,” she mentioned.

On Feb. 4, Ms. Sharer and Mr. Goad had been married on the seashore on Captiva Island at sundown earlier than 57 company. Pastor Jimmy Rodriguez of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Ind., her hometown, officiated. Their 4 youngsters, plus their spouses, served as attendants, together with their eight grandsons.

Theirs was one of many first weddings held within the space most affected by the storm — Sanibel, Captiva and Fort Myers Seaside. The couple wished their wedding ceremony to offer hope that the island would come again — and that older singles can nonetheless discover love.

“At our age, in our 60s, we knew the inquiries to ask,” Ms. Sharer mentioned. “Again in your 20s, all the pieces continues to be new. We had feeling up entrance, however on the identical time, we wished to be deliberate.”

Mr. Goad mentioned they discovered what works in a relationship as a result of they know from expertise what doesn’t. “We’re each good listeners,” he mentioned. “If one thing comes up, we’re good at saying, ‘Why do you’re feeling that approach?’ It’s helped us respect one another.”

And for each, integrating their households into the courtship was important. “We had been each so fried on the relationship factor, that we determined earlier than we obtained tremendous critical that we wished to satisfy our family and friends, as a result of, at our age, that may very well be a deal killer,” Ms. Sharer mentioned. “So I feel we did it proper.”

On This Day

When Feb. 4, 2023

The place ’Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa, Captiva Island, Fla.

Floridian Trend Ms. Sharer wore one of many Lulu-B attire Mr. Goad purchased her in Anna Maria Island for the rehearsal dinner. On the marriage day,  she wore an off-the-shoulder white lace robe with a mermaid backside from Wtoo by Watters Designs. Her maid of honor and attendants wore shades of ocean blue, and she or he carried a bouquet of pure fibers embellished with an ivory-colored starfish.

Mr. Goad wore a natural-colored linen go well with with a starfish-adorned boutonniere. Each had been barefoot, and Ms. Sharer embellished her ft with delicate starfish jewellery.

A Starry Aisle In lieu of rose petals, the couple’s grandsons scattered dried-out starfish down the aisle.

Tropical Vibes The marriage get together walked down the aisle to a metal drum model of the Beatles track “Right here, There and In all places.”

What’s Subsequent? After spending extra time in Southwest Florida, the couple plans to journey and proceed rebuilding their condominium. They presently reside within the bride’s Seymour, Ind., residence, however say they’re planning on “turning into full-time snowbirds” in Sanibel.