We had a burning desire for each other. Then came the fires

Joyce and I met the old fashioned way: online. For many people who use this now traditional dating method, romantic life can be an endless series of left swipes, DMs you know and sometimes, long-term, 20 Minute Coffee History.

The site, Chemistry.com, was designed to create blind matches, with one side of the couple not knowing who their profile is being sent to. Joyce got mine and loved it, but there was a catch: I was the “keeper of two angry felines.”

Joyce was allergic to felines. Still, my profile talked to her, and she reached out anyway. I also really liked her profile but questioned whether she had actually read mine (she clearly stated that due to cat allergies, cat owners need not apply). She said it wouldn’t be a problem – secretly thinking that maybe, if all went well, she could change my mind about cats.

We had a longer-than-usual online on-ramp, so when we agreed to meet in person, we took the gamble and went for a drink at Silver Lake’s once-great treasure, Cobra’s and Matador’s. Freshened up, our first face-to-face went from drinks to dinner which was enjoyed for a few hours. There was a clear connection (and she sure looks good in that pair of jeans and boots).

Moving to LA, Joyce was from the Midwest, then the South, and I’m a New Englander/New Yorker. She was a theater costume designer, just starting to try to break into film and television (she would go on to win an Emmy). I was a supervisor (set decoration supervisor) in film and television. Given our similar but different worlds, it is unlikely that we would have met business.

The first date went so well that the second was a no-brainer. It went on and on and happily ended with an old fashioned kiss – it was electric. 3 The date … was fire. Literally. (Wait.)

Making a movie sounds fun, but it can be a dirty slog for the crew. My last film had me working all day on Sony’s soundstage in Culver City, recreating a Parisian sewing kit. I was grumpy and tired but looking forward to seeing Joyce. After many mistakes with others, we realized the lamp.

Spark? Maybe I was getting ahead of myself. However, instead of me going home to Studio City before the meeting, we agreed that I should shower and change at her place in Silver Lake. She would eat some bread. It would be easy, simple.

Despite my dirty condition, she greeted me warmly, placing a welcome peck on my lips. An extra towel and a push towards the shower got the engine running. To further set the mood, she lit candles throughout the apartment. While I cleaned, she continued in the kitchen, the wonderful smell filling the air.

When we first connected, I was vacationing in Maine, and he was working out of town at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Distance gave us time to get to know each other without the distraction of physical intimacy. By the time we met in person and had a few dates, we knew enough that taking a shower at her place was less daring than she thought. Still, the act gave off an air of excitement that none of us could deny. It almost felt natural to walk out of her bathroom with only a towel around my waist.

When I opened the door, I assumed that the bright light in her bedroom was caused by the stove. Imagine my surprise when, instead, I saw her wicker dress fully engulfed in flames, flames licking up the wall. Somehow, a candle had blocked the thing. I yelled for Joyce to grab a fire extinguisher and cut the towel to put out the fire.

Joyce came rushing into the room, an apron showing off her hard work in the kitchen. Her face registered proper alarm. I’m not sure if it was the flames or me, the brave man, trying to put them out. I think both. Regaining her senses, she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a small fire extinguisher. In fear, Joyce’s brain can shut down. Forgetting how to fire extinguisher, she gave it to me. I winked the pan and filled her burning underwear drawers with a heavy dose of CO2.

The mood then changed understandably. A few years ago, while living in the same apartment, Joyce almost lost her home when the building next door burned down. The heat has damaged this bedroom and, among other things, ruined the carpet; Now the new smoke caught when we opened the window to let it out. Her burnt burro and black ink on the wall replayed her past trauma. Although our desire to hang out remained, a home-cooked meal was suddenly not in the cards.

After making sure the fire was well and truly out, we decided a restaurant loading was in order. The Mexican looks good, the Margarita even more so. El Conquistador called us. Recovering from our shock, we changed between laughs – I’m acting as the hero, palado desnodo (“caught in the dark”) – to a renewed surprise as Joyce tried to agree to another fire. A listening party took pity on us and sent some shots. Remove this edge.

Although our date had changed dramatically, I saw a passion in Joyce that I admired. We share many qualities, among them: optimism, adaptability and the ability to laugh at life’s failures. A little over a year later, after climbing Haleakala, Hawaii’s volcano, we engaged in sunrise. After six months of crazy planning, we got married in Rancho Del Cielo, A wonderful old ranch on top of the Malibu Hills. It was later destroyed by a wildfire, but the owners continued their efforts to rebuild it.

Joyce and I are blessed with wonderful boy/girl twins. and We have two cats (her allergies have subsided). I talked to her several times from the third section, both children and cats.

To this day, we work well under pressure. During the wildfires earlier this year, we were unexpectedly evacuated. The mountain outside our window was completely covered, and the city next door was ablaze. Oddly enough, our funny but scary firefighter date didn’t come back to haunt us. Perhaps because the incident provided a lesson and motivation: be prepared, act fast and take comfort in knowing that we have each other’s backs.

The author is a former set designer for film and television and is now a science fiction novelist. He lives in it La Canada Flintridge. Visit his website cchaseharwood.com Or find him on Instagram: @c_chase_h.

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