Two more times our paths crossed without result. We said hello at an AFS (exchange student) talent show, which she was attending with her friend Karen. And, we almost took a psychology course together at UCB, but the class was full and Ken could not take it. He also called Loretta once during this time. Loretta's mother thought he was Loretta's "boyfriend" Peter and said she would tell Loretta, that "he" (Peter) called. Ken nearly gave up.

Then one Fall day in 1984, Loretta was soliciting members for an exchange student club at UCB and saw Ken on Sproul Plaza. "Hey Alan," she yelled. Close enough, it was Ken's middle name, and at least she recognized him as someone she knew. Perhaps it was good she saw him as someone new. Ken was wearing an OMD (Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark) shirt (we both liked the band) and seemed pretty cool, this time. She was a member of the Cal boxing team and seemed pretty cool, too. We were both commuting to UCB, and after talking, Ken offered Loretta a ride home in his MGB GT sports car. I guess it sounded better than an hour BART train ride and 30 minutes on a bus. Before dropping Loretta off at home Ken managed to get her to agree to go to the movies.

The date was to see The King of Hearts, one of Ken's favorite movies (see the French version, the dubbed English version is not as good), on Pearl Harbor Day 1984. Loretta almost cancelled, in favor of a lecture on garbage. But, Ken agreed to learn about "garbalogy" with Loretta before going off to have fish and chips and seeing The King of Hearts and 1000 Clowns. Though notoriously shy, Ken gained hope when Loretta held his hand as they ran across the street from Yorkshire Fish-n-Chips to the UC Theater. Loretta thought, if this is Ken's favorite movie, he might not be a bad guy. Beginning a pattern that would continue throughout their relationship, Loretta dozed off on the way home as Ken talked to her (she says he has a soothing voice). And finally, when Ken got Loretta home, he faced the decision, remain "just friends" and a "sweet guy" or screw up all his courage (she did hold your hand) and try to kiss her. This was the chance he had been waiting for, for years! Loretta says it was the best kiss of her life. The deal was done.

Ken and Loretta dated for about 9 months before he returned from a summer in London and she got her own apartment in Berkeley. Sometime in there, I forget the exact date, but remember the exact moment, as we were bounding down the stairs from Upper to Lower Sproal Plaza, Loretta blurted out "I love you." She couldn't take it back. Despite her resistance to such "domestic" things, despite her refusal to truly commit, we were both admittedly in love. His "stalking" had paid off. Officially Ken just visited her a lot, but within a year, when we moved down stairs to "the pink apartment" (it was supposed to be a light rose color), we were cohabiting.

Loretta stayed up with Ken when he woke up in the middle of the night frantic about the meaning of life while writing papers on Nietzsche. She helped clean up when his ulcer acted up. Ken helped Loretta with her statistics homework and sat through the math course with her that she needed to get into business school. He took her to the hospital when she was too sick to take a final. But, he had his academic goals, off to graduate school, and she had always planned to join the Peace Corps. After graduation we separated.