The first time Jennifer Anne Carpenter Welch met Rodney William Page, she recalled threatening to “rearrange his face.”
It was April 1979, and the two eighth graders were waiting at the bus stop in Clearwater, Fla. Mr. Page and a friend were plotting to prank Ms. Welch’s younger brother; the friend got on his hands and knees behind the boy as Mr. Page was ready to push him. That’s when the protective big sister stepped in — forcefully.
“I made a mental note to stay away from her for fear of my physical well-being,” Mr. Page said.
When they saw each other around school over the next four years, there was no communication. Ms. Welch told people she didn’t like Mr. Page, but after a friend who dated him said he was an “OK guy,” Ms. Welch developed a curiosity. “I thought he was cute, and asked another friend to invite him to a late-night party,” she said.
In September 1983, Mr. Page came to the party after attending a Men at Work concert. He said he was impressed at how she “had grown up and looked good.”
Ms. Welch felt bold and approached him. “I was excited to learn Rodney had a great sense of humor,” she said.
“I was shocked that Jennifer liked me at all,” Mr. Page said.
They headed for the driveway and kissed before he walked her home. The following weekend, they went to “The Big Chill,” ate popcorn and laughed. “We made out after we came home,” Ms. Welch said.
They dated through their last year of high school. When Mr. Page played baseball, Ms. Welch attended his games. They attended homecoming and the senior prom together. He even wore a purple cummerbund to match her purple dress.
But the timing was bad. They split after graduation and each attended college in a different city in Florida. “There was no animosity,” Ms. Welch said. “We were two teenagers with our lives ahead.”
The two, now both 59, stayed friends and chatted at their 10-year high school reunion. “He still made me laugh,” she said.
Ms. Welch was born in Wooster, Ohio, and like Mr. Page, grew up in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. She attended the University of Florida before transferring to Ohio Northern University, where her father had gone. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and has worked as a clinical pharmacist in the intensive care unit at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, ever since. She has two children from a marriage that ended in divorce.
Mr. Page, born in Iowa City, graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in English. He is a retired sports reporter for The St. Petersburg Times and now works part-time at St. Petersburg Country Club’s golf course. He has two children from his previous marriage. His wife died of cancer in August 2021.
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“I called Jen for advice on different medications,” Mr. Page said of the months he spent caring for his wife.
A few months after his wife’s death, Mr. Page asked Ms. Welch what it was like to be 55 and going on first dates. She responded, “I didn’t know because I stopped dating when every man I met wanted my kids to be second to him.”
In December 2021, when Mr. Page asked Ms. Welch to a James Taylor concert in Columbus, Ohio, about an hour from her home in Dayton, she waited 48 hours to say yes. “I didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” she said.
Mr. Page stayed in a guest room at Ms. Welch’s home on Friday night. They enjoyed crepes on Saturday morning at Dayton’s historic 2nd Street Market before heading to Columbus for the concert, where they spent the night in a hotel. On Sunday, they strolled through Dayton’s Carillon Historical Park to see the Christmas lights.
“It seemed more like our 100th date,” Mr. Page said. “I knew there was nobody else for me.”
Ms. Welch agreed. “I laughed endlessly the whole weekend,” she said.
They made sure the long distance would not be an obstacle by speaking each morning at 9:30 to play Wordle, and visiting each other once a month. But when Ms. Welch asked Mr. Page if he would ever remarry, he said no.
“When I realized how much I missed Jen after spending weekends with her, and understood that she didn’t want to be somebody’s girlfriend for the rest of her life, I decided if we lasted two years, I would propose.”
On Dec. 11, 2023, Ms. Welch was seated in her home’s family room scrolling on her phone when Mr. Page entered and announced he didn’t want to be her boyfriend anymore. She said she stood up and started talking nervously as he dropped to one knee. “I would like you to be my fiancée.”
Surprised and excited, she said yes.
They married April 19 before 73 guests in a courtyard of the landmark Don CeSar Hotel on St. Petersburg Beach, a childhood haunt of the bride’s. The traditional ceremony, 46 years to the month from when they met, was officiated by the bride’s friend Shawn Marie Fry, who was ordained through Universal Life Church.
When the groom moves to Dayton in May, the couple will live together for the first time. Both have prepared for the adjustment. “I’m neat, he’s not,” she said. “He can’t fix anything, I don’t cook. But we’ll work it out. After all these years, Rodney makes me feel happy, important and secure.”
Mr. Page concurred. “She’s smarter than I am, nice to everyone, way funnier than she thinks,” he said. “And her laugh is infectious.”
