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Test

When Rob and Jackie met, they were both working at the same place. He was a security guard in a downtown office building, working midnight to 8 a.m. She worked 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in one of the offices upstairs.

Rob was 26, Jackie was, well, he wasn't sure. "I didn't pay much attention. To me, she was just a beautiful woman." He knew she was older, but he just didn't know how much older: "I always seemed to be attracted to older women, although I never dated one. I guess I just didn't have the nerve."

Rob looked forward to seeing Jackie come in every morning. They'd wave and eventually chatted. "After talking a few times, I was smitten! She was not only hot, but she had a wonderful heart and a great personality. During our conversations, she had told me she was separated and soon to be divorced. She also told me she was a mom to three daughters. None of that bothered me, and I still didn't know how old she was, but I still didn't care."

On their first date, they went to lunch to get to know each other better. "I'm a pretty good judge of character and soon realized what a wonderful person she was. We made a date to go out one evening, and she asked if we could watch her daughter cheerlead at a grammar school basketball game. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world and way different from my previous dates."

They had a great time and Rob got to meet Jackie's daughters. He was 26, the girls were 18, 12 and 5.

When they first started talking, Jackie told Rob she was 36.

"After many dates, did it really matter? No way.

I was falling in love with this wonderful woman."

After they'd been dating for two months, Jackie gave Rob a letter. She said that if he didn't want to see her again after he read it, she'd understand.

What could the letter say? Was she a Russian spy? An alien? A man?

"I couldn't imagine what this letter could say that would make me not want to date her anymore."

It said she was 39, not 36.

"I was so relieved that at that point she could have been 50! I was already completely in love. We got married a year later, and we are still so much in love. The girls have not seen their biological father since we married. He didn't show any interest in them, and I've walked each of them down the aisle at their weddings. I consider them my daughters and love them with all my heart and soul.

"Jackie and I have five beautiful grandchildren and a wonderful loving relationship. We're going to celebrate our 25th anniversary on March 21, 2011. Marrying her and having this wonderful life have been the greatest things I've ever done, and I'm so grateful for the first day when we smiled at each other and every day since.

"So to people who are afraid of an age difference, I say if love is real, age doesn't matter."

Did anyone ever lie to you in a relationship? Was it a deal-ender or did you get past it? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to cheryllavin@aol.com. And check out my blog www.talesfromthefront.com. To find out more about Cheryl Lavin, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.