The time has finally come: It’s time to choose your favorite of the hundreds of touching tearjerkers, comedic connections, and real romances submitted to the “Your Love Story” contest throughout the month of February.   The top five submissions have been carefully chosen, and are listed below for your consideration.

After you’ve read each of the top five, select the one that tugs hardest at your heartstrings.  Your vote must be sent in a Personal Message to Gamester by Thursday, March 3rd by 11pm. Please note: Guesses sent in by any other means–email, feedback, PM to any account but Gamester–will not count and will be discarded.  Each member may submit only one vote.  The Personal Message should include only the number of the story and the title (for example, #1.  Mr. & Mrs. Librarian).  Please do not include any other information.

The winning story will be announced Friday on the blog and in the Message of the Day on the www.PaperBackSwap.com homepage.  The lucky winner will receive 10 credits!

NOTE:  Comments to this post will not be considered a vote.  Please send a PM as instructed above.

#1. Mr. & Mrs. Librarian

Once upon a time there was a rather lonely school librarian who lived in a small Pennsylvania town where too many trucks sported a gun rack for her taste. Figuring she’d never find a husband in “redneck-town”, she kept herself occupied taking a variety of graduate classes each summer break. But after a decade on the job, she’d earned the right to take a one year sabbatical leave. Where to go? What to do? Why not earn a real master’s degree in library science so she could work in any kind of library she wanted? The summer of 1990 saw her moving away to “college town” and settling into a little apartment with her sweet cat, Buddy. Although she still focused on her studies, she couldn’t help checking out her male classmates. And it turned out, there was one male classmate checking her out, too. Thank God they were both single and ready to start a life together at the ripe old age of 32. Well, that seemed like a late start at the time. Eighteen years later, these married librarians enjoy their comfy Florida home full of books, 2 Kindles, and a small menagerie of rescued dogs and cats. They smile across the table as they sit at their local bookstore on the weekends sipping a coffee milkshake. Mr. and Mrs. Librarian, a perfectly matched set, are sharing a love that will last a lifetime.

#2. 911 Porsche

So what is love? It might be a Koan..what is more like self than other. One’s aim may be to the West, but the arrow can easily fly East.

I started working with my (now) wife 30 years ago at one of those darlings of Wall Street, XEROX. In most of the ‘70s it was the company to work for…especially sales.

M’ was my support person at HQ. Bright and funny, we had a good pull-and-push relationship; I was the salesman (never to be trusted) and she approved contracts (dang administrator).

Things started to heat up at my birthday party. I invited her on a whim, and was surprised she accepted.. .we connected so much while I was cooking and bartending that we finally sat down on the floor of the kitchen while the Nachos and piña coladas brewed and began a marathon conversation; unfortunately we excluded all the other guests but they helped themselves and let us schmooze in peace.

We dated, lived together and then came the ultimate sacrifice…her car gave up the ghost one Monday am and she now had a commute problem to get to work from Marin. I had a 911 Porsche Targa and a VW Camper. She called me from the Bay Bridge one day saying, the wind is so bad I can’t drive the camper!!!

So, she started to drive my 911 to work while I worked in Marin with the camper.

I thought: I have just given my 911 Porsche to a girl friend. Would I do this for any woman in the world? Probably not. I must be in love. So I asked and she said yes. Sometimes the message comes when you are willing to give up that which, ya think at the time, is most precious to you only to discover that the recipient is more precious. Yeah, that’s love.

#3. Love via PBS

I found happiness here!

I came to PBS because of my mom being a member here. I met a member named Tony. He and I became friends off this site, and he told me about his single brother-in-law. He offered to introduce us. We began speaking online, then over the phone throughout the month of November of 2008. He drove 16 hours to meet me in person at Christmastime 2008. It was love at first sight for both of us. We moved in a week later, with me leaving everything I’ve ever known to be with him. We were engaged a month later and married a month after that. It has been almost two years since we married and we now have a gorgeous three month old little girl.

I am living my dream of being a wife and mother thanks to a member of PBS!

#4. His Name is Harry

I met the love of my life when I was six. I remember it clearly – I was sitting on the living room floor, playing with my Beanie Babies, when my mum walked through the door and handed me a book. I was hesitant, but I gave it a chance. I opened the cover …

… And read the entire thing through, right then and there.

Harry followed me through the years. He was a steady spot in the confusion that occurred when I moved across the state at age eight. He helped me through the angst and turmoil that accompanies middle school; he was there for me through my mum’s depression.

I’ll always love Harry. But the truth is, he may be more real than reality inside the confines of my own mind, but his veins are filled with ink and his adorable, messy black hair exists only in the imagination of one J.K. Rowling and all the adoring fans.

Books are wonderful. But there comes a point at which one needs to set them down and begin living life for real. I haven’t met anyone yet, and I don’t really want to. I’m too young to love someone forever. But sometime in the future, a point will come when I’ll walk out into the world, ready to find my other half, head held high … and Harry in my purse. Just in case.

#5. The Crooked Christmas Tree

It wasn’t a Valentine that brought us together, but an office Christmas tree.

No one in the office would ever admit it, but I know it had to be some kind of hazing stunt to make the new kid set up the Christmas tree. I spent hours untangling lights from branches (it had apparently hung itself the previous holiday season) and trying to get that sad excuse for festivity to stand up straight.

I embraced my inner McGyver under that tree, attempting to make a better tree stand out of duct tape, wire, and my now shredded and discarded pantyhose. At least it wasn’t going to tip over. Probably. Shimmying out from under the tree, I stood back to get a better look at my work.

“It’s still leaning,” said the dry voice from behind me.

I had seen him before, but I was the new kid. I had seen lots of people before. I couldn’t remember his name and at the moment didn’t care. Unfortunately, he was also right. It was leaning.

Back under the tree. Tighten, pull, unladylike grunting, and let’s try again.

“It’s still leaning.”

Who was this guy and could I kill him with left over tinsel?

Under the tree. Tug. Pull. Twist. Crawl. Evaluate.

“I think it’s leaning the other way now,” he said.

That was it. I walked behind him, grabbed him by the shoulders and tipped him in the same direction as the offending tree, “How’s that?! Now it’s straight!”

I stomped back to my cube and slammed some drawers around.

Surprisingly enough, the next morning, the nameless guy walked back to my cube and asked me out to lunch.   We’ve been bickering and tormenting each other every day since for the past fifteen years. We couldn’t be happier.

Tags: Contests, Free Credits, Members, Personal Messages

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