Meet. Greg Harrison knows love at first sight sounds a bit “sappy,’ but when he saw Jeramey Pickett across the room at a Holiday Inn managers’ conference in 2000, he says, “I could see his eyes, and I just thought to myself, ‘My gosh, there is something about him.”
Both men worked as front office managers for different Holiday Inns at the time, but they’d never met until the certification course held at the chain’s hotel in Golden. Pickett calls the exchange that first day “pretty mutual.’
“I believe he caved in first and called me. I had a pager at the time, so I think he paged me,’ Pickett recalls.
“It was kind of like, ‘I hope he calls back. I hope there is an interest here,” Harrison adds. “I really hoped that because all I could think about was him. My mind was just gone. I was on a bowling league at the time, and people were making comments like, ‘Gosh, you’re in a good mood.”
Match. Pickett did call back, and they went to Charlie’s on East Colfax in Denver. That led to more dates and many long phone conversations, lasting well into the night. Each had recently been through a breakup, but Harrison says, “It was not like talking to a stranger and spilling my guts.’
In addition to balancing differences, they found many things in common, including a mutual “nerdy’ interest in the history of Egypt and Greece, travel, good Mexican and Italian food and music. With broad preferences, they can’t help but point out the Donny-and-Marie-ness of their musical tastes.
“I tend to be a little bit country,’ Harrison explains, knowing full well what comes next.
“And, I’m a little bit rock and roll,’ Pickett chimes in on cue, making both of them chuckle.
As the romance progressed, despite some real-estate entanglements from Harrison’s previous relationship, they settled into a comfortable pace of evenings at home, with Harrison, who grew up in upstate New York, doing most of the cooking.
“I love to cook, and he doesn’t cook. He can bake. He makes great cheesecake,’ Harrison says of Pickett, who was born in Denver. “I cannot do a cake to save my life.’
They also found a shared quirk in loving one old sitcom in particular. “I love to watch ‘The Golden Girls,” Pickett admits. “People always say, ‘You like to watch what?’ Low and behold, he loved it too.’
“We know all the lines from every episode,’ says Harrison, adding that they watch an hour of reruns each night before turning in.
Just two months into the relationship, Harrison caught Pickett off guard by proclaiming his love in the car. “I could tell, he has this sort of look when there is something wrong or something he wants to say,’ Pickett says.
When Harrison finally said it, however, it took Pickett several minutes to respond.
“I thought, ‘Oh, gee, thanks,” Harrison remembers. “It felt a lot longer than that, probably a good five minutes before the actual verbal confirmation came back that he loved me too.’
As time passed, the couple weathered job layoffs, the purchase of a new home and a death in the family. “Our wants and needs as a couple got put on the back burner,’ Harrison explains.
They watched with interest as other states considered laws allowing same-sex marriage. Hawaii would have been their first choice for a destination wedding, but the law never materialized, so they decided to exchange vows in Colorado instead – on the fifth anniversary of the day they met.
“Most people call it a commitment ceremony,’ Harrison explains. “We consider ourselves married. This is just the final step.’
Officiant Maureen Schmidt hosted the Tuesday afternoon ceremony for about 30 of the couple’s friends and family. She talked to them about trust and dedication and faith – even stopping at one point for a Kleenex break to give the men a chance to regroup.
After exchanging vows and rings and lighting a unity candle, Schmidt gave a final blessing in which she hoped, in part, that the men, and others, would see that “they are more than themselves and more than each other, that they are all of us.’
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