The house Steve bought in Albuquerque
In March 2000, newly retired at the young age of 53, former law professor Steve Cooper settles in Albuquerque, where his old friends Michael and Jeannie live.
Looking for something to do, he calls the Duke City Bridge Club and starts to play again. After a while back in Bridge, old friend R.J. Becker offers to teach Steve modern bidding and they travel to some Western regionals. First stop, the Las Vegas Regional at the end of June ...
Meanwhile, back in NYC, Kitty completes the Curriculum for Living at Landmark and decides to make a career change. With only child, Paul Bethe, graduating college in June, and some success in the stock market, the need for a large income is gone. Kitty quits her job as an Assistant Vice-President in the Technology Sector at the Bank of New York in the middle of May, planning to learn web site design and work with her management consultant/trainer father. They build a course together, Never too Old to Go Online, which he is now giving regularly in the Hamptons. Her then-Bridge partner, Carol Simon, twists her arm to come to the Las Vegas Regional for some live practice before the Nationals ...
Friday June 23, Las Vegas, table 3 in the Stratified Open Pairs. Kitty and partner start against Steve and R.J. Kitty and Steve are excited and happy to see each other again. She shows him a picture of Paul. He shows her pictures of his dogs. She gives him her business card with her email address and cell phone number on it. They don't see each other again except for a brief good bye on Sunday.
Steve sends Kitty email. She responds neutrally, not understanding that this is a romantic overture. He tries again, but her email account is trashed for reasons still unknown and she never gets it. Despite this apparent second rejection, Steve bravely calls Kitty, expecting to be shot down. More email ensues ... Twenty or so hours of cell phone time later, he flies to NYC and they spend a long weekend at her place in the Catskills, Windham. Two weeks later she flies to Albuquerque and they have been together ever since.
Their Bridge partnership is off to a good start with a fourth and a second in their first two National Championships, the Imp Pairs and the Master Mixed Teams. They travel successfully through Germany together doing Kitty's genealogical research (Steve speaks German). They learn in Maastricht that their Bridge partnership is not world class yet, but get to enjoy the company of Sally and Kit Woolsey.
Kitty will be giving up Women's bridge to play Open events with Steve--next stop: Birmingham. They will be doing some traveling abroad and some locally in their RV.
Steve and Kitty will live in Albuquerque except for a yearly foliage month at their second home, Windham, in the Catskills, which will continue to support itself by being rented out summers and winters.
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