Long, circuitous road leads to wedding vows
N.B. natives drifted their separate ways, but couldn't stay apart
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

Mike and Lauren Watson, who share a love story which began in North Brunswick 12 years ago and came full circle two years ago, welcomed their baby daughter Danica Jean into their family this past March.

Their love story writes like a tale of two cities - the initial spark ignited in North Brunswick, but the fire wasn't detected until Ohio, and then the flames burned brightly back in North Brunswick.

For Michael Watson, 31, and Lauren Rudders, 28, their teenage years spent living around the corner from each other didn't automatically result in love at first sight, but ultimately brought them together to begin a family as Mr. and Mrs. Watson.

When Watson was 19 and Rudders was 16, they developed a great friendship on the porch of her old house. They hung out every day or night for about a year, with Watson eventually realizing his feelings were stronger than just partying in the neighborhood. Before Rudders left for college, Watson wrote her a letter professing his feelings, but "she told me to basically get lost," Watson said. Their relationship remained stagnant for several years.

After some time, Watson decided he missed their bond, albeit a friendly one, and decided to contact Rudders through a mutual friend. Although he was engaged at the time, he decided to bring his fiancée to meet Rudders at her college in Ohio in 1999, simply looking to catch up with an old friend.

"It was an excuse to tell my fiancée we would go see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Watson said of his travels. "But really, it had been too many years that [Lauren and I] hadn't spoken. Subconsciously, maybe it was to see if there was anything, I don't know. Consciously it was just a vacation to have fun."

The two old friends spent the entire trip together, with Watson's fiancée wondering why he was leaving with her instead of staying back with Rudders. They both admit feelings were there between the two of them, yet according to Rudders, Watson had "chickened out" in canceling his engagement; Rudders instead moved with her family to Arizona after graduating from college. The two did continue to talk on the phone for a while, but after some hard feelings, the pair went their separate ways again.

Laying it on the line

Once again their relationship was put on hold, until Rudders came back to New Jersey for a family engagement, returning to the old neighborhood five years after last speaking to Watson. Terrence Farrell, a mutual friend, told Watson that "his girl" was at an old hangout spot and that he should go and see her.

"If I can't have what I want, I don't want to torture myself even more," Watson said of his initial hesitation in returning to the bar. Yet because of the persistence of Meredith Speizer, a dispatcher in the police department where Watson worked at the time, he finally decided to use vacation time for the second half of his double shift and proceed to the bar.

After a mix-up in plans, Watson found out that Rudders was with her parents at the North Brunswick Pub. He waited in the parking lot before convincing himself he needed to see her, and then 20 minutes later on Sept. 9, 2004, he finally took the steps he had been waiting for all of his adult life.

"I stood there for a minute-and-a-half until she looked up, and that was pretty much it," he recalled.

"I jumped off the stool," Rudders said. "My dad thought something had bit me because I jumped off so quickly," she laughed.

She leaped into his arms, and they both realized this was the best decision they had made. Rudders was hoping to see Watson, who shortly thereafter broke up with the girl he was dating. They left the pub and caught up for the rest of the night, realizing this was the beginning of their lives together.

"Viva Las Vegas"

Despite Watson wanting to move to Arizona immediately to be with Rudders, his family suggested he take a long vacation there to see if this was what he wanted. He left in early November to visit but realized his vacation was going to become more permanent.

With Las Vegas only a five-hour drive from Rudders' home in Arizona, Watson recounted, "I said, 'If we're going to go to Vegas, let's get married.' She said, 'OK.' I said, 'I don't think you're taking me seriously.' And she said, 'OK.' "

With 13 being Watson's lucky number, the two finally got married on Nov. 13 in a ceremony he kept secret from his family as long as possible. Since he had to finish up his time at the North Brunswick Police Department, he returned home and packed his belongings, driving out west with Speizer and Patrolman Alex Obando on New Year's Day 2005.

"I drove out there and I haven't looked back since," Watson said.

The couple also added a new addition early this year: daughter Danica Jean was born on March 13.

"We figured we'd waited 10 years to get together so let's not wait any longer to have kids and start a family," Watson said.

They both believe fate played an incredible part in their finally coming together again, from Rudders' aunt's ceremony requiring Rudders to come back home, to the persistence of Watson's friends, to even the fact that another mutual friend bought Rudders' childhood home, allowing the two to catch up on his front porch 10 years after originally hanging out there.

"For me, it's that I always have my best friend with me," Rudders said of their relationship.

"I guess for me it's a 'complete circle' kind of thing. Someone complements me and I complement her, and it's a sense of feeling complete," Watson added.