A Proverb About Love Proves True

June 28, 2004 -- For anyone who's almost given up on dating and the idea of living with someone happily ever after, the story of Leni Cohen Wilson's marriage may provide some hope — and validate the proverb that love comes when it's least expected.

Cohen Wilson is a beloved 38-year-old first-grade school teacher in the Howard Beach neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. In her off-time, she is also a seductive belly dancer with a sensual smile and smooth moves, known as "Eleni."

Staring down her 40th birthday, she was still a single woman. "I always imagined some day I would get married; I think every little girl imagines one day — you know … put a dress on your head and pretend it's a veil."

Cohen Wilson had been looking and looking, but couldn't find a guy who would commit. Even her mom was starting to give up hope. "I really didn't think I'd see the day," said Glenda Cohen.

Then one day, she told her friends she would be taking a one-year sabbatical on dating.

She missed working on her crafts projects and belly dancing. She felt she was spending too much time "going to singles parties and hanging out in bars — and going to hardware stores and waiting for the right man to come down the aisle and find me."

True to the cliché, as soon as she stopped looking for love, it found her.

Surprise Behind an Oud

After spending more time in the dance studio, Cohen landed a gig with a live band. Scott Wilson was playing a Middle Eastern lute, called an oud — and he spent the night eyeing her.

Wilson is creative, quirky, almost eccentric. At 48, he had been divorced for almost 15 years, and says he had a hard time finding a woman who could live with the open-eyed delight of a first-grader.

"As I found out Leni teaches first grade, I said 'It's great! We can be children for the rest of our lives!'"

It was a match made in heaven. They became soul mates, enjoying hopping around the city, playing music in the park — and making arts and crafts.