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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Wink And A Smile Began An International Love Affair

He winked, she smiled back.

That’s about all Mike and Marla Emde could do when they met at a Belgium bike race two years ago.

Her high school German allowed the Seattle native to order coffee, but not much more. Mike, an Austrian, didn’t know how to say “I like you” in English.

But that day - May 31, 1994 - on a crowded Belgian street, it was enough to spark an international love affair.

Ah, spring in Europe.

They married last year at the Spokane County Courthouse, witnessed by a few friends and thousands of frequent flier miles.

“No matter the culture or communication, it’s what’s inside,” said Marla.

The couple, both national-class bicycle racers, spent five days together in Gent, Belgium, where they worked as pilots for blind cyclists at the disabled world championship games.

Teammates set them up after their first encounter. “They were all married, trying to take care of me,” said Marla.

Breakfast together meant “a lot of waving hands and feet,” Mike said. They went sight-seeing. He smiled, she smiled back.

International competitors usually trade jerseys. Marla and Mike joked about trading underwear.

She returned to Spokane and found roses, via Vienna. They swapped letters during the summer. He was 26, a well-paid mechanic, a bike fanatic. She was 36, recently divorced, working at Fitzbillies, enjoying her singleness.

He visited for a week in October and planned to return in January. They decided to spend Christmas together and he moved up his flight.

“We knew it was something,” said Mike.

He returned again in February, and was interrogated for two hours by immigration officials curious about all the Vienna-Spokane trips.

They had a heart-to-heart. Tension was mounting. They were burning through money. They were in love.

“We had to decide to get serious about this,” said Mike.

February 17, 1995, they married, and had a two-day honeymoon at a Spokane bed and breakfast.

Then he left, to work, wrap up his life in Vienna and avoid immigration hassles. They hop-scotched time zones all spring and summer: she to Vienna, he to Spokane, she to Vienna in August for a belated, month-long honeymoon.

They finally settled in Spokane last fall. They have a comfortable life with a five-month-old daughter, the North Side’s Sprouts Fresh deli, and a home in the Logan neighborhood.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty good love story,” said Marla.

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