DURING THEIR HIGH school years, throughout football season, Friday was the best day of the week for the Turner brothers. And, of course, the best part of the day was Friday night. It seemed as though Tony and Danny had some form of mental telepathy on the field, particularly when the team was in dire need of a score. Their specialty was the broken play. Just when things looked most desperate, Tony would sense where Danny was on the field, toss the ball in the air, and, like a heat-seeking missile, it would drop into his hands. Then Danny’s legs would do the rest. After the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran a feature on the brothers, they became a source of pride for the entire community. For a few years, Steve Turner’s money was no good at any Chesterland pub.

It was after one of these games that Danny was introduced to Rachel McKenna by Carolyn Hamilton. Carolyn knew Danny because her dad had coached his Little League team, and her brother Kenny palled around with him

Carolyn was convinced Danny and Rachel would make a great couple, and was excited to introduce them. However, Danny breezed by after the introduction, in pursuit of the keg party that was also part of the Friday night tradition.

“Nice meeting you,” he said as he walked away. “What did you say your name was? Renée?” But Danny was gone before Rachel could answer.

Years later, after they were married, Rachel never tired of telling this story, and, as if on cue, Danny would look chagrined, raise his hands in a gesture of innocence, say “I love you, Renée,” and plant a big kiss on her cheek.

Logically, Rachel and Carolyn did not seem like great candidates to become acquaintances, let alone develop a lifelong friendship. Rachel was outgoing, boisterous, seemingly self-assured, and melodramatic. She came from hard-drinking Irish stock who defined the phrase “dysfunctional family” before it was in vogue. Carolyn was raised by strict parents who took their Roman Catholic faith seriously, sending Carolyn to elementary and middle school at Sacred Heart in Mayfield Village. Studious and shy, she liked her routine and was uncomfortable with change. She lined up her pencils at home in order to be better prepared to do her homework.

So when Carolyn suddenly found herself attending Geauga High, an enormous public school where she hardly knew a soul and coolness was clearly the highest priority, she felt totally invisible. Then one day all of that changed.