I was in Minneapolis for a weekend with my then-bf. We stopped in Panera one morning for bagels & coffee, and I remember thinking the guy behind the counter was cute. Maybe. He got my attention, anyway, with his bright-red curly hair sticking out all over under the cap. It was one of the few times in my life I've ever wanted to give a stranger my number, though I obviously didn't because 1) I was in a relationship, and 2) I lived a thousand miles away and would never see this person again. But I noticed him.
A year and a half later, I was living in Minnesota (Austin, this time, not Mpls) and future-husband was living in Iowa. We were both near the border, so we ended up being about a 2-hour drive apart. We actually met on OK Cupid. We started talking, which led to Skype "dates," phone calls, etc. He was quite straightforward about being tired of casual dating and looking for a potential life partner. That was my situation as well, so we pretty quickly started talking about the big stuff, testing for compatibility, I guess.
After doing the online thing for a while, we decided to meet in person. The night before, we were talking on the phone and he asked me if I was at all familiar with Mpls. I said I'd been there a couple of times, but only briefly, and mostly stayed downtown around the convention center. He asked if I remembered ever seeing a Panera on Nicollet Ave. I said yes, I had breakfast there once...
As fate would have it, he was the curly red-haired barista that morning. He doesn't remember me, of course, but it couldn't have been anyone else, and at the time, he was working every weekend, always that early shift.
I figured it must be some kind of sign. We got married 3 months later. It's been bumpy at times, mostly for financial reasons (we were both very bad with money in our younger years and came into the relationship with substantial amounts of debt; I have changed my money habits since, but he has not, or at least not much), but it's been 3 1/2 years and I think we're doing okay. :) First child is coming any day now.