01:00 AM EST on Sunday, March 27, 2005

Muriel Caldwell and Charles Niles

St. Luke's Episcopal Church, East Greenwich

9.19.04

Muriel Caldwell and Charles Niles can thank a waitress at Gregg's for their late-in-life romance. Both had dined at the North Kingstown restaurant for years, usually for lunch, with their respective spouses. But when those spouses died, Muriel and Charlie were each there every Monday for lunch, eating alone.

A waitress, Sue Williams, had gotten to know both of them after years of serving them. One Monday, when Charlie came in, she said, "I'm going to seat Muriel at your table when she comes in." "That's fine with me," said Charles. When Muriel came in, Sue said "I'm going to seat you at Charlie's table, ok?" Muriel grinned and said "Well, if it's all right with Charlie."

So for some six months, they saw each other every Monday. Then Charles told Muriel he would like to be her friend, and to spend more time with her. "So we started seeing each other more than just at Gregg's. It developed into a very nice friendship and then love.

"But we never had any intention of getting married," says Muriel. "Bill (her husband) and I had lived in Florida every winter, and we knew lots of elderly couples who just lived together." They wouldn't get married for financial reasons: fear of losing Social Security, pensions.

One day, Muriel's daughter-in-law told her that she and Charles should get married. "Then she went to Charles and told him he should marry me, and he said 'I want to but she doesn't want to.' "

So they went to the Social Security administration. "We found out that we wouldn't lose any benefits by getting married. So we are." Charlie has given her a large opal engagement ring.

Charlie's originally from Alton. He was a Hopkinton police officer for 25 years, then worked at the Sherwin Williams paint store in Westerly for 25 years. Muriel, a retired school teacher, spent most of her life in North Kingstown.

Today, in the couple's small North Kingstown apartment, there's a portrait of Charlie on the wall. He's 19 and in the Navy: During WWII, Charlie spent 4 years in Norfolk, Virginia, guarding German prisoners. Flanked by framed photos of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren is a picture of a cruise ship they were on last January.

There's a basket of yarn, and crochet hooks, and a pile of crocheted afghans in the corner. "It's my hobby," says Muriel. She's involved in the Linus Program, and she crochets blankets for infants and children at Hasbro.

When asked whether he still works, Charlie quips "I work for DO-LITTLE and SEE-MORE!" He's active in the Masons; last year he was the Grand Marshal of the state organization and he belongs to 7 or 8 different lodges. "Last year we raised $300,000 for kids who want to go to college who can't afford it."

Pamela Caldwell, a granddaughter, is there to help Muriel and Charlie get to the church. She's also documenting the wedding for them, and her friend Tim is quickly learning how to operate a video camera.

Pamela snaps a few pictures on the deck, then escorts Charlie and Muriel to the limousine that will take them to St. Luke's, where Muriel has been a member since the 1940s. Before an audience of about 40 friends and family members, they say their vows, as a baby wails in the background. After exchanging matching gold bands, Charlie wraps his arm tightly around Muriel, and pulls her close. They look just like young newlyweds.

They are going to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon. They'll spend a few days there, then continue on a road trip through Canada, into Vermont and home again. "This is just to get to know each other," says Charlie of the trip. In April, they're going on a real honeymoon: a cruise of the western Caribbean on the Norwegian Dawn.

Postscript: Muriel Caldwell-Niles turned 87 in October; Charlie celebrated his 81st birthday in December.