One enchanted afternoon, I met my wife while I was shopping in a rare bookstore where she worked. As I walked past bookshelves filled with first editions, she barely caught my eye from where she was sitting behind a desk at the other end of the room.

“Yes!” a voice screamed inside my head. “This woman is for you!”

At that moment I didn’t know if she was married (she wasn’t). I didn’t know if she had a sense of humor (she did). I didn’t even know what she really looked like (I had caught onl...