Lemondrop

Mandy Kimmer, 48, and Tami Spears, 46, of Orlando, Fla., disagree over who messaged first on Yahoo! Personals in April 2004. But one thing they both agree on is that they bring out the best in each other.

"The things I don't like to do, she likes to do," said Spears, a staff supervisor at a dentist's office.

The couple emailed briefly before meeting in person. Even on the first date, there were signs that the two women meshed well but still had enough differences to keep things interesting. Kimmer was outside her house in a T-shirt and shorts playing basketball when Spears arrived all dolled up in a cute outfit.

"When she came to my house in Tampa, she came in her little pickup truck. I thought, Oh, she's really cute!" Kimmer recalled. "And she gave me a good hug. She got bonus points for that."

The rest is history, which also happens to be one of the couple's many shared interests. (They also play tennis and enjoy cats, trips to the beach and travel.) But they couldn't truly "be together" at first: Kimmer lived 88 miles away in Tampa, while Spears lived in Orlando. They drove every weekend to see each other.

Then Kimmer lost her job and found there were more opportunities in Orlando. In July, three years after they had met, Kimmer moved in with Spears. Two months later, she began working for the county's parks and recreation department.

In March of 2006, Spears took Kimmer to a bed and breakfast, where she proposed. ("It took a long time to find one at the bottom at the Cracker Jack box," Spears jokes of the ring.) Gay marriage is not legal in the state of Florida, and the two are considering going elsewhere to wed.

In the meantime, the couple has settled into harmonious domesticity, with Spears doing the cooking (she loves whipping up Southern meals) and cleaning and Kimmer handling the gardening. More than their shared interests and ability to complement one another, the two say their mutual acceptance is the foundation of their relationship.

"She lets me be me -- silly and outspoken," Spears said.

"Arrogant?" Kimmer chimes in. The two laugh.