FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Valentines contest winners Ahkom and Lorraine Suankum met at the Sure Shot Cafe in Makiki.

Turning point:
Friends become lovers

In the history of amor, are there three more dreaded words than "Let's be friends"?

Coming Up Andrew McClung put himself forward as a makeover project for our own Love Doctor, promoter Flash Hanson. The Will Smith "Hitch" -- now No. 1 in the nation -- prompted this second Valentine's Day contest. See the results Sunday.

We asked hopeful romantics everywhere for "Turning Point" stories of friendships that blossomed into love, and we found our Valentine's Day winner in Ahkom and Lorraine Suankum, who spent two years in friendship limbo before Art, as he's called, made his move.

Our winning couple will receive a two-night stay at the W, dinner for two at Diamond Head Grill and flowers from Watanabe Floral.

Two runners-up also managed to win judges' icy hearts and will be heading for brunch at Michel's at the Colony Surf. They are physicians Theresa and Stephen Wee, who met at the University of Hawaii at Manoa during study sessions for the "physics impaired," and David and Misty Wheeler, who grew up as neighbors and saw each other through Sunday school and school dances.

The Wees went on study dates for six years before their turning point came at a Brothers Cazimero Christmas concert in 1978, where they held hands for the first time.

For the Wheelers, the turning point came when David was about to move to the Big Island, forcing Misty to phone him for a farewell dinner that became the start of a romance.

WE CELEBRATE our yearly anniversary on Valentine's Day because the day is very special to us -- it is the day we exchanged our vows. However, Valentine's Day wasn't always a welcome day for my husband, Ahkom, and me. When we were single, the day served as a hefty reminder of how lonely we were and how hopeless relationships are.

It all started out with his white MG Midget convertible. The car is a lot like me, British made, unreliable, hard to get parts for, but, like me, enjoys making boring things like a trek to the store an adventure. I saw the car all over the island and in some unsuspecting places, too -- Rockpiles, Pali Lookout, Waikiki Zoo, Chinatown, etc. -- but never caught a glimpse of the owner. I just knew we had a lot in common because we were always in the same place at the same time.

Well, when I saw the car parked in front of the Sure Shot CafŽ, I got a good chance to examine it. It showed a lot of wear, and I thought, "Now there's a guy who could appreciate a relic like me." I stood staring at the car and fantasizing about its mysterious owner. I was certain that he must be some professor of history at the University of Hawaii or a world-traveling photographer.

"Wanna ride?"

I looked up at this handsome local-looking guy in his late 30s coming out of the store.

"Like it's yours!" I snorted in disbelief.

"It is. Hi! I'm Art Suankum."

"I'm going to marry you, ya know," I said, joking.

"Then I'll have to know your name," he said.

"I'm Lorraine, Lorraine Suankum."

We laughed and began chatting about old British cars. Not having the pressure of "hitting" on each other, we had the chance to talk not like a man and woman, but like friends.

Then, like the Midget, the conversation was starting to break down, and we both had to go. "Listen," he said. "My band, the Notorious Northsiders, plays downtown on Thursday and Friday nights. Why not come by and we can talk."

When I went to see him, he was in the middle of his set. He stopped and came over and put on the lei I had brought him. He introduced me as his wife to his friends. We all fell apart laughing.

He turned out to be nice, and having met his friends and been reassured he wasn't a serial killer, I went with him for a drive. We began talking and found out we were both divorced and now single and hoping to stay that way. I was busy raising three small children, and he had just gone through a long separation that ended in divorce. I took care of my children and attended school; he worked days and played rock music at night.

We got together a couple of times a week for a South Shore drive. We compared notes on the happenings of the week, who we met, etc. We agreed that it's hard to meet someone when you're single because people seem to think there is something wrong with you. He hated approaching a coven of women at a club when they are out gal-palling, and I wouldn't dare walk into a sports bar in hope of meeting a man. So we teamed as friends and hit the town running. We went everywhere, met everyone and had a great time.

WE HAD a great friendship free of the pressures of intimacy, romance, relationships and responsibility. One problem, though: We began to make each other lonely for romance.

I would complain, "Why can't I meet a guy like you to fall in love with?"

"You're too pretty to have guy friends, that's why!" he would console.

We began to care for each other and help one another. He fixed my radiator and I did his tax papers. Our friendship grew at an alarming pace. One Valentine's night at our favorite restaurant, Paesano's, Art stopped in the parking lot and pulled me close, joking, "You want to kiss me."

Afterward, we didn't hear what the waiter said, ate as fast as we could and raced outside for more of our favorite thing -- a moonlight ride in the Midget. That night ended in a kiss and a "what are we doing?" Shrug.

From there we grew together and fell in love. We commemorated all of our milestones at Paesano's -- our first month and anniversary, our birthdays, holidays -- and he proposed to me at "our" table. We celebrated there after our Buddhist wedding ceremony a few years back. We had our baby shower at Paesano's the following year and just sang "Happy First Birthday" to our son, Gavin, at that same spot last Dec. 18.

This year is extra-special as our families are finally able to come out to Hawaii for our Christian ceremony on Feb. 27. It feels like I get to fall in love and marry him all over again. He was more than a great friend. He was an angel.

Stephen and Theresa Wee

Our story began at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus in 1972. We were premed/biology majors and both needed help with physics. With our large undergraduate classes, I never even noticed my future husband Stephen.

However, at our Saturday study sessions for the "physics impaired," he stood out among the others. He always wore the same white sneakers and carried a large briefcase Ñ so different from us cooler kids with backpacks.

I did not have a car so I asked him for a ride home in his shiny baby blue Volkswagen Bug. This was the start of many more rides to come.

We began to study together, but always maintained a strict platonic relationship. This routine continued throughout undergraduate, as well as through medical school at the UH.

As we entered our final year of medical school, we began to plan for our residency programs on the mainland. By now, our friendship had blossomed, but still no "official" date after all those years. I thought Stephen would make a great husband for someone, but certainly not for me. We considered ourselves like brother and sister.

Our turning point came at Christmas 1978, perhaps our last Christmas together for a while. Stephen came to a family dinner with me and was introduced strictly as a friend, which everyone went along with. That evening, after dinner, we went to Ala Moana Hotel to catch the Brothers Cazimero Ñ still not an official date.

As we sat down, we held hands for the first time and the rest, as they say, is history. We were married the following year and will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this May.

My husband and I are now both physicians and have practiced medicine in the same office for 20 years. We love to work together but cherish the time with our four children the most.

We look forward to our next 25 years together and all the joy and surprises that are still in store for us.

David and Misty Wheeler

Where do I start, because 500 words do not even begin this journey of our 34 years together. This is just a glimpse into our happiness and a proven fact that love is patient.

The moment David and his family moved in across the street from us things would never be the same. David and I have always been a part of each other's lives. We have always been friends, but we were always so much more than friends.

But who would not fall in love with the boy next door when your intermediate and early high school years were filled with: with countless memories that include: playing on the streets; lazy afternoons hanging out with each after school; bus rides to Pearlridge; walking to and from classes together, walking home together; note passing in church every Sunday; always ended up next to each at the movies, in the cars; in front of the television, at youth group sleepovers; dancing to that perfect song that reminds us of each other; looking out our windows every opportunity just curios of what the other is doing; combating the rumors that we were actually a couple; defending each other from jealous girlfriends and boyfriends; and going crazy over the brushed touches, unspoken words and almost kisses.

I guess you can say there has always been an attraction between David and I, but neither one would ever admit it. After High School there was a brief time when we hung out in hopes that the true feeling would surface. But when I was ready to admit to him I was too scared that I would lose one of my closest friends. So, David and I went our separate ways.

Seven years after graduation, my mother calls to say that she has learned that David would be going to the Big Island to work on a construction job. Honestly, my first thought was ... for real now ... don't laugh ... "He is going to go up there and he will fall in love with someone, pack up and move up there."

And then my next though was ... "Hell No! I ain't losing him again."

I picked up the phone and called him. The next night we went out to dinner and that weekend I flew up to the Big Island to see him. Only then did I learn that David was just as crazy about me as I was about him, we shared the same feeling for each for years. We were each other’s first pick, but we saved the best for last. We were engaged three months later and this Valentines Day marks our 7th wedding anniversary.

David has literally has been the man of my dreams, and he has completed me, he is the other half of my soul.

In my heart I always known that we were destined to be together and I truly believe that happy endings come to those who wait.