'The irony of fate' in New York: how a stranger who accidentally showed up at a party turned a woman's life

In 1997, then 27-year-old Dina Honor hosted the first Thanksgiving dinner. She invited a group of friends from New York, who, like her, decided to stay in the city for the holidays. But her life was eventually changed by someone whom she did not invite at all and did not even know before, writes CNN.

It was a difficult year for Dina. After a failed relationship, she suffered from depression.

“I was slowly returning to feeling normal and not looking for love,” Honor said.

The party was in the style of a pot-lacquer - each guest had to bring some kind of dish for the table. But one of the girl's friends went even further and brought with him additional guests - two guys unknown to anyone. One of them was Richard Steggall, a 25-year-old Briton who had his first vacation in New York.

He traveled the United States with a friend who had a brother living in New York. This brother was Honor's friend.

“I honestly had no idea what Thanksgiving was at the time,” Steggall says. “I grew up in the UK and was vaguely aware but completely unaware of the significance of this holiday.”

Steggall and his friends were vacationing in New York City clubbing in the evenings and sightseeing during the day. On the morning of November 27, 1997, they woke up late, as the night before they were having fun at the club and wanted to go out for a snack.

The American in their company explained that most of the restaurants would be closed because it was Thanksgiving, a federal holiday and a major holiday. “But I know about a party where you can eat a little,” he remarked.

“We had no idea it would be a semi-formal Thanksgiving dinner like Christmas in the UK,” Steggall explained.

When Richard saw the look on Honor's face as she opened the doors to the guests, he realized that going uninvited was something of tactlessness. But, the guy admitted, the girl instantly charmed him. The feeling was mutual. Honor's disappointment with the intruders was softened by her sympathy for the boy.

“I thought he was very, very handsome,” Dina later recalled.

Steggall and his British friend, feeling awkward, tried to behave as discreetly as possible - they stood in the corner and watched the hostess.

“I thought she (Dina... - Ed.) beautiful. For me, who came from London, she was such, you know, a New York woman, - said Richard. - Dina seemed to me strong, confident, a little noisy, but funny - she just oozed life. And I was amazed by it from the very beginning. "

Steggall asked several guests about Honor, but did not speak to her directly - he did not want to bother the hostess, whom he had already offended by his appearance in her house without an invitation.

Drawn together through dessert

As dessert was served, Honor walked over to Steggall with a slice of pumpkin pie (a typical Thanksgiving dessert) that is not common in the UK. Steggall had never tasted such a dish before and happily agreed.

Conversation ensued. Honor, who is fond of literature, mentioned Shakespeare's Ophelia. Steggall knew Hamlet too - the conversation grew more lively and interesting.

“It was like a little light lit up between us,” Honor explained. “The few guys you meet at the party, between beer and pumpkin pie, will be happy to talk about Hamlet.

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They spent the rest of the evening talking.

“We had so much in common in our outlook on life and in what was important to us as humans, in the way we looked at the world, and in what we wanted out of life,” Steggall said.

After dinner, everyone went to the bar, and Honor and Steggall continued their active communication.

“We sat facing each other in the bar and kind of ignored everyone else,” she recalled. "We talked all night and the next day they continued talking again."

Steggall was due to fly back to London on Friday afternoon. Honor walked him to the subway station and they said goodbye on the platform.

When the train doors closed, Honor was already sure that she and this guy had a future. Returning to her apartment, she told her sister, "This is the man I will marry."

Phone love

Steggall had a girlfriend in London, but upon returning from New York, he immediately broke off the relationship.

"I didn't quite know what was going to happen," he explained, "but I felt it was the right thing to do."

The next day, Honor called him from New York. Thus began a month of daily long distance telephone calls and letters sent across the Atlantic.

In mid-December, Steggall decided it was time to meet and invited Dina to London for Christmas.

Honor wanted to refuse, because at Christmas her family was waiting, who were already so upset that the girl was not with them for Thanksgiving. In addition, she recently had a difficult break from a previous relationship, and she was just coming to her senses. But the thought that she should accept the invitation overtook all these arguments. And she made up her mind for Christmas in Britain.

Joint Christmas

Honor flew to London at 21:00 pm ahead of Christmas. Steggall greeted her with flowers. The guy told his friends and family that he met the girl while on vacation in New York, but they did not know the details.

In the UK, December 26 is considered Boxing Day and is also a national holiday. On Boxing Day morning, Steggall and Honor went to his parents' house.

“Our family has a tradition - something like a brunch with champagne and smoked salmon. So when Dina and I came, the whole family was sitting at the table and drinking champagne, ”Steggall recalls.

He introduced her to his family, and the girl quickly found an approach to them.

“I left her in the room with my mom, dad, uncle, aunt and sister and they got along really well,” Richard continued.

Later that day, Steggall surprised Honor with a plane ticket to Mallorca, Spain - they flew there with friends on a short holiday before the New Year. According to Honor, it was a great ride.

When the holiday period ended, the girl had to return to the United States. But Richard spent the weekend in New York at the end of January 1998, and Honor flew to London for Valentine's Day.

Moving to New York

In the spring of 1998, Steggall closed his outlet at the flower market in London and left for New York for three months, intending to spend the summer with Honor. He hadn't planned for it to be forever, but his friends and family felt it would.

“The goodbyes and some of the parties we threw were more than just a pre-departure event for three months. It really turned out to be an escort to a new life, ”the guy admitted.

However, Steggall arrived in New York with only a green gym bag filled with clothes. Richard moved into Dina's apartment - the same one where he appeared uninvited on Thanksgiving. They spent the summer together and strengthened their belief that they mutually want to be together for the long term. While they felt marriage might be in their future, the couple say they didn't want to get married at this point, even if it could be a way to guarantee Steggall's right to stay in the US. So he started looking for work with a visa and eventually got a position at the United Nations.

“When you tell this story, people can't believe it's true and think that you are some kind of spy working for the UN or something like that,” jokes Steggall.

So the temporary move became permanent.

Christmas miracle

On New Year's Eve 1999, the couple began a new chapter in their relationship when Richard proposed to Dina.

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They were married in April 2001 in New York, at a place called the Manhattan Penthouse on Fifth Avenue. Their British friends and family stayed at the charming hotels surrounding Union Square.

“We wanted to give our friends and relatives who came (especially from London), also from the place where I grew up (near Boston), a real New York,” explained Honor.

A new chapter in Europe

After their honeymoon in Australia, Steggall and Honor continued to enjoy life in New York, where they had two sons.

And in 2008, the family moved to Nicosia (Cyprus), this was demanded by Steggall's work at the UN. When the opportunity arose to move, the couple began to feel like they had outgrown their New York apartment. Steggall, who had always had a passion for travel, yearned for a new adventure.

In Nicosia, the couple initially struggled with a bit of culture shock, but eventually got used to and adopted the Mediterranean lifestyle. They were delighted that their children were growing up in beautiful landscapes and sunshine.

“I think it really changed the way we think about the kind of life we ​​could lead,” Steggall says. So much so that instead of returning to New York as they always assumed, the family later moved to Copenhagen.

Today, Steggall and Honor still live in Denmark. Their children are 17 and 13 years old and are New Yorkers by birth but raised in Europe and love to travel. Steggall still works at the UN, while Honor is an author and editor. In 2018, she published the book There are Places You Feel at Home: Lessons from a Decade Abroad.