There are dozens of romantic stories of people meeting, maybe at sunset on a beach, or eyes meeting across a crowded room, time standing still.
For Kevin and Hiba Charles, they met in jail.
Maybe a little context is needed.
Staff Sergeant Charles, then a constable was stationed in Inuvik and Hiba was the manager of the local Rexall drug store. She also worked part-time evenings and weekends as a guard at the cells. While it wasn’t love at first sight, they got to know each other.
“I knew her for a couple years but eventually we got engaged and here we are almost 12 years later,” said Kevin. “We clicked.”
He can’t pinpoint when a love connection was made, but, he does recall, one time during their courtship that he knew he caught her eye. It was at an RCMP function.
“I was bartending at the function, and they were playing music. I was back there mixing drinks and singing along to Neil Diamond, and I guess that kind have piqued her interest,” he laughs.
He’s pretty sure it was Sweet Caroline.
Being married to an RCMP officer is quite a commitment and from Inuvik, after they were married they moved to his next posting in Tulita in the remote north, about halfway between Inuvik and Yellowknife, a fly-in community. This was quite an adjustment for the young family, with Hiba leaving her family in Inuvik.
“I don’t think people really understand or are appreciative that being a Mountie is difficult, but being married to a Mountie is even more difficult. We have always said the spouses are the ones that should be getting the awards.”
He says that life with the RCMP is a commitment by the whole family, and it takes work.
“Communication is very key, patience for me and my career, but the biggest thing is that she is known for herself, and not as ‘the cop’s wife,’” said Kevin. “I think the one thing that frustrates us the most is when people refer to her as Kevin’s wife or the Staff Sergeant’s wife. She is her own person, and so am I when I go home and take the uniform off, I’m just Kevin.”
“The secret is separating work life from personal life.”
