Posted on: Sunday, October 10, 2004
Sometimes, even federal investigators break the rules
By Tanya Bricking Leach
Advertiser Staff Writer
Eva Bisarra had an unspoken dating rule: She would not date guys she met at bars.
Owsley family photo Suddenly, the rules girl was a rules girl no more.
Bisarra, a small-town 1994 Kaua'i High grad who grew up to be a federal investigator on O'ahu, fell almost immediately for Owsley, a Chicago native who was stationed here at the time with the Marine Corps.
He liked the fact that she was so easy to talk to.
And she was so intrigued by him that she let him move in after three months of dating, while he got out of the military and looked to start a second career.
They lived together for 10 months, and their love lasted long-distance when Owsley moved back to the Mainland for work.
He'd send her online greeting cards, and they'd try to catch each other on the phone when time-zone differences weren't getting in the way.
But then, long distance drew them apart and they broke up. The separation was hard on both of them.
Things changed with a proposal. A no-rules, text-message kind of proposal.
"He's not the most romantic person in the world," Bisarra admits.
One day, out of the blue, when Bisarra was in the middle of an investigation interview, Owsley text-messaged: "Will you marry me?"
Bisarra tried to keep her composure and conceal her excitement so the interviewee wouldn't suspect anything was going on.
She messaged back "yes" and called him once her interview was over to make sure he wasn't joking around. He wasn't.
They got together in March, and Owsley made it official with a ring and the whole bit.
The 28-year-old bride and 30-year-old groom married Aug. 14 at the Princeville Resort on Kaua'i, with 50 guests and a spectacular backdrop where majestic mountains meet the sea.
The honeymoon was shortbecause the groom had to leave the next day to return to work as a transportation analyst in Atlanta.
The bride, now Eva Bisarra Owsley, transferred her job to Atlanta, where she still works as a federal investigator.
She says married life is good.
"We have the same ambitions," she said. In addition to their career tracks, they're putting down roots.
They bought a new house and moved in two weeks ago.
It's not the Garden Isle, but it's a whole new life.
"I actually love the city. I love the Mainland," said the bride, who earned her master's degree at the University of Houston. "It's not so isolated to me."
Tanya Bricking Leach writes about relationships. If you'd like her to tell your love story, write to tleach@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 525-8026 or mail your photo and details to Love Stories, Tanya Bricking Leach, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.
But there was that night she was out with her girlfriends at Rumour's nightclub, and Steve Owsley was there with his friends, and the two struck up a conversation and clicked.
Eva Bisarra, a federal investigator from Lihu'e, Kaua'i, met Chicago-born former Marine Steven Owsley at a bar. She let go of her dating rules and gave him a chance. They wed Aug. 14 at the Princeville Resort.
