A chance encounter ignites friendship for Jennifer Bennett and Deborah Harts

Trudging through the Memphis airport to her connecting flight, Jennifer Bennett would never have imagined that the next few hours would irrevocably change her life. She was on her way home in February 1991 after partaking in New Orleans' Mardi Gras revelry when a woman in the lounge area mentioned that she looked a little frazzled. "I remember looking at her and thinking, 'Wow, that girl has a great sense of style. She really looks like someone I'd like to know,'" Bennett recalls.

Whether by chance or fate, Deborah Harts was booked for the same flight to Atlanta, returning home after her sister's funeral. "We talked about Atlanta and how sometimes it is so hard to make new friends," says Bennett. "We talked about our love of music, books, theater, and fashion." Once on the plane, remembers Harts, "I knew that I wanted to be friends with Jennifer because of our kindred spirits."

From that fortuitous meeting came an enduring friendship. Bennett, now 33, had moved to Atlanta a year earlier to pursue her career as a Spanish and French teacher. Harts, now 37 and a pharmacist, was born and raised in Louisiana, and moved to Atlanta after graduating from college. Unfortunately, Harts' grandmother became ill in 1992, and Hart moved back to Louisiana to care for her.

Despite the distance that separates them, Bennett and Harts' friendship has survived and thrived. They talk on the phone five times a week, and get together for the holidays. According to Bennett, "Many a night is spent with a magazine on her lap and the same one on mine, miles away. We go through page by page, commenting on the articles, fashion and makeup."

Since both women are single ("We've got our weddings planned out, but no grooms," quips Bennett), men are a favorite topic of conversation. "I know that I depend on Deborah to help keep me grounded and to not let me risk my sanity over a man," Bennett says fondly. "I think I do the same for her."

The evolution of their friendship has had a profound effect on both Bennett and Harts. "Friendship is not just about when all is going well," says Bennett. "It's the so-so times that really show you if you have a solid friendship - and we do."

And both women have had bad times, and seen each other through. "When my father died a year ago last April, and my grandmother last September, Deborah was the first friend that I even thought to call," remembers Bennett. "She was there for me mentally and spiritually." Likewise, says Harts, who cared for her own ailing grandmother until her passing last summer, "Jennifer was right there to help me and provided a shoulder to lean on when I had no one else. She remained loyal and caring throughout the whole ordeal, which touched my heart and made our bond become stronger."

"We have reciprocity, complementarity and respect," says Bennett. "With those elements, you just can't go wrong."