Scott Forrest and Kevin Fenimore met in 1992 when both were stopped at a traffic light on a highway in Delaware, Kevin in a Suzuki Samurai and Scott in a silver corvette.Scott noticed Kevin “checking him out” and followed him down the road, where eventually the two pulled into a gas station together. A one and a half hour conversation ensued, after which, they began communicating, dating and falling in love.
Family is a huge priority to Scott and Kevin. When it came to buying a home together, against the advice of older friends in the LGBT community, the couple adventurously bought a house in suburbia as opposed to one in a larger city where their relationship might not be as much of an anomaly. They settled on a home in a bucolic neighborhood where they planted a lovely garden and quickly became very popular as the boys next door. The neighbors welcomed them…..well, most of the neighbors. Kevin has the distinct title of being the biggest kid on the block and his front yard is the playground to childhood games involving sidewalk chalk and water balloons. However, all was not completely fun and games. Initially, one neighbor, who at first applauded their efforts to revive the property and its appearance, literally clapping at their work in cutting down the overgrown vegetation on the property, moved away rather than live near homosexuals. Another couple would not let their daughter even step foot onto their property, which perplexed the other children who knew it as the best place to have fun. But the outgoing couple and their fun-loving personalities prevailed. Now, even the machinist across the street refuses to allow his co-workers to speak negatively about gays and another neighbor, a dock worker, won’t let the stevedores and sailors say anything even remotely anti-gay. Scott and Kevin were at the forefront of gays and lesbians moving into suburbia and feel that they have proven to be great role models for their neighbors. The children who were very small when Scott and Kevin came to town, are now young adults and have seen first hand that they are a couple like everyone else. Yet, in spite of their popularity, they remain very careful about allowing a child to come alone into their home without other children or their parents present. They will take no chances at being accused of anything inappropriate. The world still has not come far enough.
Scott and Kevin love children and would have enjoyed having children of their own but felt that the early 1990's just was not a good time for them to be parents in such small conservative state as Delaware or for society to accept the children of gay parents. Instead, they have become very involved in the Episcopal Church camp for children, where they volunteer building whatever is needed around the camp and overseeing the gardens. The experience is both exhilarating and very spiritual and their dog, Luna, loves to come along and romp and swim.
In stark contrast to their life in suburbia, there is also a very worldly side to Scott and Kevin, who own a tiny studio apartment in the Marais district of Paris, just a short walk from Notre Dame Cathedral. Kevin studied and is fluent in French and they make frequent trips abroad to their favorite city. Not surprisingly, the influence of the Parisian atelier can be seen in the decor of their home in the US. Always the generous and exuberant couple, they are quick to share their home away from home with friends who are travelling to France.
In January of 2012, Civil Unions will become legal in their home state of Delaware but Scott and Kevin have no plans for a huge event. They intend to "fill out the paperwork" and go through the process but keep things low key as it is still "a second class kind of thing" until they have the benefit of full federal rights.
Scott attributes the longevity of their relationship to mutual respect, humor, and being each other’s best friend. They thoroughly enjoy each other's company, entertain each other, don't take things too seriously and don't really argue. "Too much negative energy," says Scott. Kevin adds that it is all about family and sharing the same values. "My family is his family and his family is my family." Scott echoes, " We have a very symbiotic relationship. You only come across somebody once in a lifetime that you can just mesh with and Kevin is that guy."