Each of us knows the taste and flavor of the chewing cube "Love is ...", because all lovers buy it, despite how old they are - seventeen or fifty. Although no, who are we deceiving?
We just really want to quickly deploy a wrapper to see a sweet liner, from which the heart begins to rattle treacherously, and the face spreads into a smile ...
But today few people know that the painted scenes with the participation of the girl and her boyfriend, as well as touching signatures were born not by accident, but were addressed to the artist's beloved wife. And believe me, their love story is no less tender, piercing and tragic than the famous characters from "Love is ...".
At the age of 19, the New Zealand animated cartoonist Kim Grove went to see the world, but after 6 years her journey had to be "paused" in California - it was there that the girl's heart was conquered by a young Italian Roberto Casali, and from that moment it can be precisely said that the lovers of the whole world have their own symbol!
So, they say that then Kim was too shy, and she could not directly tell about her feelings - she started drawing them on a napkin. At first, the sketches turned out to be just a small droplet, and eventually it turned into a nude, pot-bellied girl, in love with a boy whose name exactly began with the letter "R", because it was her painted Kim drew on the sand in a comic book in 1971!
In the same year, Kim and Roberto were married, and even in the same church in New Zealand, in which the parents of the bride used to make wedding vows.
By the way, under the crown of a girl went to the crown of daisies and veils, which then appeared on her heroine!
But the story of "lovers on napkins" did not end there at all, but on the contrary - thanks to Robert's production, drawings were already printed in the "Los Angeles Times", and then they were seen by residents of 60 countries on inserts, cups, T-shirts and posters!
And despite the fact that the characters still did not have an official name, everyone understood perfectly well that they represented themselves as Roberto and Kim.
When the comics gained world popularity, the artist joked that she would write romantic songs about her love, but, alas, since she does not have such a gift, she had to draw everything!
The drawn Kim and Roberto experienced on paper all the stages of relations that Kim and Roberto experienced-acquaintance, marriage, the birth of children (the sons of Stefano and Dario) and even the loss of their favorite pets (a couple at the grave with the name of Fido)!
But, alas, the happiness of the Kasali family was not as long as the heroes of the comics - in 1975 Robert was diagnosed with an incurable stage of cancer in an aggressive form, and for an important time with his beloved, Kim trusted to draw loving characters to the animator Bill Espri.
After the operation, Kim told her husband that from now on she does not need any precious gifts, because most of all she dreams of having time to get pregnant before his death. Then the doctors froze Robert's sperm, and in 1976, at the age of 31, he died. And despite the fact that the painted characters on a hundred more inserts cheerfully met together with old age, that day Kim painted her heroine near the tombstone.
You will not believe, but after 16 months, Kim's gift came true - thanks to frozen sperm she gave birth to the third boy Milo! True, if in Europe the widow and her newborn were supported, calling the baby in the press "a wonderful baby," the Vatican called this act "an insult to morality."
"Milo was born thanks to the love of the parents," Kim then answered criticism, "we dreamed about him until Roberto's death. And if my husband was alive, he was born the same way, but only in marriage. What changes death? "
Unfortunately, Kim did not manage to stay longer in the circle of her favorite children either - she was diagnosed with liver and bone cancer, and at the age of 55 she died at home in Surrey (England).
Today, the elder son of Stefano continues to lead the love and life of parents, and the characters who are fond of the world are touched by their Lovstory thanks to Bill Espri, though according to the agreement, in all pictures he will never stop signing Kim ...