Stephen Pike knew as soon as he met Janet that he would share his life with her. Now he is left with just a photo album of memories, reports DARREL MAGER.
Stephen and Janet Pike's love for each other was so strong that they had already made up their mind not
to have children because "there was simply no love left to share."
Mr Pike knows that might sound selfish, but "we gave so much to each other that we had nothing left to give to anyone else."
They were married for nine years and no couple could have been closer. Everything they did, they did together.
A cuddle was there to enjoy whenever possible; they were best mates as well as lovers.
But now all Mr Pike has left to hold on to is a photo album laden with lovely memories of their short years together.
Mrs Pike, aged 34, was stabbed to death while serving a customer at the Henderson branch of the ACC last Thursday.
Her husband gripped a wedding photograph tight during a tearful interview last night, after inviting the New Zealand Herald to his Glen Eden home to pay tribute to the woman he had always imagined he would grow old with.
"She was my second skin. We would do everything together.
"Sometimes we didn't need to say anything. We'd just sit and hold each other.
"And after she'd had a bad day at work, I'd just give her a cuddle and then everything would be all right. She was my whole world."
They were in the midst of an agonising time apart while Mr Pike was down in Porirua training to be a police officer.
"We were apart for our wedding anniversary on June 16, which was extremely tough," said Mr Pike.
"We were looking forward to a holiday overseas to make up for it all, but that's all gone now.
"The thing that hurts me the most was that I couldn't be there to help her when she died. It's ripping me in half ... I feel so helpless.
"I'm trying to be strong - I know that's what she would have wanted - but I just miss her so badly.
"But I know that someday I'll be with her and we can cuddle each other again."
The couple met in 1987 while working for British Gas in Plymouth, England.
"I was organising a ski trip at work to go to Europe when I met her. She was beautiful and I couldn't believe that I hadn't seen her before.
"I was with someone else at the time, though, but after that relationship broke up I couldn't stop thinking about [Janet]. So I gave her a call ... We went out to a local pub.
"It might sound funny but when I saw her that night I knew I would marry her."
When they both ended up on the redundancy list at British Gas, the Pikes decided to move overseas. They settled on New Zealand after visiting the country and finding it "very beautiful and friendly."
After immigrating in 1996, they explored their new country, spending many weekends on motorcycle trips, including a tour of the South Island. It was travel the way they loved it - seeing the country together as close as it is possible to get.
The Pikes were also keen athletes and were planning to take part in a marathon this year.
Friends will gather tomorrow for a funeral service in Auckland before Mr Pike flies to England to bury his wife in Cawsand, in south-eastern Cornwall.
"I don't know what I'll do now. I can't even begin to think about my own future at the moment. Janet was my life."
Stephen Pike knew as soon as he met Janet that he would share his life with her. Now he is left with just a photo album of memories, reports DARREL MAGER.
Stephen and Janet Pike's love for each other was so strong that they had already made up their mind not
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