Maurice Ellis, 80 at the time, had his hand in his 70-year-old dancing partner’s back pocket.

“Keep your hand on her waist,” the dance class instructor said.

Maurice, in his witty and likable way, said, “I just gave this lady a ring, so I’ll put my hand on her where ever I please.”

Everyone in the class clapped for Maurice and the woman who became his wife, Doris Ellis.

That was four years ago — right after Maurice gave Doris a promise ring. It was a couple months after they met and a couple months before they married.

They were in that Cloud 9 phase. Not much has changed. Those who know them say each seems to glow when the other is around. The 84-year-old and 74-year-old’s level of affection make them seem like a couple of teenagers.

Their current state is quite a contrast from where they were before they met. Both of their previous spouses — their life partners for decades — had passed away. They thought they’d never love again.

Yet they found a love they never could have hoped for.

“We’ve found that love is definitely just as good the second time around,” Doris said with a youthful, giddy laugh while sitting in the couple’s living room. Maurice nodded with a starry-eyed smile.

Maurice’s four children urged him to take dancing lessons as a way to help his loneliness. Doris’ seven children urged her to take lessons for the same reasons.

During the second lesson from Paul Chambers (who is now deceased) at the Moila Shrine Temple, Maurice grabbed Doris to swing dance. He’d noticed that she was a good dancer.

“I took one look at her and decided that she was the gal to be with,” he said.

She’ll never forget their first dance.

“Once he took me in his arms and started swinging me around, that was it. I was gone,” she said.

He asked for her phone number, and she gladly gave it to him. The next day, he called.

“You can’t fool around and waste time,” he said.

She added, “Not at our age.”

That evening, he brought some dancing tapes over to her house. They soon became inseparable. He liked how “gabby” she was. She thought he was so funny.

After they got engaged, they started planning a big wedding. But they decided a big event was too much work.

“Let’s run away,” Maurice said one day to Doris.

“So we went to Troy,” Doris explained.

They married at the Troy, Kan., courthouse, just four months after they met.

The four years that have followed have been filled with traveling and dancing. They danced on a mountain top in Tennessee during their honeymoon. In New Orleans, they danced on Bourbon Street until 3 a.m.

They have much more to do.

Niagra Falls is at the top of their travel list.

“Life is short, and we want to enjoy as much of it together as we can,” Doris said.

Ever After is a series that features local couples. To suggest a couple with a great love story, contact Nancy Hull at 271-8566 or nancyhull@npgco.com