Darwin and Jeanne awoke at four in the morning on the 12th, and prepared to drive the 170 miles to Manhattan. But when they opened their door, they found a telegram hanging on the doorknob which read: "Your appointment has been canceled. You may see Baba at a reception on Thursday the 13th." Shocked, they stared at each other. Then Darwin tore up the telegram and they decided to go on to New York anyway taking the chance they might catch a glimpse of Meher Baba in the hotel lobby.
They arrived at the Shelton Hotel a short time before Baba was to arrive. Norina walked in, saw them and asked, "My dears, what are you doing here?! Didn't you get my cable?"
"Yes," they replied, "but we haven't come for an interview. We are here in the hopes we might catch a glimpse of Baba as he passes by."
Norina said, "Baba is in the taxi following the one I came in. He'll be here any moment. Maybe he'll see you for just a minute when he comes." Just then Baba walked in. The winter weather was very cold outside and he was dressed in a long overcoat and a hat with his long hair tucked under it. Norina walked quickly over to Baba to explain the situation. Baba looked over at his two longing souls and nodded in agreement. He strode over to them with Norina. Darwin described this momentous first meeting with their long-awaited Beloved:
I could not begin to tell you how we felt when Baba looked into our eyes, when he clasped our hands. I felt that his handclasp might have reached down through many centuries and many lifetimes. The first result of the impact of his love was a great sense of spiritual upliftment, joy and happiness. There are probably other superlatives I could use, but none of them would be adequate to describe how we felt.
This was our first glimpse into those infinite pools of divine love that were his eyes. I was overjoyed. His beauty, the sweetness of his love which could not be expressed in words — the joy, the sparkling wonder of his being. One could not prefigure him. One could not imagine how it would be, what he would be like. He was more than one could imagine — much more, immeasurably more.
After this brief meeting, Baba and Norina walked toward the elevator and Darwin and Jeanne moved toward some chairs in the lobby.