Sometimes, when I say something goofy—and, seeing as I'm my father's son, that happens often—Erika Leigh will turn to me and say, "Where did I find you?"

My typical answer is something like, "at the top of a tornado at the Charles Dickens Festival in my Uriah Heep outfit."

Our first date was Dec 9, 2023, at the Dickens of a Christmas Festival (great name btw) in Franklin TN. As we drove into downtown, people poured out in the opposite direction. Big electric signs told us to turn around because the festival was closing due to inclement weather and the possibility of a tornado.

Erika Leigh and I were undeterred. In fact, she was pretty sick as well, coughing constantly, especially when I made her laugh. I thought it was very cute, though I felt bad when I'd do it. I started calling her Decaf Cough-y, also as a rib on her ordering decaf at the coffee shop we met at. You can ask her about that story. I still call her that sometimes.

Our first date was a microcosm of our relationship: perfect in all sorts of cool ways. We got coffee, went to a book store, took a picture in front of a cannon (as one does), got dinner, and went for a really long walk around nearby residential neighborhoods. At one point, a gazebo randomly appeared out of nowhere. Wild, right? It's like the story was writing itself. Even an often oblivious fellow like myself knew I was supposed to kiss her.

Since then, we've grown together. We make each other better people. We want to be the best person we can be for the other. We have each other's hearts. It's quite the thing.

Okay, so Erika Leigh didn't actually find me at the top of a tornado in a Uriah Heep costume (Uriah Heep is a character in Dickens' David Copperfield, btw, and the name of one of my favorite bands).

But she found me, and that's all that matters, because life finally makes sense now.