Picture it, Baltimore, 2019. A beautiful woman of Taiwanese descent is bundled up in a blanket. She picks up her phone and downloads the Bumble dating app. As she scrolls through the app, she wonders if it is really possible to find a good man on the Internet?

Some 20 miles away, at least one good man was sitting on his couch playing Mega Man 4. Though it was February a small fan blew against his legs. He placed his classic NES video game controller on the coffee table and took a stab at love by opening his own Bumble dating app.

It wasn’t long before the pair found themselves swiping right. She found his profile, which mentioned bagels twice, charming, and he was amused by her puffer vest jacket, which looked both warm and breezy. They messaged for an hour or two before agreeing to meet for coffee the following Monday, Presidents Day.

In person, the chemistry was immediate, or as immediate as possible when one person is perpetually five minutes late. He tossed his hair carelessly as he drank his caramel latte and she talked about national parks as she sipped on her peppermint tea. The conversation, which included lengthy descriptions, perhaps a mansplaining, of Settlers of Catan, flowed smoothly and as he walked her to her car at the end of the evening both were hopeful for a second date.

The second date happened the following week, and then a third, and a fourth until it was assumed they’d be seeing each other every weekend, and then twice a week. They survived the pandemic and went to Chicago, they visited 10 countries (assuming you count EPCOT), learned new board games, turned a condo into a home, escaped many escape rooms, won a trivia game or two, and built so many puzzles. Perhaps the best puzzle was the one that included two simple words: Will You? To which she quickly replied, Yes.

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Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport