It sounds like a joke, but it all started with marching band.

She was a clarinet player, bored out of her mind and ignoring the high-school football game by hiding herself in a book. I was an oboe-player turned flutist, freshly obsessed with the Avengers movie that just came out, and spotted her reading the novelization of it and just had to know if she had a tumblr account.

Fourteen years later, I would be proposing to her in that same spot with a hollowed-out copy of that same novelization to sneak a ring box into.

We weren't high school sweethearts-both of us, at the time, didn't realize we could even be romantically intertwined. Looking back, however, the signs were obvious; I couldn't count the number of times I got in trouble with my parents because I took too long coming home from hanging out with her, not wanting to leave just yet. There were many weekends during college that I would drive the two hours back to Omaha just to hang out on her couch and watch silly videos.

There's not a defined moment where best friend turned into best friend who I wanted to kiss, but if I had to say one, it would be a late night we were coming home from seeing a movie, and the neon sign of "Dental Care" had lost a bulb to say "Dertal Care" instead. When I pointed this out to her, she laughed, and despite the laugh being the same as always, I became aware of how much I loved that laugh, and how much I wanted to make her laugh for the rest of our lives.

It wasn't until 2017, when I was out of the country for the summer, that I finally made a move. No, I will not tell that story; it's very embarrassing, but it worked, so that's all that matters!

Our relationship has had its share of ups and downs; we finished school together, fought to find a place in a horrible job market together, went through a pandemic together, and finally settled down together in a house, something we never thought we would get to do. We still foster kittens together, watch silly videos, read a ton of books, and just sit and talk about anything and everything. Every day with her is another gift, and I'm so happy to be able to tell my best friend how much I love her.