June 2019 - October 2019.

David had never met anyone like her. On their first date, Melissa shoved her face into a plate of nachos just to make sure he knew what he was getting himself into. Spontaneous and up for (most) anything and certainly not afraid of what strangers think of her.

By their third date, David said (quite definitively) "Melissa Peterson, you're going to spend the rest of your life with me." She laughed and said "okay, if you say so," not quite as confident as he was at this early stage.

They spent the next few months figuring out they had a lot of the same interests and priorities. David was also the first person Melissa had dated who her dog, Milo took such a quick liking to.

He may have been wondering if he was crazy to drive so far just to visit for a night, but it showed Melissa that the potential for a life together was not something he was going to let slip by. His kindness and devotion and willingness -- eagerness -- to close the miles between them started to solidify her feelings for him.

By September they were "official," and by October, she had moved back to Massachusetts.