June 2017. For the first time in 5 summers, I wasn’t moving apartments or dorms, or traveling to an internship. I bought a tent after my last final, sent a group text to the girls from church, and off we went. On our way home from a long weekend campout in Traverse City, Audrey asked if I had ever talked to Adam Brody. “He’s cute I guess, but I don’t know much about him.”

Fast-forward two weeks, and I arrived at the Villarreal’s for a cookout. I was standing in the kitchen and could see Adam through the back door. He was wearing his white Xavier t-shirt and backwards ball cap, yelling something at his Can Jam opponent. I wasn’t really looking to date anyone at the moment, and he was a church guy. Once you go on even one date with another person from church, everyone knows. It was a risk.

As I looked outside, he smiled at someone on the porch. “This is it. You’ve made it. He’s your husband, and I want you to remember this moment when I told you so. No evidence, no logic, no excuses,” I heard loudly in the front of my head.

Ummm, what? That’s ridiculous, this isn’t high school. It must be nerves.

“You heard me.”

It was the same voice that told me to go to Oklahoma. The same voice that told me to move to Michigan. The same voice that’s always been there, church or not. I hadn’t heard it in awhile, but it had been right before.

“Okay. Here we go, I guess.”

I proceeded to tell Adam about how much I enjoy country concerts, mustard, camping, and comedy. This time, I was going 100% me, right off the bat. If that didn’t scare him away, maybe it was worth the risk of a church relationship. He liked only one of those things, but seemed really sincere. The next day, I invited him out for beers “sometime”. He replied: dinner, this weekend. Apparently boldness goes both ways.

July 7th, 2017. Downtown Ann Arbor. One of those fancy “Italian” (70% pizza) restaurants that are worth the money for exactly zero grad students. I’m a modern woman, and I believe in splitting the bill on the first date.

“Yes, could we have the focaccia please? And I’d like a Coke,” he immediately told the waiter.

Who orders appetizers RIGHT before eating actual dinner, let alone at a place where the pizza is $25? If this was going to be annoyingly expensive, I was at least going to get a pizza I really wanted. (I have since embraced the concept of appetizers, thanks to Adam.)

“I think I want the truffle pizza, or the one with pesto. What do you like?”

“Well...honestly I think pizza isn’t really a meal without meat.” In my opinion, there is no food grosser than Italian sausage. This was going south fast. “But I would much rather have the truffle one than pesto, so let’s go with that.”

I later found out this was his first voluntary veggie pizza, ever. His father was impressed, and his best friend told him to run. (He has since changed his mind.)

After the predictable get-to-know-you questions, we discovered that we both like to talk, and it had been over an hour. It began to thunder outside. Adam groaned, and I got excited. It was the first storm in almost a month, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows in the restaurant! No true meteorologist could resist a peek. His expression changed from one of pleasant small talk to genuine curiosity. Despite my asking thrice if he was sure, he paid the bill, and we decided to go for cocktails. We continued talking for almost five hours. Neither of us knew where the time had gone, nor had we had a better night out in quite some time.

The rest of that fall was a whirlwind. Adam agreed to go with me to a Dustin Lynch/Brad Paisley concert in Cleveland, on all of the roller coasters at Cedar Point, and see the horror movie “IT” in theaters. He wanted to do none of these things, but I never knew since he accepted with a smile each time. He chased me until Christmas, and yet I still hadn’t committed to an official relationship since in my previous experience they usually didn’t last through the holidays. This almost-relationship did, and he’d seen the real me. He passed!

The next spring, Adam insisted that I accompany him to his brother Matt and Lauren’s wedding in June. I was excited that he thought highly enough of me to invite me to such a special occasion, but I also had to meet his whole family at once. After the intimidation faded, I saw how happy and proud Adam was to have me as his date and introduce me to his aunts. For the first time, I began to imagine a serious future with him.

Shortly after, he whisked me away to Hilton Head for the best vacation I could have dreamed of. I didn’t get many chances to travel as a kid, and when I did it was to see family. I traveled much more once I got to college, but always in the cheapest way possible. He treated me to jet skiing, a ropes course, a beautiful resort, and one of the top three best dinners I have ever had at an amazing jazz club. The resort forgot a few extra items he had paid for, and he showcased his negotiation skills by getting a free night as compensation! He apologized repeatedly for becoming frustrated and ruining the “ambiance”, but I’m still glad it happened since it’s one of his most attractive qualities I had yet to see. We had our days booked solid and I enjoyed every minute, but I came back exhausted. I began to come around to his idea of naps and “rest”, which I eventually learned is not, in fact, wasting time.

The next spring, after a very tough year in grad school, I graduated with my Master’s and made the difficult decision to pass up a great job offer in Texas to stay in Michigan. As much as I love change and adventure, I couldn’t imagine leaving my friends, my community, and Adam for a job. I had been working toward my chosen career since I was 8 years old and had the Texas job in the works for awhile, so most of my friends and family didn’t know what to say when I disclosed my decision to stay. None of them wanted to see me hurt, but despite their doubts, they supported my decision and wished me the best.

Later that summer, we went to Canada on a campout with the Mayers’ over the fourth of July weekend (un-American, we deserved it, I know), where we got brutally attacked by swarms of thousands of mosquitos (this is not an exaggeration, we have proof) for over twelve hours of backpacking. We hiked a total of almost 20 kilometers after bailing on camping in the backcountry. Did I mention this was Adam’s first backpacking trip? We came back on our dating anniversary and he didn’t speak to me the entire day. I had to stifle the thought that this was it--the last straw.

In time, he came around. By the holidays we were stronger than ever before and ready for 2020. We managed to return from our first cruise a week before the first confirmed case of COVID-19 emerged in the U.S. After several months of stay-at-home orders and quarantines, it began to warm up outside. We planned several camping trips together, bought an inflatable kayak, and went out to make the most of a crazy year. I decided that my birthday in July was a great excuse to finally host people, and I invited 10 friends to dinner and games back at my apartment. Adam told me he arranged a special weekend in Detroit following my birthday, so I planned the party for the weekend before. He had told me previously that he would “never propose in anything less than a suit and tie”, so when he showed up to my place before dinner in shorts and flip flops, I was sufficiently convinced the proposal would be next week. The first game we played was Fishbowl, which is a round-by-round combination of Catch Phrase, Password, and Charades. We had played this game countless other times at church events and other parties, and I thought nothing of the card that said “engagement” since several of our other friends had recently gotten engaged or married. By the time we got to the final [Charades] round, I pulled the “engagement” card first, motioned toward my ring finger, and everyone froze. I got a few wrong guesses, and was starting to get impatient with my team. After a few seconds, Adam spoke from behind me, “Maybe this will help you out.” He was on one knee with a beautiful ring and asked me to marry him! I accepted of course, and our friends brought out the hidden champagne and homemade dessert to celebrate. It was such a fun night, and although it turned out to be Plan C thanks to COVID, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I am so happy that Adam was brought into my life at exactly the right time, and I have never met another person I trust so fully. I can’t wait to start our life together as a team, and I am so thankful that we have so many great friends and family with whom to celebrate the beginning of our marriage. Here’s to forever!

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