I suppose we should start by saying Steph stalked Dave on Facebook before he finally agreed to a date. (Thank God she doesn't know how to edit this.)

When she, err, he, finally said yes, Dave took her to Cork & Cleaver, known for its steak.

Steph had the walleye. Broiled. She squirted lemon on it. As you can guess, it was horrible. Plus, she ordered only water.

Did she speak up? No.

Dave urged her to get a drink. ("Must be a fitness freak," he thought. "She'll be good for me."). Finally, meekly, she said "maybe just one." ... And proceeded to say "Bud Light cold. No glass. Keep 'em coming," to our waiter.

Meanwhile, Dave ordered the filet mignon, which was delicious. Being incredibly observant, after a few bites he noticed her staring at his steak and her fingers inching toward the edge of his plate, her fish basically untouched.

"Is it OK?" Dave asked while subtly moving his own plate from her hand. "You're not eating?"

"No," she said, near tears. "I'm not hungry ... How is the steak?"

So, Dave gave her a taste. He figured it was only a bite. Then, he gave her some more. And more. Still hungry, Dave tried her walleye and, immediately, recoiled.

"Good God that is horrible!" Dave exclaimed.

"Oh good," she said, raising a beer again. "I didn't want to say anything."

So, we split the filet mignon and bonded over badly broiled walleye.

We laughed a lot that night, just as we continue to do so throughout all of our adventures, bad decisions and luck. This is why Dave is now in charge of ordering when we dine out. Steph also hates the pressure of planning and decision making, so she put Dave in charge of telling our story here.

And she has no idea how to change it.

The lady has no sense of humor whatsoever, and Dave loves her for it. When he proposed, at yet another restaurant called "Harry's Steakhouse" in Grand Forks, he said "I'm going to tease you until the day we die."

Steph smiled and said, "You better."

The attached photo is from Valentine's Day 2024. We tried the Cork & Cleaver again to celebrate our time together. While we will always be grateful for what started there, we won't be recommending the C&C to future couples.

It should be noted that Stephanie made Dave write these exact words.

Yes, she still doesn't know how to edit this page.

Fingers crossed, she may now want to take over planning from here on out.

Just Ask!