It all started way back in the summer of ’92, during Winston’s family’s annual two-week vacation. That year, their destination was Canada. On the drive back to Nebraska, Winston’s dad, Terry, decided to make an unplanned pit stop in Minneapolis. He wanted to take his boys to their very first Major League Baseball game at the Metrodome.

What was meant to be a simple detour turned into something lasting—the beginning of a lifelong devotion to the Minnesota Twins.

As fate would have it, twenty-six years later Winston found himself moving to Minneapolis. And if he was being honest, the move wasn’t entirely about career opportunities. A big part of it was the chance to live in the same city as his beloved Twins.

Two years passed. Winston stayed busy with work, kept himself in shape, and attended a respectable (borderline excessive) number of Twins games. He was content with his bachelor life, convinced that solitude might just be all that God had planned for him. After all, someone had to sit alone in the stadium seats.

Then came Friday, August 21st, 2020—the day the universe decided Winston needed a plot twist.

He was minding his own business at work when, out of nowhere, a voice rang out from behind him:

“HEY—are you single?”

Startled, Winston turned around. The woman standing there wasn’t anyone he recognized. Caught off guard, he hesitated before replying, “It depends. Who’s asking?”

She smiled and explained that she worked with a girl who was going on a cruise and needed someone to go with her.

“Are you interested?” she asked.

Winston blinked. A cruise? With a stranger? This was escalating quickly. “Um… maybe?” he said, the universal response of a man who has no idea what’s happening but doesn’t want to shut the door completely.

Truth be told, Winston already had a pretty good idea who she was talking about. Months earlier, the company had held a Halloween costume contest, and photos of the winners were still posted in the break room. Tracey was one of them. The other winner was the very coworker now standing in front of him, grinning like a self-appointed matchmaker.

Winston remembered seeing Tracey’s picture back then and thinking, Wow, she’s really cute—but also wow, there is absolutely no chance I could ever talk to her.

And yet, nearly ten months later, there he was—on a date with the girl from the break room photo. There had been a minor misunderstanding about the nature of the date. Much to Winston’s immense relief, it turned out to be a double date at a lake—complete with grilling, jet skis, and another couple who happened to be friends with Tracey — NOT a full-blown cruise requiring passports, swim trunks, and a lifelong commitment.

By all accounts, the date was a success.

And ever since that day, the two have been falling for each other—proof that sometimes, the best turns in life come from the most unexpected pit stops.