Our story began more than eighteen years ago when I spied the vivacious Victoria from across the room at the Speckled Hen for the Thursday night Open Mic Night. We were both there to enjoy some live music and libations with friends, as we had both done before. But on this one particular night, things took a change for the better.

I believe I was making jest of some of our fellow patrons by dancing like a fool when I heard the distinct cackles and screams of laughter break through the loudness of the "music". When I looked toward the laughter, my eyes fell upon the eyes of the beautiful Victoria.

Even across the dimly lit room her piercing gaze and smile lit up my head with fire. I believe she was sitting with some other girl, though I did not recall her at all. Regardless, we connected for a moment... but the moment was stolen away by the nights festivities.

However, it wasn't long before we saw each other again... in the same place... on a similar night... in much the same way. This time we found ourselves conversing, laughing, and spending hours together.

We quickly became something familiar to one another, spending dates learning of one another's lives and interests. She was as fascinating as she was beautiful, telling me of her family, schooling, and particular idiosyncrasies. Her illness had given her a new appreciation for life, but we were not aligned on our future plans.

Alas, it was a relatively short lived relationship... but not forgotten.

Over the next decade or so, we each went on with our lives, intertwining without knowing it from time to time. Oddly, the circle that introduced us did not remain a social circle nevermore. We simply moved in other directions.

Whether it was fate, physics of intersecting circles, or our social media connections, we would be reunited by the most luckiest of circumstances. It would have seemed that her life long friend, Evelyn, had created a new Instagram account that popped up on my feed one day. We reconnected... for a couple of beers and duck fat fries at the Beer Wall.

Still, we were both "dating" other people... for the moment. My situation ended as so many had that year, and Vicky called her thing off, as well. Decidedly, we both knew that we didn't want to be "those kinds of people".

The following week we decided to rendezvous at the Pike Cafe for some drinks and food with another one of her friends. We joked, laughed, and embraced in an incredibly warm hug before making our separate ways home. But, as Jena would retell the story, we were going to be "together" again. She was right.

Before the end of the night, we had already planned our next date. We were back, as though we had never skipped a day. Dates and romantic rendezvous led us back to where we had left off.... getting to know one another. We thought we had all the time in the world to take it slow and make this connection meaningful. But alas, a pandemic had a different idea.

We found ourselves thrust into a world of deep social limitations, ultimately putting the conventions of a relationship to the test. We found ourselves unbelievably connected... in nearly every way.

I made a choice to propose and she accepted. We decided to jump... into a relationship... into a home... and into a future.

HONEYMOON GIFT / CONTRIBUTION