(Hinge, coffee)

After our second date, we went to the dog park. Annie*, 9, Matt's dog, is extremely introverted and ignored everyone but us. Fiona, 3, Anne's dog, is extremely extroverted and started a game of chase around the south side of Horner Park. They didn't really notice each other until we took them on a walk after. Fiona gave Annie a kiss on the nose. They hung out again soon after. *Yeah, we know.

It was October 30th. Matt lived in Ravenswood Gardens and Anne lived in Logan Square, so we got coffee at a place in between: Caravanserai. (Fun fact, caravanserai is a Persian term for communal rest stops and inns along trade routes or pilgrimage paths.) Within about five minutes, we realized we'd actually worked together about five years prior -- only overlapping for several weeks, and never having met, but almost certainly having emailed. This was great news: It meant we had friends in common and dramatically reduced the chances that either of us was a serial killer. (Coincidentally, we would both watch Halloween II [1981] under separate circumstances the very next day.) After about an hour, we settled in comfortably enough for either Matt or Anne to ask the most important question: "Do you have any good ghost stories?"