'Til Death Do Us Part

The year was 2017. And straight out of a romantic comedy plot twist, Becca swears she was just about to give up on online dating. Until this cute nerd named Ryan slid into her DM's. They texted back and forth for a week until Becca finally agreed to meet in person. Becca remembers how Ryan exceeded expectations right at the start – because he actually came to the door to pick her up instead of honking or texting. And she all but swooned every time he opened a door that evening. Of note, however, is Becca's realization that Ryan's chivalry stopped on the game floor. He didn't let Becca win a single game. Becca's assessment? Nice, but not TOO nice. And Becca was in love before the night was over. Ryan will concede that he was positively, absolutely overwhelmed...with feelings of relief by the end of the first date. A self-proclaimed nerd, he liked that Becca actually enjoyed a date of games and nonsense. But, true to form, he resigned himself to spend the next few weeks and months gathering compatability data before coming to any romantic conclusions. Becca introduced Ryan to horror movies; Ryan's screams only made Becca love him more. Ryan introduced Becca to his gaming world; Becca accepted the fact that video games would be Ryan's special alone time. Becca took Ryan to his first haunted house; Ryan has no interest in ever going to another. He would, however, agree to make annual visits to Vala's, much to Becca's delight. In June 2018, Ryan and his beloved Border collie/Lab (Summit) moved in with Becca and her goofy greyhounds (Capone and Mae). And by the following month, Becca was working at Orion with Ryan. Flash forward to living and working together under the same roof for nearly all of 2020, Ryan finally decided he had gathered enough data – it was love, and it would be forever.

Every year since they started dating, Becca and Ryan have taken a day off from work to enjoy Vala's Pumpkin Patch and kick-off her favorite season. Thankfully, even through the pandemic, they were able to make their annual trip to Vala's on October 9th, 2020. Wanting to do something different, Becca mentioned she wanted to pick out pumpkins this year. Shortly after arriving at Vala's, they took a hayrack ride out to the pumpkin fields. While Becca was searching for the perfect gourd, Ryan, behind her, asked for her opinion on one he found. Aromas of pumpkin spice and baked apple pie twirling in the air, she turned around to find him down on one knee with the perfect ring in his hand. She stood there shocked for a second a then yelled out "Yes! Of course!"