On a fateful day in July 2019, my roommate brought up a potential suitor while on a walk. I was ready with skepticism and excuses until she showed me his photo. He had on a camel-colored sweater that looked suave. And he was tall. He showed up to the first date on time to the minute, dressed up, with a bottle of wine and flowers... to be greeted by me, hair half-curled, face half-make-uped. I invited him to my attic while I finished curling my hair. I was proud that I had cleaned the house and wanted to show off how how domestic I was. (Turns out, he didn't think it was particularly clean). Regardless of my baseline ill-preparedness, we clicked quickly. Roy has a calming, assured presence, and likes to think things through. He was attracted to my "go-go-go", which he told me over dessert, our third location on that date. Two years have passed, and our relationship is still the easiest parts of both of our lives. He makes sure my oil is changed, and I make him drive 12 hours to get a puppy.

I pursued her through mutual friends after coming across her profile on one of those dating apps. She answered the door for our first date; a frenetic breath of fresh air. As I waited for her to finish getting ready, I wondered what we might have in common (she has two cats, I'm a dog person). I quickly realized over the course of the night that our respective needs and wants were so in tune, that I cautiously waited for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. It never did and our relationship has blossomed almost effortlessly. She drags me towards cautious optimism and I'd like to think I help ground her flights of fancy. Also, we both love Teddy Bear.