Here we go!

On an unusually warm Sunday in February, Claire and Martin planned to meet at Kramerbooks & Afterwords for lunch. Claire, having never been asked out to lunch for a first date, was skeptical. A first date at a bookstore? What was this artist’s angle? Eventually after weighing the pros and cons (and with a push from her coworkers), she gave in and decided to give it a go. She met Martin and almost instantly felt like she was talking with an old friend. The couple soon realized that this was not a normal Sunday, but in fact Superbowl Sunday. Since they didn’t really go in for that sort of thing, there was no rush to head home and catch the game. They sat for hours talking and ordering coffee refills so they had a reason to stay longer. Eventually after 10 cups of coffee (each), the over caffeinated couple went their separate ways. On her walk home, Claire called a friend to gush about the date. Martin went to visit his twin sister Nora to deliver his glowing review. After that, Martin took Claire on three more dates within a week and a half. That Valentine's Day (just two weeks later), he gave her a small watercolor painting of his favorite flowers. That painting has stayed on her bedside table ever since.

In January 2020 when Martin began thinking of how he would propose, neither he nor Claire thought it would go down the way it did, but then again no one had imagined life during a pandemic. After working nonstop since February, the couple took a trip to Irvington Spring Flower Farm in Lynchburg, VA. They strolled through the rows of dahlias, fished and swam in the pond, and played with the farmer's kittens while the sun set. It was a great big exhale during an exhausting year. On the final day of their trip, Martin had everything planned. They would start by swimming, then go into town and explore, then they would get dressed up and he would make a nice dinner. At dinner, he planned on popping the question. It was perfect! But if 2020 had taught us anything, it was that things don't always happen the way we plan. After canoeing, the couple drove into town. Around 3pm, Claire insisted they stop for ice cream. Martin, nervous that they wouldn't be hungry for dinner, suggested that Claire get one cone for them to split. Naturally Claire came back with two large cones. Martin, flustered but not one to waste food, ate the ice cream and regrouped. They headed home and Martin asked Claire if she wanted to shower before dinner and get dressed up. Claire said no and (you guessed it) she wasn't hungry. Needless to say, Martin began to panic. It was getting late and the dinner he’d planned would take a while to prepare. He decided to cut his losses and they headed back to the dock to watch the sunset. When the moment felt right, Martin made an excuse to go back to their room to get the ring. He rehearsed what he would say all the way there, but while walking back to Claire, he ran into the adorable kittens and his mind went utterly blank. With this unavoidable distraction he completely forgot what he was planning to say. They had made it this far so throwing caution to the wind he got down on one knee and spoke from the heart. She said yes! It was perfectly imperfect.