Kathryn was tired of dating and ready to take an indefinite break. Dan was finally ready to get back in the game. Somehow fate aligned perfectly so that their paths crossed. Dan had just downloaded a dating app and saw a cute girl with blue hair who liked the same bands he liked, so he decided to send her a message. Kathryn had been on that same app on and off for awhile and was sick of the grind of online dating. She had just logged into the app to delete it after several weeks of not checking in when she saw Dan’s message. She liked what he said and his big brown eyes and beard, so she decided that this would be her last first date regardless of the outcome, and peaced out of online dating forever. They met for drinks at Desert Edge in Trolley Square. As they talked and laughed Kathryn was so glad that she decided to give Dan a chance. She loved that he was happy, genuine, and smart. Dan felt like he could talk to Kathryn about anything and that he’d known her forever even though they just met. They went to UMOCA for their second date. Kathryn was wowed by how engaged Dan was with the exhibit despite not having much experience with contemporary art. He had interesting insights about every piece they saw and found ways to let those insights guide their conversation as they learned more about each other. Afterward they went for coffee and held hands for the first time. They both knew that this was the start of something special.

Dan took me to a cabin in Coalville for a Valentine's Day escape. When we got there Dan was acting kind of strange but happy. It was like he didn't know what to do with himself, but he was very smiley and affectionate. To get to the restaurant we had to drive through a blizzard and up to the top of the mountain. When we arrived he seemed really nervous. I chalked it up to the blizzard even though driving in snow has never bothered him before. We had a delicious Mediterranean dinner and it was really fun but something with Dan just felt off. After dinner we went back to the car and rather than starting it Dan just sat and smiled at me. I finally just had to know what was going on so I asked him what was on his mind. His eyes went wide, his shoulders shot up to his ears and he said, "Nothing! No, that's happening tomorrow!" And I instantly knew what he meant. He started the car in a nervous rush, and I started smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. I told him to forget it, we can erase that and go on like nothing happened. He was laughing and pulling around the parking garage but right before we were about to head back out into the blizzard he said, "Okay, I'm pulling over. We're doing this now." I instantly teared up. He looked at me, smiling his perfectly dimpled smile, and told me that he felt so good about us and his life and career, and he just felt like it was time. With tears truly streaming down my face I said that I felt the same. We'd been through so much together and we just kept getting stronger and closer through it all. He asked me to get out of the car and he came over and took my hand. He looked around and there were puddles everywhere from the snow so he pulled me to a dry spot and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Sniffling, I said, "Yes, I'll marry you. I want to be married to you." It couldn't have been more perfect or more us. Nothing in my life has ever felt this right. I love him so much.