David and I were a match.com couple. Many would think this a modern and bland way of meeting... but we got to experience the kind of slow-burning romance Jane Austen would smile at in our four months of letter-writing (okay, email) before meeting in person for the first time. Once we got around to our first phone call, his voice became my favorite sound. I would get home from rehearsal each night and call him as I was walking through my door, and we talked into the wee hours — before he would get up and see patients at seven o’clock each morning. He was a very tired man (more than usual!). He half-jokes that he wanted me to move in with him so he could finally get some sleep.

David and I have had a tradition of going to Blennerhassett Island in Parkersburg, WV each year on the anniversary of the day we met in person. We stay at the Blennerhassett Hotel and spend some time exploring the island. On the occasion of our hitting the five-year anniversary of that day, David had a little something extra planned. Just after a private carriage ride across the island, he knelt down in front of the mansion and asked me. The island was pretty empty that day and a crowd of period-costumed tour guides were taking a break nearby and started cheering for us when they saw what was going on. I was tempted to start cheering too, but settled for trying to summon the words for a seemly acceptance.