With apologies to Charles Dickens (and Jane Austin later), it was not the best of times, nor the worst of times, but it was Baltimore, during a pandemic. The only other preamble you need is that a mutual friend insisted that these two should meet. By general accord we can agree that Erin is a touch head strong. Although Erin had Matt’s number first, on October 19th 2020, from their mutual matchmaker, Erin decided to give the matchmaker permission to forward her number to Matt on the 23rd. Matt texted Erin almost immediately. After two days of back and forth texting, Matt asked the penultimate question: if she would like to meet up for a drink on an innocuous Wednesday evening (the 28th). Meeting outside the Fells Point bar “Max’s Taphouse”, they ordered their beers (Covid restrictions still in full effect) and found a bench to sit and enjoy the evening. The hours flew by with conversation, save for the awkward pause here and there. They talked of their lives, interests, and aspirations in life. One aspiration Erin shared was her pursuit of adventure by gaining a Department of Defense teaching position in Europe and heading back to where she grew up. Matt, with the awareness of the world’s COVID pandemic, thought nothing of it. As time passed, their dates became routine, shared interests became shared experiences, and the curiosity of getting to know each other grew into a bond. This bond faced an enormous test in June of 2021, when Erin received her dream job offer to join the faculty of Garmisch Elementary-Middle School in Germany. Despite this, the two decided to continue their relationship virtually. As you would expect, they missed each other terribly and the late night/early morning video calls and instant messages were not enough. Then Matt, who had never been outside of the USA and Canada, got a passport to visit Erin in October, and again in Christmas 2021. Then, on Erin’s birthday weekend in 2022, Matt brought along a piece of diamond jewelry to ask Erin to be bonded to him forever. Oh, Erin said yes, to her Darcy, just like in a Jane Austin novel and the best is yet to come.