Rob and Jaq met during the University of Nevada English Department’s visiting graduate student weekend. Rob played it cool before tapping her on the shoulder and saying “Hey” at Great Full Gardens. They talked for a while over a drink at Public House, about a liberal arts education, about teaching, about place. Jaq leaned closer—Rob noticed the ring on her finger, figured she was engaged to a nice Catholic boy from her alma mater, St. Mary’s, and left it at that—a great conversation with a cute California gal with almost identical research and teaching interests from a small town which she cared very much about. Summer passed, and it was time for the Core Writing staff meeting. Jaq, punctual, arrived early. Rob, cutting it close as usual, rolled in with a minute to spare, a giant copy of John James Audubon’s "Birds of America" in hand. “Who is this man?” Jaq thought to herself. When she ran into him again, at Reno Running Company, where Rob worked part-time, she smiled at him in the sock aisle. The ring was on her right hand. It. Was. On. A message. A date. Drinks with friends Felicia and Justin. Then a reading at the Nevada Museum of Art. Rob made Jaq tacos. Brought her sunflowers from his garden. They watched "The Misfits." Drove to the top of Peavine. Taught classes back-to-back. Hiked all over Nevada. Ran a lot of races. Made the newspaper (https://www.rgj.com/story/sports/2017/04/30/lugg-sanchez-top-field-reno-marathon/101132814/). Road-tripped all across the West. Ate good food and drank good booze and read many, many good books. True to Reno’s gambling spirit, they turned down overtures from PhD programs and rolled the dice that a life together in the Biggest Little City was better. Rob finally played his hand on the Flume Trail, proposing in front of a gaggle of girls with iPhones, Lake Tahoe, and Jaq’s beloved Sierra Nevada mountains in June of 2018. She said yes.