Our meet-cute took place in perhaps the least romantic setting possible: an agency and shelter for survivors of domestic violence. We had both been hired to work on the education team. Kaylee started her job first, picking a desk by the window. Dana started a few days later and picked the desk right next to hers. But we didn't interact much for another week or so, when a rickety chair Dana tried to sit in dramatically collapsed beneath her (#nonprofitlife). As Dana bounced up and away from the wreckage--mortified, but miraculously landing on her feet--Kaylee distinctly remembers noticing that she was pretty cute. As fate would have it, Dana thought Kaylee was pretty cute, too. But being sensitive and evolved people in the early days of the #MeToo movement, we were acutely aware of the importance of not making things weird for one's coworkers. We kept it professional at work, but as the weeks went by we started spending more and more time together in the evenings and on weekends--at first with the cover of other coworkers around, then increasingly solo. Kaylee did her best to let Dana know that she was interested, singing at karaoke to impress her, inviting her out multiple times per week, and--the crown jewel of all lesbian flirtation--once reading her excerpts of Sappho poetry while sharing ice cream straight from the pint with the same spoon. But Dana being Dana, it took a while for her to get the message. Finally, in August 2017, the message was received. We started dating immediately.

Like most upstanding queer women, we promptly moved in together. Kaylee tried to get a discount on the U-Haul by typing in various potential coupon codes like UHAULING, LESBIANS, and LGBTQ, but none of them worked, which is honestly pretty homophobic. We settled into a cozy house at the top of Munjoy Hill in Portland and spent the fall hiking, apple picking, and visiting nearly every goat farm on the 295 corridor. Kaylee pretended to be brave and outdoorsy by agreeing to go whitewater rafting during a high water dam release. Dana made Kaylee nervous by climbing lots of trees. We drank wine on top of Bradbury Mountain, made and canned an obscene amount of apple butter, and met each other's families.

In January 2019, we moved into our own place in Portland's West End. Two months later, we adopted a sweet little pup from Puerto Rico and named her Juno. She is truly the light of our lives.

On a clear April day in 2019, Dana proposed to Kaylee as we hiked through the Maine woods with a herd of goats. She rode dirty with the ring in the breast pocket of her flannel–no box. Kaylee said, "Obviously!" and voila! We were betrothed. We celebrated with some of our closest friends at a surprise engagement party, then drifted off to sleep in a champagne haze. Now we're gonna do the thing and get married. We can't wait to celebrate with all of you.

Although we had to scrap our original wedding plans due to the pandemic, we felt strongly about moving on with our lives and relationship as planned, COVID be damned. With our co-fficiants and a witness, we eloped on our original wedding date in an intimate ceremony at Pretty Marsh in Acadia National Park. Even though we're already married, we still have a few tricks up our sleeves. We saved our fancy outfits, vows, and wedding rings for a time when we could celebrate with our nearest and dearest. We can't wait to reaffirm our commitment to one another surrounded by the love of our family and friends.