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Once upon a time, there was a little girl with big blue eyes who dreamed of finding her best friend one day. One with dimples maybe. And some nice curly hair. "How will I find such a person," she wondered. "I'd better come up with a scheme..."

Far away in a land called San Antonio, there was a little boy with a very excellent set of dimples and the beginnings of some very curly hair. He wasn't much of a schemer but he was a sucker for a good arm scratch and a fine cup of coffee (featured, bottom right).

Growing up, he was kind of a bum, but cool bum to be sure. He liked to drink Topo Chicos

and eat mangoes

and take many fine naps

While Joe bummed, Anna surfed.

and biked

And engaged in occasional acts of piracy*** to support her surfing and biking habits

Acts of BORROWING***. Borrowing, without permission.

Just kidding, she worked as a bartender during those years.

And Joe worked as a medical resident.

Anna wasn't supposed to be working the night they met, but one of her coworkers called in sick. She was feeling a little miffed about it until a certain curly haired resident with sparkling brown eyes and the most excellent set of dimples sat down at her bar and ordered coffee at 8PM.

Normally she would have been annoyed to have to open up the coffee station so late in the day, but those dimples really were quite nice...

....and at the end of the night she wrote her phone number on a piece of receipt paper from the cash register and passed it to Joe as he walked out the door, "This if for you." She said. "Thank you!" Said Joe.

Though Joe was used to beautiful women giving him their numbers at bars, he had a good feeling about this one, so they went on some dates.

Joe shared passages from his favorite books.

Anna introduced him to the world of surfing.

Joe put on shadow puppet performances of their favorite Greek myths.

And Anna gifted him with works of fine art.

and so they fell in love with each other. Little by little

Or in Joe's case, immediately and all at once.

For five happy years they shared many adventures

Traversing the Italian Alps

getting cider drunk in Norway

and taking romantic photos in Paris

She introduced him to her wild Maine homeland. (He flew there in his personal plane)

Just kidding, Joe is afraid of flying

But he did brave her tribe of fierce and loyal siblings.

And introduced her to his mighty fine siblings in return.

And everyone thought they were ... uniquely suited for each other.

With their shared love of books

Little mermaid impersonations

Shared passion for their work.

And a great many other things unique to each of them:

Joe thought Anna looked really cute in her space suit.

And he liked how she was always looking mysterious in cafes.

He liked wondering what she might be up to. (She was usually up to something).

And life just seemed a lot more fun when she was around.

Anna liked the way Joe handled his buns.

and how he always looked great in nature.

And she liked to play with his hair while he read about his hero Napoleon.

(Poor Anna, there was never any hope of escape)

She even came to love his many alter egos: Sir Napsalot

Sir Snoozington

And Sir Sleepsomemore

And she sometimes wondered if he might be up to something, too. (though he was rarely up to something.)

Until he was.

So one sunny April day when Joe gave Anna a Jasmine flower and asked her to marry him, she said...

..."sure why not! I do rather like Jazmine flowers after all,"

And that's how they found each other: compatriots in life, partners in crime, and a love story for the history books.

It's almost like she planned it. Who's to know?