It all began in 2002 with the back of Rebecca’s head. Sorta. That’s Matt’s very first memory of her in their first-year high school biology class. Rebecca did not see him. Matt was unaware of her face.

They officially met in senior year debate class in high school, where Matt was Rebecca’s opposition. Rebecca had heard about this guy called “Tort” who got raving friend reviews and she thought, “So THAT’S who everyone’s been talking about!” The next debate project, she asked him to be her partner. And by “asked”, we mean she marched up to his desk and said, “You! You’re going to be my debate partner!” And Matt held up his hands and said, “ooookay?” Matt came over Rebecca’s house to work on said project and *snap* — instant buddies.

Fast-forward to college. Matt went to music school at Hartt while Rebecca went to Agnes Scott in Georgia. They kept in close touch and hung out first thing each break. They called each other “duuuuuude!” and got each other stupid gifts uniquely fitting their friendship.

There was the Holiday season they both went to Barnes and Noble, bought books for each other, and exchanged them… only to find that each of them had gotten slightly different copies of “The Book of Useless Information”. There was the time Matt visited NYC and surprised Rebecca with a single teabag of lemon verbena tea, a tea she’d had when she’d been in London and loved, but couldn’t find anywhere back home. As it turns out, it’s not that hard to find, Rebecca’s just terrible at searching for things, despite her MLIS. There was the fountain pen Matt carved for her by hand. There was the musical pirate sweatshirt Rebecca got for Matt (a sweatshirt he regrettably lost on a plane). And the hilarious “You Know You’re a Writer When” book Matt got for her. And the blue mug with music notes and “Tort” painted on it that Rebecca threw on the pottery wheel in high school (a mug that is far too tiny to use, but shh).

Rebecca has a weird pet-peeve where she hates the hems of t-shirt sleeves being partially folded up, and straightens Matt’s all the time. During a college break, Matt and Rebecca met up to go bowling with friends, and Rebecca was about to give Matt a big hug in the parking lot… until she noticed that he’d SEWN his sleeve hem up in a partial fold just to annoy her! He laughed his head off while she tore out the thread and scolded him. Another summer break, the two were headed out of a store when Rebecca jumped on Matt’s back unannounced (another dumb habit), and Matt stumbled, sending them both toppling head-first to the asphalt. Fortunately it was more hilarious than painful.

In 2013, the two traveled to Ireland with friends, during which their best-friendship transitioned. There had always been a special affection between them, but this was different. To the outside onlooker, they would have been mistaken for a devoted couple. At the Dublin airport at the end of the trip, Matt said something to Rebecca that shifted things further: “Hold my whiskey I have to use the bathroom can you get us some burgers?” No wait, it was the other thing. “Wherever you are is my home.” Back in the U.S., over a couple days, Matt and Rebecca mulled over their feelings. Matt was looking at grad school at UMass and Rebecca joined him for a concert there. Matt went onstage to talk with his future professor. Rebecca stayed in the audience, watching him, admiring him in a button-down flannel shirt with the sleeves (fully) rolled up that looked rather dashing—she loves him in flannel—and thought, “I’d better snag this amazing guy before another woman does.” If they became a couple and later broke up, their relationship would never recover and neither wanted to lose the other. They slept on it.

A beautiful, sunny April afternoon. Rebecca called Matt and had him come over. When his car pulled up and he parked across the street and got out, she ran at him, jumped on him before he could brace himself (as usual), and… …kissed him right in the middle of the road. He dropped his car keys, caught her (sort of), barely kept his footing, and kissed her back. And that was that.

This fall they’ve been a couple for eight wonderful years and are at long last tying the knot on their favorite spooky holiday! They’ve adopted the two cutest cat-children in the world. They’ve shared a million laughs more, gifts, and cuddles (which they now admit are NOT strictly platonic). They’ve supported each other through numerous jobs, life changes, and crises. They’ve gone on adventures to Montreal, Israel, Ireland, a whirlwind 24-hour, no sleep trip to Las Vegas (and learned the hard way to just spend the damn cash for a hotel!), and the mountains of Colorado. They want to broaden their travels to the UK, Europe, Japan, Hawaii, and more. This fall they’ll be starting a new adventure in Burlington, Vermont for Matt’s new job. Rebecca will be going back to school for graphic design while continuing work on her latest novel and starting a pottery business. They couldn’t be more proud of each other—or nervous about their poor anxious kitties’ sanity for the long drive up! To this day, Rebecca calls Matt “Tort” and feels strange calling him “Matt”. And while neither can wait to join souls in spooky matrimony, both agree that the notion of being “married” and calling each other “husband” and “wife” feels weird as hell. *says both words out loud* *makes confused face* VERY WEIRD