The story of how Jon and Melissa met began in Scotland in the 1840s. While Jon’s ancestors diligently tended the grounds of Floors’ castle, desperately tried to understand the rules of cricket, and prepared meals for Melissa’s historical analogue Queen Victoria, a fellow Caledonian was miles (kilometers? Pounds sterling?) away, tinkering with inventions in a neighbor’s flour mill. Years later, on March 10, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell would finally get a telephone to work. The first critical piece of Jon and Melissa’s introduction was in place. The next important step was over one hundred years in the making. Though various Department of Defense initiatives and National Science Foundation grants made vital contributions to the development of the internet for decades prior, Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee’s invention of the World Wide Web and development of the first web browsers between 1989 and 1991 coincide with the birth of Jon and Melissa and highlights their reliance upon inventors from the United Kingdom. Growing up in a world with both telephones and the internet, and later, telephones that *had* the internet, Jon and Melissa were bound to cross paths eventually. In June 2017, they did. Melissa’s lifelong love of Europe, history, and European history was displayed throughout her dating app profile, and Jon knew that only a message illustrating that he, too, was a dedicated historian would warrant a response. Being particularly interested in local government history, Jon wrote, “Who is your favorite historical figure and why is it Floyd B. Olson?” Fortunately, Melissa responded even though she did not name the 1930s Farmer-Labor icon as her favorite. Melissa did, however, name Queen Victoria, a noted friend of the family, and the rest is history.

Jon and Melissa’s first date was at the Commodore Hotel, famous for being the last St. Paul home of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, and where his novel, “The Beautiful and Damned” was written. Jon chose this local landmark, because if there was ever an example of a happy, healthy, long-lasting relationship, it was the Fitzgeralds. Whether the date was scheduled for 7:00 or 7:30 is unfortunately a matter of fierce debate among historians. Melissa maintains that it was 7:00, while Jon suspects that she had actually arrived on Monday. However, by 7:30 Jon and Melissa had met and ordered cocktails. Melissa ordered a Zelda, and Jon ordered a Blood and Sand. In doing so, he added Ernest Hemingway to the night’s list of literary references, as well as Jazz Age bullfighting – a time-honored staple of first date conversation. They spent the evening talking about books, music, and history while sharing a crème brûlée. It was the kind of date that Frasier Crane enjoyed in every few episodes of his eponymous TV show, albeit with more references to the Bubonic Plague. They talked until 11:00, which is an impressive feat in a bar that closes at 10:00. After this mild act of trespassing, Jon drove to North St. Paul, where he was house-sitting 30 or 40 dogs. As he walked them around the neighborhood and herded them into various kennels for the evening, he made a decision. As long as he texted after midnight, he would have waited long enough to ask Melissa for a second date. Playing it cool has always been incredibly important to Jon. Fortunately, Melissa was awake, waiting with bated breath for news about her much-anticipated nephew. Despite the immeasurable disappointment that her next text was from Jon her date and not Jonathan her brother, she agreed to see Jon again – setting the stage for years of Frasier Crane dates to follow.

Jon and Melissa had decided to get married well before Jon proposed. Naturally, this allowed for a well-planned storybook proposal. Scripted to perfection, it went as follows: October 2019: Jon casually asks Melissa if she likes Messiah by George Frideric Handel, inadvertently telegraphing the fact that he would be proposing after the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s performance on December 21, 2019. Jon does not realize that Melissa has figured out his plan. December 21, 2019, 10:00 AM: Jon realizes that his dinner reservation at the University Club is scheduled for after the concert starts, which is not ideal. 10:05 AM: Jon decides to try somewhere else, and soon realizes that there is not a single 6:00 PM dinner reservation anywhere east of Bismarck, ND. Melissa likes the Ground Round there, but it would be quite a drive. 10:15 AM: Melissa does her nails. No reason. 10:30 AM: Jon finds a reservation at W.A. Frost. This will work, because the building used to be a grocery store, and Melissa is a noted grocery store enthusiast. 6:00 PM: Jon and Melissa arrive at W.A. Frost. Dinner is excellent. The upcoming proposal is known to both, but unmentioned. Like Voldemort. 7:00 PM: Jon and Melissa arrive at The Ordway. Messiah is fantastic, and roughly 72 hours long. At intermission, Melissa mentions how uncomfortable Rice Park must be late at night. Jon realizes he must revise his plan to propose in Rice Park late at night. 10:00 PM: Jon and Melissa walk to the St. Paul Hotel for drinks. 11:00 PM: Good cocktails. Great improvisation. 12:00 AM: The bar closes, and Jon pretends to call an Uber as they wait in the parking circle in front of the hotel. The Christmas lights are a good stand in for Rice Park, which has gone dark. Jon resolves to get the ring out of his pocket. 12:03 AM: Jon proposes and is greeted with 10-20 minutes of uproarious laughter followed by “Okay.” As proposals in parking lots at bar close go, this one was pretty successful. Exactly as planned.