It’s a Date!

In typical 21 st century fashion, this love story finds its roots in the iPhone (thanks Steve). Marisa had recently moved to Chicago from STL as a travel nurse working at Lurie Children’s, and was in desperate need of an outgoing, knowledgeable Chicago tour guide. She may not have known it at the time, but she found that perfect chaperon on the Bumble Dating App. After a couple “swipe rights”, the rest—as they say—is history…if you breeze past the desperate week-long social media courtship by Patrick. After (finallyyy) convincing Marisa to hear more about what Chicago and some (one) of its men had to offer (“you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”), they went out for a casual get-to-know-you Valentine’s Day date. As love would have it, Patrick fell completely smitten the moment that young lady strolled in the restaurant’s revolving doors—a moment in time still clear as day in his memory. For Marisa…well, she was still learning to love. But after a 3-hour, 2-wine bottle school night full of easy conversation, laughter, and obvious chemistry, it was rather manifest Marisa liked what she saw. Unfortunately, despite a night he would never forget, Patrick left heartbroken. Marisa told him that her travel nurse rotation was coming to an end in 6 weeks and she was thinking of heading out west. With all due respect to the tour guides of other lands, Patrick had little interest in sharing his duties. The clock was ticking. But nothing worth fighting for ever comes easy. When Marisa’s mom visited the following weekend rendering her “unavailable”, he very politely insisted that he steal her for a couple hours. Thanks to a mother’s backing, Marisa obliged. The second date somehow topped the first. And that second date quickly rolled into a third…a fourth…and it didn’t take long for Marisa and Patrick to realize how strongly they felt about each other and how special of a thing they might have. Marisa stayed in Chicago. Both got off Bumble. The rest—as they say—is history.