It started the weekend of Wes and Angelica’s wedding. My friend Colleen had flown in from California for the celebration and asked if she could crash for the night and get a ride to Sleeping Giant for the pre-wedding hike. I agreed—and even though I didn’t know anyone there decided to tag along, bringing my dog, Shadow. Among the crowd of hikers was Shawn. At the top of the castle, Shadow trotted straight over to him and sat squarely on his feet as if they’d known each other for years. It was an easy icebreaker, and Shawn and I fell into conversation that carried us the rest of the way down the trail. We said goodbye and went our separate ways. But at the rehearsal party that evening Shawn ran into Colleen again. After a brief interrogation, she handed over my number. The rest is history.