our forever begins together

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They met in a quick flash of introductions at Motion, a conference in Houston, TX. After merely exchanging a brief "hello," you'd think nothing else would come of it. But that evening, one followed the other on Instagram, and the DMs were flying. The evening after, they went on a fairly awkward trip to Galveston beach to create a bonfire with several friends. Both of them thought the other was either a little boring or a little crazy, until they both tried to cause an explosion with the leftover lighter fluid (which didn't work). You could say it was at this moment when the first sparks began to fly.

After a visit by him in November, that included skydiving as their first date, she went to visit him in December. The first day was filled with cold, cold fun. They walked around downtown Denver, rented scooters even though it was below freezing, went iceskating, and got turmeric lattes. Then he made a stellar comeback in a game of chess. Outside of a quaint coffee shop in downtown Denver, in the cool evening air, she opened a small chest with a stuffed hedgehog inside, and underneath was a message that asked her to be his girlfriend. She said yes.

Two months have passed. Endless FaceTimes and phone calls and instagram videos and texts and trips back and forth have led us to Fearing's, an upscale restaurant in Dallas, Texas. The night is young. The table is set. And food that they don't know how to pronounce is being served. It was good. They had both prepared thoughtful gifts for each other for Valentine's Day. She made a notebook filled with pictures and memories that described 40 reasons why she chose him. He wrote an EP of songs, consisting of five tracks that had each been written at important moments in their relationship. There were tears and there were laughs. By the end of the night, he said "I love you." She said "I love you." And in that moment, all was well in the world.

That brings us to today. Over thirty flights back and forth to see each other. They just arrived into Dallas, Texas. The first thing on the schedule is food. The Common Table. He recommends their kolaches, by the way. Starbucks follows. A ruse is then set forth in which photos are meant to be taken in a nearby park. They arrived into Klyde Warren Park. She was as beautiful as ever, and he was as nervous as she was beautiful. It was there, on the corner of Olive Street, that a heart-shaped bed of roses was strewn across the sidewalk. A bouquet of 100 roses sat in the center. A harpist nearby played her favorite love song. They approached, and she stood in the middle of the roses. He took a knee. She said yes.