A small, dark room in NYC's West Village filled with varying levels of intoxicated homosexuals belting their favorite show tunes is as good a start to an epic love story as any. Neither Ben nor Skie had intended on winding up at Marie's Crisis, the historic and iconic gay piano bar, that night. Ben, fresh off of a disappointing date earlier in the evening, had called up friends to try to salvage the remaining hours of the day with cocktails and Kander and Ebb. Skie, who was content to sit on his couch and watch Real Housewives re-runs, was convinced by neighbors last-minute to join them for a showtune or two at the downtown dive. Little did they know, but quasi-celebrity Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep's daughter) was also in attendance that night. To put it lightly, she was a few drinks ahead of Ben and Skie. As she took the microphone, the normally rowdy, sing-a-long atmosphere of the bar fell to pin-drop silence in anticipation. The first few chords of "I Dreamed A Dream" started on the piano, followed by a rendition of the song that not even Paula Abdul could find something nice to say about. While it may not have been a moment of any sort of artistic achievement, Mamie Gummer's song was all it took to bring Ben and Skie together. Trying to hold back tears of laughter, Ben whispered under his breath, "Can you believe this is happening?" A few drinks and a lot of conversation later, they made plans to meet the following week - Valentines Day - for their first official date at La Esquina, followed by a trip to The Box. Mamie Gummer was not in attendance, the magic was still there.