Under the Apple Tree

The first time Scott and Renee met, Renee accidentally scratched a scab open on her neck, and she had to hold a tissue against it throughout their conversation to stem the bleeding. They shared a laugh. And that's all it was. Soon after that they were making the Off-Broadway premiere of Underground Railroad Game at Ars Nova together. From there it was post-show conversations about theater and politics over tater tots and hazy IPA's. Those conversations evolved into post-show flirtations and madcap New York adventures. But you know, that's all it was. Really. Okay, maybe there was more to it. So they went on a date. Just to peek over the edge, nothing more. More of a confirmation that there was nothing happening. That date was a road trip, New York to Philly and back on their day off, to see a fringe show in a warehouse and eat Ethiopian food in the garden space behind Dahlak. They ended the date driving back to New York City wanting it to go on all the while saying it shouldn't continue. Right? I mean, they lived in different cities (and also she was, technically, his boss?). This was fun, but did it really make sense? They decided it did not. The following week they broke their own rules, and then they were off. When Underground Railroad Game's run ended at Ars Nova, they made it "official." Scott moved back to Philly and they began a long-distance Thing. Which is how it ended up that the first time they saw each other as an 'offish' couple was at Scott's parent's house in Wisconsin over Thanksgiving weekend. Bold. Pretty soon they saw that this was something more, something that always kept growing, and going. And here we are.

In the fall of 2020, Scott and Renee were quarantined in their third-floor Astoria apartment as the pandemic raged across the country. These were not the ideal circumstances for launching a surreptitious campaign to acquire a ring and craft a romantic moment. But a proposal isn't supposed to be a paddleboat ride into the sunset. It's a time-honored quest into lands unknown. A crucible that requires cunning and creativity. In secret Zoom meetings with Renee's best friend Evan O'Brient at his screen side, Scott met with a jeweler from Renee's favorite antique jewelry shop. In quarantine partners are always in earshot, so he developed a coded language to communicate with the jeweler. "Projects" meant rings. "Shirts" meant diamonds. Ocean-based projects meant "rings with pearls". Finally, he found it. A hundred year old "project" with hand-carved setting, and a beautiful rose-cut "shirt." The first two reservations for the outdoor igloo restaurant did not work out. The day after Christmas was poor timing as it turned out, and the second reservation was mysteriously revoked by the restaurant once they arrived. "A little igloo mix-up," they said. Renee took it well. Scott did not. The ring was returned to the hiding spot in their basement for the second time. This place of cobwebs and dirt was the one sure place he knew she dare not go. Then it happened. A month later. After the long-awaited igloo meal, Scott hid some champagne in the apple tree in the backyard of their house in the Catskills. He told her there was something weird inside the tree, and she trudged through the snow with him to see what it was. And then he asked her. And she said yes. Right there under the apple tree.