We aren't sure the exact date that we met, but both agree it was at Marshall's Restaurant in Grandview Heights, OH for Monday night trivia sometime in 2019. For a little background, I (Allyson) had joined the trivia team in September 2018 when hosted at a previous restaurant. In January of 2019 the game moved to Marshall's, which just so happens to be down the street from Erik's house. His friend Tim invited him along one day and he would pop by randomly to join from time to time, but nothing immediately came of the meeting. I'm still sure I thought his name was Aaron for a few months.... Rumor has it that Erik had thought about asking me out around my birthday, but unfortunately we all know what actually happened in March of 2020 -- COVID-19. The Monday night trivia team and friends decided to start a weekly online game to help ease the isolation of well... isolation. With the encouragement of some friends, Erik decided to take me up on my offer for home made masks. Texting became phone calls and eventually he asked if I'd be interested in breaking quarantine for Mexican take-out and to watch "The Exorcist". Erik came to my place on May 23rd, 2020. And the rest is history...

They say when you know you know. Both of us can agree that early on we were planning our future together, including marriage. On September 19, 2021, after a weekend in Hocking Hills with friends, Erik asked me if I'd be up for a scooter ride and a picnic in a local park, a favorite warm weather past time. After pre-ordering some Dirty Franks Gourmet Hotdogs and riding around downtown, we drove to the Topiary Park for dinner. In between bites of delicious hotdogs, Erik reached into his pocket and said the most romantic words everyone wishes to hear, "So we doing this thing or what?" to which I replied, "What thing?" ... then I saw the ring. Pretty sure I screamed "YES" and the biggest smile broke out on my face. I still say Erik took forever to put the ring on my finger, but he insists I was too excited and took it out of his hand. We enjoyed the rest of the evening in each others company in a beautiful park, excited for our future to begin.