Prior to meeting each other, Clare was a law student at Ole Miss with her man-hating dog, Athena Rhea. Zach had returned to live in the south after spending a year in Seattle and lived in Walls with his two cats, Kenan and Kel. Clare, after having been banned on Tinder for apparently bullying men, had made the move to Bumble. Clare swiped on Zach because why not? Zach, when asked what made him swipe on Clare, maintains he swiped, "Because I thought she was sexy." Very romantic. Clare messaged Zach, and the two began talking. Even after Clare discovered Zach was a member of one of her least favorite groups of people (bicyclist), the two agreed to meet at the airport when Clare was flying back to see her family for Thanksgiving, since Zach worked for Southwest and Clare decided to fly out at 6 AM. Zach approached Clare at five in the morning as she was fighting with the Memphis WiFi to try and watch Drag Race Italia. Clare heard his accent... and immediately wondered what she got herself into. Still, he was nice and she decided even after being a bicyclist, she would give him a chance. After finals, Zach and Clare went on their first date. Zach drove the ninety minutes to take Clare to Old Venice, one of the more affordable but still nicer restaurants in Oxford. The conversation was easy and afterwards, Clare took him to the Blind Pig just so the night didn't end. To be cliche - it was an immediate connection. Zach took Clare on a plane ride for their second date, then immediately gave her COVID for Christmas. Clare and Zach split their time between Oxford and Walls, because Athena had never been around cats and Kenan and Kel hated dogs. However, Clare and Zach were determined to make it work, even if the "kids" didn't love each other and Athena still was unsure about a man in her home. After March 2022, Clare and Zach knew they were in it for the long haul. Athena slowly came around to Zach and Kel and Kenan tolerated Clare. After graduation, Clare moved to Memphis, which was significantly closer to Zach, and it was only a matter of time before Athena, Kenan, and Kel began to barely tolerate each other's existences. The little family unit was completed when Artemis Rose stumbled into Zach's backyard. Zach was never discrete. Clare knew a proposal was happening and even knew when Zach had picked up the ring. However, it was nearly perfect on a dreary, May morning when Zach asked Clare if she wanted to take Athena for a walk. After driving toward the river to a spot that overlooked all of Walls, Zach pulled over and asked Clare and Athena if they wanted to get out of the car. Right there, next to the tree that was clearly marked as someone's private property, Zach got down on one knee... and pulled a container of whipped cream out. As he tried to ask Athena to officially be her stepfather, Athena realized that Zach's brother, Aaron, was approaching, and tried to yank Clare away. Zach finally pulled out the long-awaited ring, and it was a no brainer Clare said "yes," through trying to keep Athena from pulling and making sure they wouldn't get arrested. Within months, they packed up their belongings and their "kids," and drove thirteen hours to start their lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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