Emma and Graeme met at a Quaker Meeting for Worship at Friends Meetinghouse in Cambridge, MA in 2014. Graeme was active in the Young Adult Friends group, and on Emma's first visit to the Meetinghouse someone introduced her and Graeme. A few weeks later there was a Young Adult Friends potluck. Emma brought cookies and made sure to sit next to Graeme and the rest is (almost) history!

Emma and Graeme would interact occasionally at Friends Meeting Cambridge, but never actually made firm plans to meet up. One night at The Burren in Davis Square, Emma's friends from grad school convinced her to send him a generic "what are you up to this week?" text. Graeme asked her to join him for a book reading at the Harvard Square Barnes and Noble on March 4, which would become their anniversary. A woman was giving a talk called, "How Good Kids Become Terrorists," and the audience was mostly empty except for Graeme, Emma, and a few unsavory looking men, some of whom were sleeping. Midway through the talk Graeme and Emma realized the woman... must have never met a single child, googled the word "terrorism," or have any other credentials to speak of that would enable her to write a convincing book about the subject.

Emma and Graeme had been living together in Belmont, MA for about a year when they visited Emma's parents in New York City for Thanksgiving. Their Belmont apartment was sweet but tiny, and neither of them loved their jobs or neighborhood. That Thanksgiving weekend New York City was at its peak--the foliage in Central Park was stunning, the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center was as beautiful as ever, and Emma's parents' apartment would soon be empty, as David and Lisa were getting ready to go to Florida for the winter. On their drive back to Massachusetts, Graeme and Emma decided to give their notice to their landlord and move to the greatest city in the world.

Emma and Graeme (well, mostly Emma...) had been talking about getting a puppy right after their move to New York. Graeme was not convinced, but thought a big, male dog like a Samoyed or a Husky could be okay. Emma wanted a small, city-friendly companion dog like a Cavalier King Charles. Emma would share fun facts about cavalier mixes on a daily basis from 2017-2019, and eventually Graeme saw a picture of Arlo in January 2019 and said, "That's the one!" They picked Arlo up on January 31, 2019 from LaGuardia Airport and their lives have improved exponentially since then!

On Thursday, July 23, 2020, Emma was doing a favor for their friends and neighbors. The neighbors were in a bind and needed Emma to let someone into their house. When Emma told Graeme where she'd be he said, "Are you sure they can't find anyone else?" Emma assumed he was worried about COVID-19, assured him she'd take every precaution, and went to their house. About an hour into house-sitting she received a panicked call from Graeme. He told her that he had gone biking with Arlo and they were in a major accident, and that she had to pick them up right away to bring Arlo to the animal hospital. Graeme gave her vague directions of where to meet them, Emma ran out of the house and drove to them like a crazy person, saying Hail Marys all the way. When she got there--it turns out, to a beautiful scenic overlook in Highlands, New Jersey--Graeme was in the parking lot area with the bike in disarray. "Arlo is tied up by those benches and he's not moving," he said, "Go get him, I'll put the bike in the car." Emma left the car running and with the door open and ran to Arlo, who was happily wagging his tail and jumping up to greet Emma. She pet him and heard Graeme behind her. She turned around to say, "He seems fine to me," only to find Graeme on one knee. To the left there was a beautiful fishing harbor left with the New York City skyline beyond it, and to the right there was a family that applauded for them. Graeme, Emma, and Arlo immediately facetimed Emma's parents, and then went out for champagne and lobster rolls at Bahr's Landing, excited to face their new adventure.