She worked at the RioCan Starbucks in Kingston. She quit. Then I worked at the RioCan Starbucks in Kingston. I retired. Then she worked at the RicCan Starbucks in Kingston AGAIN. It was a couple of near misses, like the universe drunkenly attempting to jab the key of destiny into the stubborn lock of workplace romance. Fortunately, while I then relocated to Toronto, I was still in the Riocan Starbucks in Kingston Facebook group chat and she had just joined. I piqued her curiosity with my earthy wit. I took notice of her physical appearance. One fated night on the town with the girls it seems someone let slip that I thought she was... hot (Emily's note: "pretty"). She added me on Facebook and I knew what that meant. I told her she looked like Neve Campbell (she vehemently denies this) and we hit it off instantly. I could tell right away that she was fundamentally trustworthy and good. After two weeks of incessant communication and falling in love from a distance we somehow decided we were "in a relationship". Two weeks later came our first meeting for our first date: Valentine's Day, 2016. No pressure. Thankfully, we got along even better in person. We have loved each other from the very beginning. So much so that on the second date a few days later, we both said "I Love You" and never looked back.

On April 27th, 2019 John told me we were going to a 10am screening of Avengers: Endgame. We couldn’t go on opening night and you can't wait too long to see a big movie without social media ruining it, so 10am was believable to me. There were a few signs I should have noticed when we got there that this wasn't going to be a regular movie, but I was out of it that day. He made sure there were trailers and then suddenly, I see our faces on the big screen and Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” starts playing. It took me a few seconds of initial shock to realize what was happening and then tears started pouring from my eyes (John's note: While Emily is an eerily silent crier, she was audible that morning). After a couple minutes of pictures of us over the past 3 years fading one into another (https://youtu.be/J86AiawYqHc), then with a sparkle wipe flourish came the words: “Emily Arthur… Will You Marry Me?” John then with trademark awkwardness and comedic timing slowly un-reclined his chair and got down on one knee. Of COURSE I said yes (even though it was too dark to see the ring)! We then spent a few minutes so in love before we exited the theatre where an employee and the manager were waiting for us with a changed marquee stating “She Said Yes!!!”. We went back home and called all of our family to tell them the great news and then John told me he has a whole day planned for us to celebrate our engagement! He took me out to lunch with some family, we actually saw Avengers: End Game for real (in IMAX of course), and went to our favourite restaurant ever for dinner after to top it all off. It was the most perfect engagement I could have ever dreamed of and I am the luckiest girl in the world to have John as my fiancé and future husband.