Nobody likes waiting in line. But sometimes good things come to those who wait [in line].

It was a surprisingly warm day for October.

As usual, Alex was behind on his problem sets. He took to the aisles of LaVerde's (the mini-market inside the student center at MIT) in hopes that the sugar from a bag of gummy bears could inspire him to stay up later and work more productively than ever before!

As usual, Moah was behind on her laundry. She took to the aisles of LaVerde's (the mini-market inside the student center at MIT) in hopes that buying detergent would inspire her to wash her clothes before she had to go to class in a formal dress!

As usual, the gummy bears didn't help Alex, nor did the laundry detergent help Moah.

But something much better happened. You see, since it was a surprisingly warm day for October, many of the staff at LaVerde's had surprisingly "gotten sick" on the last warm day before the cold dark Boston winter fully took over. Maybe flu season came early. In any event, lines were long.

When Alex saw Moah waiting in line, with about fifteen people between her and the register, he figured he'd have time to summon the courage to say hello. He'd noticed her walking into class about 20 minutes late every week, with a big unapologetic grin every time, and wanted to say hi.

Fortunately, courage arrived before checkout.

Alex said hello and asked Moah if he was right that they were in a class together. She said she'd never noticed him and had no idea. Alex was too obtuse to take the hint.

The next time he saw her in class, he sat next to her. They studied together for their Signals and Systems final exam. The amount of study time sent aside for that class grew, though the amount of studying stayed roughly constant. Continuous convolution turned to discrete convolution, and Moah walked into the final exam 10 minutes late, with a big unapologetic grin, carrying an extra copy of the formula sheet for Alex.

They went to the movies to celebrate the end of the semester, and got carded, even though they were both over 20. The movie? Love Actually. Carded. Yes, actually.

***

The next time they watched Love Actually, there had been plenty more classes together. They'd managed to not-study together for a robotics competition class, a class on "lightweight formal methods" whatever those were supposed to be (half the papers were written by the professor's dad, it was one of *those* classes), and at least one other class that was less memorable than their relationship.

Alex had turned 21 and pushed Moah down Mass Ave in a three-wheeled shopping cart. Moah was living at the warehouse, with 14-foot ceilings and all brick walls. Alex was learning how to cook on her mini-stove. Moah was learning to chop carrots and slice meat with abandon.

She remained behind on her laundry. He remained behind on his work. They took a trip to Italy together, devouring pastas, seafood, and enough pizza rustica to feed a small army.

***

They graduated, joined the workforce, and learned to live together as adults. They were joined, at different times, by Rodent Allies Weasel, Nimble, Sherlock, Nero, and Xeno. They moved from Cambridge to Melrose, where they lived in a 120-year-old Victorian house on a pond. Every summer morning felt like vacation.

In 2010, Moah joined Alex and Mike at Baydin, working together to reshape productivity software for millions of people. They found that spending ~23 hours per day together made their relationship even more fun. And they made some great stuff.

***

Later that year, tired of winter and short on startup investment, they moved to California. It quickly started to feel like home. Great friends, startups, wineries, great hiking, beautiful lakes, and the Golden Gate Bridge helped them understand why going west holds so much appeal.

They traveled to Mexico, where they ate enough tacos and seafood to offset all the margaritas. They traveled to France, where baguettes, ile de flotante, sole meneuire, and rabbit saddle added girth, while they soaked in the museums and history.


Moah folds, Alex sorts and washes. Neither of them is any good at finishing work, but they work with Mike, who is. Moah chops, Alex seasons and sautees. They fill their home with friends for parties, Game of Thrones, hackathons, and football games.

***

When Moah and Alex first moved to California, they celebrated seven years of their relationship at a lovely French cafe about an hour south of their home named Cafe Sparrow. In January, Alex made reservations at that restaurant a second time and suggested they leave work early and stop over in Monterey for a glass of wine. "Frustrated" because the sun was in their eyes for much of the drive, he suggested a detour to catch the sunset at a beautiful beach in Carmel. Never one to turn down a sunset, Moah agreed to extend the drive.

As the sun set on the beach, he fell to one knee and pulled out a ring. She said yes.

***

We invite you to celebrate our love with us as we write the next chapter.

 

Some pretty pictures of us!