No shit, there I was...

Jordan, having terrible luck, said he'd never date someone he worked with, knowing it was a recipe for disaster. Jess, knowing that most male engineers are awkward anti-social butterflies, said she'd never date anyone at Northrop. But as chance would have it, they both ended up on the same software team together. Jess, an intern, treated as scum; Jordan, waiting on program access, alone and forgotten in the ice box.

He first saw her at a 9 AM meeting, blurry eyed and still nursing his morning coffee. Having attended this particular meeting for a few weeks, grew used to seeing the same ugly faces every morning. But this morning was different. Across the room was a beautiful young girl who was obviously familiar with the team... He dismissed her immediately--no work relationships. Didn't speak a word to her.

A month later, it began. A team outing at the lovely Mansion in Melbourne, Florida. It was a fine dinner, filled with awkward laughter among work friends and hidden grimaces at those who did not see quite enough sunlight. As dinners with large parties go, the waitress was slow going with the checks. So slow going that the Sunshine State felt necessary to provide what it was known for... Rain. It poured. With only mesh overhangs to stand beneath (wonderful design), there was little shelter to be had.

It was in that moment that Jordan made the most romantic move of his life. He held his box of leftover food over her head to shield her from the drips and asked her, "So you're a ChemE, right? Did you take Brenner's class?"

And the rest was history! After more time apart than together, between military training, a deployment, and various other obstacles, they moved to the small town of Rutland, Massachusetts together. Jess, living her dreams of being a chemical process engineer (and confirming her suspicions of engineers' prototypical behavior); Jordan, living his dreams of being in a Folger's commercial, drinking coffee outside on the porch in the snow, glaring at the chipmunks that marked spring's approach.

Which brings us to today, January 22nd 2024, a frosty afternoon in the snowy mountains of Vermont, where Jordan and Jess will let themselves be forever frozen in this moment. To a happily ever after, filled with the fairy tale ending they always dreamed of.