O’Hare Airport. It was late. Bone-crushingly cold. A blizzard had taken hold of the city. The tarmac was frozen. Nobody was flying out that evening. And that’s when Matt and Val found themselves in line, waiting for an Auntie Annie’s Pretzel.

At the pick-up counter, Matt reached for his cinnamon-crusted pretzel bites … she reached for her cheese dip. Their hands brushed one another’s. They looked up, locked eyes and both said, at the same time, “come here often?” They laughed… a pause…

Val left quickly, with her book in hand. Matt went off to find his own seat. But as fate would have it, there was only one empty seat in the entire airport that he could find. The one right next to Val. Once again, they found their way to one another.

Matt opened up his dog-eared copy of Infinite Jest, just as Val cracked open hers. They audibly gasped when they realized they were both on page 321. The part about thermonuclear war simulation. It was love at first footnote!

…

Okay, maybe that’s not exactly the right story. Perhaps, it’s a bit of a twist. Perhaps, these two love-birds met in New York City. Perhaps, Val’s never been to Chicago. Perhaps, neither of them has ever finished that damn book but still have it on their bookshelf.

The truth is, we’ve never been able to agree on one exact story of how we first met — we each have our own versions of how it happened. Matt’s is un-surprisingly overly-romantic, Val’s is unsurprisingly slightly chaotic.

So, Matt and Val will tell BOTH versions at the party, and you can decide for yourself which you believe to be the actual true love story.