Moira & Greg

It all started on the DC Metro… (well, kind of).

One Saturday morning, Moira decided to make a SINGLE exception to her rule of never using public transportation (why Metro when you can walk?) and went to visit her friend, Severin, for brunch in Arlington. Though just three metro stops away, Moira considers anywhere in Virginia to be another planet, and this was her one – and only – trip to the Commonwealth.

 After a wonderful brunch, she walked back to the Courthouse metro station to wait for a train to take her back to the District. While waiting, and staring absent-mindedly at a Metro map, another train arrived coming from the other direction. Passengers disembarked, but one of those passengers stopped as he was walking by her, and stood looking at her for a few moments. When Moira realized she was being watched, she turned and asked, “Do I know you?”

 At this moment, Greg, who had been fervently trying to figure out why he recognized Moira, came out of his dazed state, and said, “Yes… I think so?”

Moira reflected for a moment on whether or not she recognized this man, decided that she did not, but simultaneously decided he was VERY cute and extremely well dressed, so she pursued the conversation. Greg asked many questions to try to discern how they might know each other, but to no avail. They did not, it transpired, know each other at all.

 Moira, not wanting to let this cute guy go without at least finding out his name, extended her hand and said, “Well, I’m Moira, and it’s nice to meet you.”

And that’s when Greg had the worst moment of his life. Because he realized, on hearing her name, that this was a girl he had “met” on OkCupid several months ago. They had exchanged cute, flirty messages, and even scheduled a date! And eight minutes before the date was set to happen, with Greg sitting at the tea shop ready to meet his future wife… she canceled. And never rescheduled, despite several attempts on Greg’s part to do so.

 Greg was mortified that he had just made conversation with this woman, who, in his mind, clearly didn’t want anything to do with him, hurriedly introduced himself and said that they had exchanged messages on OkCupid a while back, and then left to let Moira catch her oncoming train.

 Beffudled, Moira went back through her old messages, and lo and behold, there he was! A cute guy, with erudite and witty messages, whom she had booked a date with and then canceled at the last minute! What was she thinking?! Now she had met him and knew what she was missing! Immediately she messaged him to ask for a reschedule.

But it was not to be. By then, Greg was seeing someone else, and they were ships passing in the night. They still met up for a platonic cup of tea, during which Moira fell head over heels for him, but knew that nothing would come of it, and tried to move on.

Then, many months later, Greg called Moira to ask if she would still be interested in getting a drink. She said of course, and they went out together a few times, but their dates seemed to lack chemistry, and ultimately fizzled. Alas, it seemed that they were not going to make it after all.

Eight months in the making, Greg and Moira had their “official” first date later that week in June, and both knew then that they had found their perfect match. When Greg kissed Moira while walking home down 14th Street, she knew it was her last first kiss