THE BEGINNING
by Olivier
MY FIRST IMPRESSION
In summer 2016, through our mutual friends Nancy & Wilson, we met one fateful night in Montreal at a bar called Furco. At first glance, Melanie is a beautiful girl full of fun and full of life – I wanted to get to know her more.
A week following the encounter, I invited her to meet up again to play music with some friends. This was when my first impression went from good to amazing. Wilson had his ukelele, Melanie had her violin and I brought my guitar. The moment she drew her bow across violin strings, my heart melted.
Soon, we were having endless conversations about our visions and perspectives on life, keeping us up all night. Feelings rapidly progressed from then on as we discovered our shared passion for music, food, and travel.
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?
One morning, I decided to cook her a light brunch (this was actually my first time cooking for her!) I asked her how she liked her eggs. She said she wanted them scrambled. I paused for a second, thinking to myself: "Interesting... She chose one of the hardest ones."
Now if there's something you must know about cooking eggs, is that good scrambled eggs are one of the most technical types of eggs to make. To achieve the perfect texture in scrambled eggs, these are the key steps: start in a cold pan, slowly increase the heat and constantly stir the eggs to achieve that homogeneous and creamy consistency.
All in all, I worked more than I expected for that small brunch and the funniest part in this anecdote is that she later revealed to me that she only chose scrambled eggs because she thought it was the easiest one and didn't want to trouble me.
It's been over two years now and ever since she has never requested for those scrambled eggs (whether she prefers overcooked scrambled eggs or simply doesn't want to bother me too much still remains a mystery).
FOR BETTER FOR WORSE
Two days before my 25th birthday, I received the best birthday gift I could have asked for: Our first kiss. I knew then and there that I wanted to make this girl my girlfriend.
Unfortunately, something horrible happened in Melanie's life only a few days later. For three weeks, I found myself driving her back and forth to the hospital so she could take care of her mother who suddenly fell ill. On October 24th 2016, Melanie was mourning for the loss of someone I sadly never had the chance to meet.
SHE'S THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME
Following this unexpected turn of events, the dynamics of our relationship rapidly evolved from holding hands at the movies to holding each other every night as we cried together. She gave me the option to leave her in her grief as she spiraled down to the lowest point of her life, but I wanted to take away as much pain as I could bear, so I decided to stay by her side.
Till this day, I believe it to be the second-best decision I have ever made in my life… The first being me getting on my knees, less than two years later, on August 24th 2018.