Back in the early 1990s, my friend and I pick a Friday night to go to a bar reasonably near our college. I’m the designated driver, so I drink nothing but non-alcoholic beverages, but three hours in, my friend is completely sloshed to the point of barely being able to stand. Despite this (or maybe because of it), he and a young lady hit it off, and he ends up going to her apartment with her.

He comes over to my place the next weekend and I ask how things went.

Friend: “Great. I passed out in her car, and when I woke up on Saturday, I was in her bed. She was sitting in a chair next to me with a concerned look. I had the worst hangover ever, and she took awesome care of me. She was very attentive, made sure I got rehydrated properly, and she’s a really good cook. We’ve been on three dates in the past week.”

He pauses for a moment and then adds a thought.

Friend: “If I hadn’t been so drunk I couldn’t see, I would have run screaming away from her in the bar. She’s not skinny and blonde like I normally like ’em. In fact, I’d probably have called her ugly as sin. But no blonde has ever been this nice to me.”

They recently celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary, and they have three wonderful children.

My boyfriend and are closing in on our one-year anniversary. He is very good with his hands and keeps himself happy by always having some project to occupy them. Knowing this, I go out of my way to buy the most complicated modeling kit I can find. It’s of a famous clock tower and has hundreds of tiny, intricate pieces, so I know it will take him a long time to complete.

Our anniversary rolls around and I give him his gift. He is delighted by it. He then presents me with his gift: a pair of socks with a couple of cartoon characters on them. While they are from my favorite cartoon and the gesture is sweet, when comparing them to the modeling kit, I’m unable to keep from looking disappointed. He only seems amused by my reaction.

As I awkwardly thank him for the gift, he asks me:

Boyfriend: “Do you want to know a secret?”

I say, “Sure,” not expecting much.

Boyfriend: “Well, you know how you always have trouble finding clothes that fit?”

I had emergency surgery after an accident that left my torso with an unusual shape.

Boyfriend: “I decided to learn how to knit, sew, and crochet, so now I can make you anything you want. I made those socks in a day.”

Now, I was looking at the socks in amazement. They looked professionally made. He had taught himself how to make professional-looking clothes in less than a year! I think I might have started crying if I wasn’t so blown away.

Last month, my now-husband and I celebrated three years of marriage. For our anniversary, he taught himself metalworking so he could make me authentic items for when we go to the Renaissance Faire.

My anniversary with my husband fell on a weekday this year, and we decided to celebrate it over the weekend rather than try to plan something on a work night. However, on the day of our anniversary, he wanted to surprise me with flowers, so he called the florist the morning of to place an order to be picked up on his way home from work. This is the conversation that occurred as he relayed to me.

Florist: “Hello, how can I help you?”

Husband: “Hello, I’d like to order a bouquet to be picked up today.”

Florist: “Sure. What kind of bouquet do you need?”

Husband: “One with roses and stargazer lilies, please.”

Florist: “No, I mean what level of bouquet? What kind of bouquet do you need?”

My husband is confused, unsure what she means.

Husband: “Um, a nice one? It’s for my wife.”

Florist: “Yes, but what is the bouquet for?”

Husband: “It’s for our anniversary?”

Florist: “Did you forget it?”

Suddenly, it clicks in his mind that the florist thinks he’s in trouble and the flowers are meant to be an apology, and he starts laughing.

Husband: “Oh, no, it’s today; I’m surprising her with flowers.”

Florist: “Oh! Okay, great! Usually, when someone places a rush order, it’s because they’re in trouble. So, you said roses and stargazer lilies?”

The bouquet was gorgeous, and I was very surprised when my husband came home with flowers, but I almost laughed myself to tears at the story that came along with it.

I have been trying to tell my girlfriend I love her for a couple of weeks. We are playing video games next to each other at her place. I am also painting my nails, so I have been using my chin to play my game.

She looks at me struggling with my game.

Girlfriend: “I love you.”

Cue us both looking at each other in panic.

Girlfriend: “I’m sorry!”

Me: “Did you mean it?”

Girlfriend: “Yes, of course.”

Me: “Okay, well, I love you, too.”

Girlfriend: “I feel bad; it could have been more special.”

It was a very “us” moment. It made me feel really special that she saw me acting weird and her first thought was that she loved me.

I play Dungeons and Dragons with a group of friends. We do it at a specific house because he’s the only homeowner among us right now.

While we were playing one day, a door-to-door marketer came knocking.

My friend speaks Klingon and answered the door in Klingon, his standard way of dealing with solicitors. To our surprise, the salesman answered back in Klingon, as well. My friend wound up buying whatever it was after the salesman was able to do the whole pitch in Klingon.

My friend invited the salesman to join us at DnD next week. He accepted.

Three years later, they’re married. The salesman also isn’t working door-to-door anymore; he now manages social media accounts for a company.