If you know us, you know that they love books. Both of them are avid readers today and have been since childhood. We like to joke that their relationship started when Amanda sent Carl an “apology book” in the mail.

Although we met in May 2010, we did not begin officially dating until almost a year later. Carl pursued Amanda for several months from the fall of 2010 until the beginning of 2011. Despite the fact that--looking back--he pursued her more diligently than any other guy she had ever met, she remained skeptical about him.

Finally, Carl told Amanda that he was giving up. Up until this time, we spoke every day via e-mail and online chats but following Carl’s surrender, he ceased contact. Amanda began to realize how much she missed talking with him, and how easy and happy life seemed when he was there for her. Several good friends made it clear to Amanda that she was a fool who was passing up her real match in life.

Unsure how to proceed, Amanda decided to send him a package in March -- a book [No Country for Old Men] and an apology note -- detailing how wrong she was in rebuffing him.

Carl texted Amanda when he received the package, and Amanda will never forget where she was--she was riding on an Amtrak train during a business trip. They decided to go on a real first date, and that was the beginning of their story together.