Circa Dec. 2016

Evan and Amanda met at Drury University in 2013… during Amanda’s final semester. While they did share a class, it wasn’t until they were both in Ad Club that sparks flew. Amanda was the club’s president, and remembers that Evan showed up halfway through their final campaign with good ideas and followthrough. Evan, always a sucker for strong women, remembers her impressive leadership… and that she brought him a homemade smoothie when he was sick.

They soon found themselves in a heady romance. (Perhaps in part due to some bonding on an overnight hike laced with tragedy.) But it was doomed to be short-lived since Amanda had already secured a job for herself in Portland, and Evan wouldn’t be finished with Drury until late 2015. Neither of them expected that “final” goodbye at the top of Evan’s driveway to be as painful as it was.

They maintained a friendship from afar, difficult as it was. But as Evan neared the completion of his studies, his mind began to swim with visions of himself in Portland - with Amanda. He began what can only be called an incorrigible campaign to eliminate the romantic competition. Amanda, intrigued but skeptical that Evan would actually move 2,000 miles, was tentatively receptive.

As Evan’s Missouri escape plan was finalizing, Amanda stopped by while en route back to Oregon from a work trip. This was when Gail famously asked for one last Thanksgiving with Evan, and thus the date was set: the day after Thanksgiving, 2015.

That morning, Evan had one last coffee with an emotional Bill, who gave him the sage advice to “really do it”, and then set out in his Honda Civic with everything he owned, his mom in the passenger seat, and no semblance of a plan. All the while, Amanda was sending him housing options on Craigslist.

Three days later, after nearly running out of gas in the middle of nowhere no less than three times, and one dead battery in Cheyanne, Wyoming, Evan and Amanda reunited at a mostly frozen Multnomah Falls.

After a few very weird interviews, they found a renovated basement for Evan to rent, and said goodbye to Gail. Now all that was left was to find gainful employment.

While Evan hunted for work on the weekdays, Amanda began introducing him to Oregon’s splendor on the weekends.