He directed my first play and I began choreographing for him. We’d known each other for two years and had become good friends. I won a bet and Mike owed me dinner. So, on May 13, 2002 I picked out a cute black pencil skirt, heels, fixed my bleach blonde hair and put on red lipstick. I headed out to meet him at an intimate Italian restaurant. He was never an affectionate guy so you could imagine my surprise when he placed his hand on the small of my back as we walked down a ramp into the Windsor Casino. We laughed about our friends teasing me about our “pseudo dates” and played black jack. I lost. He won all of it back. We pulled up to my apartment and I kissed the last man I ever wanted to. We moved into a flat, got a dog, bought a house, got another dog and began making a life and a home together.

On October 21, 2005 we were in our favorite place, Stratford Ontario, on a trip with his students. The theater festival there is a must for us every year. I was running late for a workshop at the main stage. Mike met me outside and we rushed into the theater, hoping that they’d still let us in. I was shocked to see that we were the first to arrive. The woman running the class said she’d be right back. Mike climbed onto the stage and after much coaxing, convinced me to join him. It was breathtaking. So beautiful from center stage. He wrapped his arms around me and asked if I know how much he loved me. When I turned around, he had dropped to one knee. I almost fell over!