We met in Santiago, Chile in October 2004. Melissa was working at the Fulbright Commission and Nelson had just been awarded a Fulbright fellowship to complete his masters degree in the U.S. After being introduced at a Fulbright event, Melissa convinced one of her co-workers to call Nelson and invite him to a party that her roommates were having that evening. Nelson, who had just gotten off the phone with his grandmother, cordially accepted the invitation. Ultimately, he did attend the party, although he was the last person to arrive after a last minute assignment kept him at work until late. Nelson arrived in the most horrid [says Melissa] combination of pleated khaki pants and a short-sleeved plaid shirt. Despite his lacking sense of fashion, Melissa and Nelson spent the entire evening talking and laughing as they got to know each other. The decisive moment was when the elevator in Melissa’s building broke. Nelson came to the rescue and fixed the elevator using only a credit card. We haven’t been apart since … and the short-sleeved plaid shirt has been laid to rest at Goodwill.
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