Love in the social distancing of coronavirus

Last Saturday, I took a walk with my girlfriend, Molly, and our dog, Izzy, to a quiet park 20 minutes north of the apartment we share in Brooklyn, New York. It was nearly sunset, and spring was just breaking through the day’s gray. The Manhattan skyline was visible beyond the nearly deserted playground. A cherry blossom tree, bare only weeks earlier, was flowering now, pink petals exploding. I was there to ask her a question. The moment was exactly as I had imagined it – except all around us, the world seemed to be falling apart.

About once a month, we take Izzy out on a mammoth walk through the city we adore. These walks inevitably become about our futures; we plan and allow ourselves to dream with abandon.

It was on one of these walks that I realized I was going to marry her. Watching two of our friends get married in early January, we knew it was nearly time for us. What we didn’t know was that one week later and halfway across the world, COVID-19 was going to take its first life. I went to talk to her parents as the first cases were popping up in Iran. It had been my plan to ask Molly on a weekend in mid-March – on one of our long walks – but by the time the weekend finally came, the virus had reached our city, and everything had changed.

I spent a long time considering if I should still ask her. If I was able to pull it off, the moment would inevitably have a dark cloud hanging over it. It seemed

SAM FRENCH

selfish to be thinking about something as insignificant as a wedding. Plus, we suddenly had so many questions – about our jobs, our homes and the future. I'm a writer and director and she is an actress, and so much of that was on hold. I thought maybe we should wait.

It felt naive to think things would return to normal any time soon, if ever again. And, despite the sadness and fear we were carrying, we wanted to be engaged. Eventually, our parents reminded me that the world might need some good news, I decided to do it.

It wasn’t perfect. But we’re not getting married to have perfect moments – we’re getting married to love each other through the imperfect ones.

I got down on one knee and she cried and said yes. The wind blew softly through the cherry blossoms. We were still in love and still ourselves. We were planning and dreaming, just like on any of our other walks. We felt alive.