HOW WE MET
At the Picower Institute retreat in Cape Cod on May 30, 2007, Derek had pulled off a minor miracle in getting people from different labs to play beach volleyball together. Lauren, not being much for volleyball, was sunbathing nearby with her labmates. The game was one player short, so Derek called out to see if anyone wanted to play, but there weren't any takers. Undeterred, Derek called out, "Lauren will play." Unsure how this stranger knew her name, Lauren was a little freaked out but intrigued to figure out who this guy was, so she joined the game. A little while, Derek and Lauren found themselves directly across the net from each other when Lauren dove for a ball and had a little bikini malfunction. Always the gentleman, Derek didn't mention anything, but he was hooked. Fast forward six months, and Derek and Lauren have been throwing snowballs at each other for weeks on Facebook. A co-worker threw her annual holiday party on December 15th that year, and Lauren arrived early hoping to see Derek, but he was trapped at his lab holiday party. When he finally arrived, Lauren tried to not to seem to eager, but eventually worked her way over to Derek. The party was loud, and Lauren leaned over to say something to Derek, and before she could lean back, he kissed her. There are various reports, but apparently that kiss lasted for almost the next three hours. For Lauren and Derek, life would never be the same.
THE PROPOSAL
As usual, Derek and Lauren both had to work on Saturday, so they schlepped into work in their sweats. Always a good boyfriend, Derek went out at lunch to pick up some McNuggets. When he came back, he also had a large box with a ribbon and told Lauren she had to carry in around for the rest of the day until he told her to open it. Interesting... At the end of the day, Derek tricked Lauren into going to Boston Common by saying he wanted to go shoe shopping, Lauren's big weakness. When they arrive at The Common, Derek suggested a stroll around the park. When they got to a nice spot with a bench, Derek told Lauren to open the box, where she found a yellow, white and red rose. Derek told her that these represented the friendship, passion, and love that they shared together. Meanwhile, Lauren was digging through the box looking for a ring... but to no avail. At last, Derek got down on his knee right there on the Common and asked Lauren to marry him!
