It was a warm spring night in the city of Indianapolis. The date: May 5th, 2022. The time: Dusk. The location: a quaint bar in the center of Broad Ripple called OPTs. Maddie was having a girls night with one of her best friends Renee Branson and Nick was celebrating his graduation from Indiana University. As the night was proceeding, Maddie saw a tall man out of the corner of her eyes and decided, with a little liquid encouragement, that they must meet. The next thing Nick knew was a young woman was offering to buy his favorite beer (a cold one) to celebrate his graduation. They flirted the night away and Nick even tried to break into Goodfellas to impress Maddie with pizza. When the clock struck midnight, all parties left the scene with forgetting one vital piece of information, how to contact each other again. One month later, a miracle happened. Maddie was on the phone with Renee when Renee saw that someone posted for Nick's birthday (that someone is Mason, Nick's best man) and told Maddie it was the man from the bar that she had a crush on. Immediately, action called and drove her to find him on social media. A DM turned to messages that turned into calls, and another month later, they embarked on their first date. They went duck pin bowling, and at the end of that date, they both knew that this was something special, prompting Maddie to introduce Nick to her parents the next day. On September 15th, 2022, they decided to make it official! Since then, Maddie and Nick enjoy rooting for their respective college teams, cooking "together" (Maddie pours the wine while Nick does the cooking), and laughing to this day. Nick supported Maddie while she was finishing up nursing school and on the other hand, Maddie has stuck by Nick's side and supporting him through numerous Bengals seasons. On November 7th, 2025, what Maddie thought was a simple steakhouse dinner at Ruth’s Chris turned into something unforgettable. Maddie did not know that Nick had a twist up his sleeve, or for better words, a ring in his pocket. On the drive home, he casually played the most suspiciously romantic playlist of all time. At home, instead of entering through the garage as usual, Nick insisted on a different door. When Maddie opened it, she found candles and roses filling the room—and Nick on one knee. It was the easiest yes she’s ever said. The next day Maddie and Nick celebrated with their friends and family, and ended the night at the place it all started, the quaint bar in Broad Ripple, OPTs. OPTs has since closed its doors, but somehow, it feels like it never really could. Because some places don’t just hold memories. They start them.