Somewhere over Newfoundland at 30,000 feet above sea level, Todd proposed to Rose on an Air France flight bound for Paris. He arranged for flight attendants to come by mid-flight with flutes of champagne. Caught off guard, Rose was puzzled. The attendants smiled and said, “I think he has a question for you!” Todd pulled out a ring, and while strapped into the middle seat stated, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” The couple kissed, and the entire cabin clapped. The diamond once belonged to Todd’s grandmother, a Pittsburgher from the greatest generation. Todd, 40, is the third generation to grow up in Pittsburgh. The son of Arthur and Lynn Smith, Todd grew up in Point Breeze. Rose, 36, grew up in Atlanta, GA, and is the daughter of Matthew and Gail Reid. The couple is an example of an old-fashioned love affair in modern times. In the midst of a global pandemic, Rose and Todd were introduced by a mutual friend. (Really mutual family friends — a mother-daughter duo encouraged the two to meet up IRL.) They were both warned of each other's strengths and weaknesses beforehand and were told, “I don’t know if it will be romantic, but you will have fun! At the very least, you’ll make a new friend...” They met up for a hiking adventure in Ithaca, New York in September 2020. By Thanksgiving, they were inseparable, living a digital nomad lifestyle together. There were ups and downs with jobs and navigating long distance. There were also lots of home-cooked meals, roadtrip adventures, and spontaneous dance parties in the kitchen and on the street. Ultimately, the two are learning how to support each other through the quotidian and the big life changes…and now, they get to do it ad infinitum.

Nestled along the coastline, midway between Savannah, GA and Jacksonville, FL lie a string of marshy barrier islands. One of Georgia’s most famous poets, Sidney Lanier, captured the sun hitting the marshy coast's golden reeds: With his inshore greens and manifold mid-sea blues, Pearl-glint, shell-tint, ancientest perfectest hues Ever shaming the maidens,--lily and rose Confess thee, and each mild flame that glows In the clarified virginal bosoms of stones that shine, It is thine, it is thine…