On June 4th, 2024, Timmy reached out to Ashley via Instagram messaging. Initially, she wasn't sure what to expect; aside from seeing him around their high school back when they were students at Valley Central, Ashley had never spoken to him. A quick glance through his profile showed he seemed like a pretty good guy, so she decided to give him a chance. They started out with small talk and before they knew it, it was like talking to a pen pal. Timmy and Ashley would send each other long messages detailing their interests, sharing stories, talking about life, and eventually, they even sent each other playlists of their favorite songs. Although they were just getting to know each other, it truly felt like talking to an old friend, like reuniting after being away for a long time, and conversation never got dull; quite the contrary, they never ran out of things to talk about! It wasn't long before they began to consider meeting up in person. They didn't realize it at the time, but that one single message would change their lives forever.

After lots of long messages, Ashley and Timmy decided to meet in person at 110 Bar & Grill in the Galleria Mall. Timmy sat waiting for her outside the entrance and Ashley rounded the corner, nervous and excited to meet this mysterious, sweet guy who she had been corresponding with. He turned and saw her, and he smiled; Ashley could tell he was just as nervous as he was, but she was immediately struck by how safe she felt in his presence. After a quick hug and hello, they went into 110 and asked for a booth, and from there, they spent the next several hours catching up as if they were old friends finally reuniting. Ashley and Timmy jumped from topic to topic, totally in their own little bubble. In fact, they were so busy talking that it took them forever to order - and even longer to even eat! Their waitress must have been exasperated with them, but it seemed that even she could tell that something special was taking place between them. And on June 30th, Timmy would officially ask Ashley out. ♡

"Have you ever been to the Palisades Mall?" After months of spending time together, it was this question that led to Timmy and Ashley putting together a playlist of their favorite songs, picking a date, and heading down to the Palisades Mall. The entire way down, they sang along (poorly) to songs they both knew, goofed around, and enjoyed the sunny morning that pointed to the bright day ahead of them. Once they arrived at the mall, Ashley and Timmy both felt like kids in a candy store. The sheer massiveness of the mall, all the different stores, the delicious scents of pretzels, donuts, popcorn, and other foods, and the excitement of it all was almost overwhelming in the best of ways. But it was that day, as they danced with each other to a local DJ's beats from the first floor, compared music knowledge over thumbing through vinyl records, enjoyed Popeye's chicken, and stole loving glances at one another, that Ashley realized Timmy was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Little did she know that he felt the same way.

On August 30th, it was a warm, pleasant day and summer was just starting to fade into autumn. After a day of being out and about, Timmy brought Ashley to a local park in Walden. It's a quiet, lovely little place with a tiny beach, and it was special; only a few months prior, Timmy had put on the song "Ghost On the Shore" by Lord Huron, and together, they slow danced alone in the chilly night air. When they arrived at the park, they were surprised to find the community center was packed and totally hopping. That didn't stop Timmy from parking the car, taking Ashley by the hand, and bringing her to that same beach. There, he set his phone down, got down on one knee, and asked her the question that he had been wanting to ask for a while now. "Ashley Rose, will you marry me?" And she said yes!