Our story began in January 2023, when Gabe was stationed at Fort Gordon and Abby was in graduate school at Clemson University. After hitting it off, Gabe persistently asked Abby to go on a date, but she insisted she had to "write a paper"—a claim Gabe still disputes. Three weeks later, after Gabe's relentless pursuit, Abby finally agreed to a first date at the Atlanta Aquarium. Those close to the couple know Gabe's strong love of flamingos and Abby's fascination with otters—clearly, they were made for each other. On that fateful first date, they agreed to meet at the aquarium's entrance. Here, their recollections diverge: Abby insists she showed up on time, with no Gabe in sight, while Gabe believes he was at the correct entrance. After a few calls, Abby directed Gabe to the "gigantic" penguin statue stationed "clearly" at the front entrance. Gabe maintains there was no penguin statue anywhere in sight. This back-and-forth went on until Gabe thought to walk around a nearby wall, finally locating Abby next to the 18-foot penguin statue—a detail he conveniently leaves out of his retelling of the story. Since then, the couple has visited five aquariums together in different cities, though none compare to the 18-foot penguin at the Atlanta Aquarium. In the following months, Gabe and Abby had many adventures together, building on the spark from their first date. In the spring of 2023, just a day after Abby received a teaching job offer in Leesburg, VA, Gabe learned he was being stationed at Fort Meade, MD. Clearly, God has a plan for these two, and their story is only just beginning.