The Future Lloyds

We met in the summer of 2022—Abby, an EMT, and Ryan, a paramedic—at the Cataldo Ambulance Service base in Malden. Abby noticed Ryan immediately, sitting in the corner playing his Nintendo Switch, but we didn’t actually speak. Our first real interaction came on a call: Abby was driving Ryan and his partner from Revere to Massachusetts General Hospital with a patient who had been struck by a car. Abby hit the brakes, Ryan (and the IV he was holding) went flying, a few choice words were yelled, and Abby couldn’t stop laughing. A perfectly calm and professional beginning. A few weeks later we ran into each other at Hugh O’Neill’s in Malden. Ryan walked up, stuck his finger in Abby’s drink, and asked, “What does that taste like?”—which, surprisingly, worked. We spent the rest of the night talking, went back to a friend’s house, shared an Uber home, and the next day Ryan showed up to Friendsgiving at the lake house. We’ve basically been together ever since. By April 2023 we had our first apartment, followed by two more, an additional cat, and our biggest adventure yet—buying a home together. We might not be the best ambulance partners (for the safety of our patients and anyone holding an IV), but we are the best partners in life. From long shifts and hard calls to vacations, laughter, and building a home together, we’ve always had each other’s backs—and we can’t wait for what comes next.