It all began on July 2, 2021 – a beautiful Friday afternoon. Anthepe was living her best life in the city, and was squeezing in a workout session before heading out to the suburbs to celebrate her Mutti's (that’s Iliana, her mother) birthday with family. For once in her life, Anthepe was not running late – in fact, she was early! Really early. She texted her trainer to see if they could move the session up, but it wasn’t possible. With 45 minutes to kill, Anthepe remembered there was a Greek café, Six06, down the street from her gym she had been dying to try, so she decided she’d wait there and get a frappe (Greek iced coffee). Unfortunately, the café was closed when she got there. But, two days earlier, Anthepe’s trainer had told her about a store across the street from the gym that sold water bottles and other drinks. At that time, she walked towards the large, lit up sign for “Loop Tavern,” and walked in. What she thought was a convenience store turned out to be a “slashie” – a liquor-store-slash-bar (it’s a Chicago thing). This is really cool, I need to bring my friends here sometime, she thought. At that moment, Steve was bartending. He saw Anthepe walk in and thought, Long hair, yoga pants – what the hell is going on here? Anthepe walked over to the cooler, made her selection, and bought her drink… without meeting Steve. But on July 2, Anthepe walked into Loop Tavern with her gym bag and purse, and said, “Hello! I know this going to be a strange request, but would you mind if I just bought a Gatorade and sat at your bar for 45 minutes? I'm working out across the street, but I’m early. I tried to get a coffee from Six06 but they aren't open – is that ok?” Steve replied, “Of course that's fine. Are you Greek?” Anthepe said, “I am! Are you?” Steve said, “Yes, I am. Come sit down at the bar and you can wait here until you need to.” They got to talking, and quickly realized that in addition to being Greek, they both had roots in Arlington Heights – which was pretty wild on its own, but they soon discovered they had lived mere blocks from each other for years! Steve's hospitality and kindness made Anthepe feel so comfortable and at-ease, and she was instantly intrigued by him. Soon, it was time for Anthepe’s session, and she had to leave. Steve told her to come by later if she was going to be around, and she said she might be able to. To his surprise, she showed up later that night! This time, Anthepe was dressed nicely after having a wonderful dinner with her family. They chit-chatted a little more before she went to hang out with some friends. Steve gave her his phone number and told her, “Don't get lost.” They decided to go out the following week. At the time, Anthepe was a little sick of dating, and thought about cancelling. But she changed her mind when Steve made all the plans – she knew he wasn't like the others; he had passed the “taking charge” test! They were having dinner and drinks when Anthepe’s Uncle George called a few times. Worried, she excused herself to call him back. Fortunately, everything was fine, and after about 15 minutes, Anthepe said, “I’m glad everything is fine and you just miss me, but I have to go. I’m on a date and if this man is still there after all this time, he must be The One.” When she returned to the table, there he was. Steve had officially passed the “Anthepe-can-talk-on-the-phone-forever” test (IYKYK). After a few more dates, they both knew neither of them were going anywhere.