Way back in 2008, Arianne was working at a Gap department store in Midtown when Chris was transferred in as the new floor manager. The job turned out to be nothing special, but the friendships that were made there were. It was in that after-work social circle that they first became friends, and for a long while, just friends seemed just right. As that circle gradually got smaller and smaller, they discovered more and more shared interests: humor, travel, politics, and in a stunning reversal that shocked all who knew Arianne during her vegan years, buffalo wings. But it was at a Bernie Sanders rally in 2019 that something special clicked. That summer, they gave it a shot; quickly realizing what so many mutual friends seemingly knew about them. One pandemic and a couple dozen twists and turns in life later, Arianne found herself along the Manhattan waterfront one autumn night, with Chris ring in hand. All it took was 15 years.