Ashley and Harrison met during their freshman year of high school at Cairo American College in 1999. After becoming fast friends, they maintained a close friendship even after Ashley’s family left Egypt for Texas in her junior year. Over the years, separated by geography, Ashley sent Harrison several of her annual holiday cards - cards he was quite certain were her declarations of love (despite him being merely one of many recipients). Ashley often revisited a 2001 goodbye letter from Harrison, calling her his “wife”- and citing the profound lyrics of renowned romance artist, Ja Rule. The pair would take advantage of special occasions to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. In December 2019, Harrison invited Ashley to his MBA graduation celebration. During that visit, and after Harrison passed “the Smokey Test”, Ashley and Harrison knew there was more between them than their strong friendship. Through weekend trips between D.C. (where Ashley lived) and Charlotte (where Harrison lived) a romance blossomed. In March 2020 as everything shut down, the couple decided it would be more COVID-19 friendly if they quarantined together while working from home (at least, that was Harrison’s excuse). Two weeks of quarantine turned into a year- and while social distancing, they spent their weekends exploring parks and trails around Charlotte and were happy showing city-slicker Smokey what nature actually looked like. Now, they are delighted to celebrate their engagement and dedication to each other with close friends and family. #FromCairotoCarolina