It was the rainiest fall NYC had ever seen when two city singles happened upon each other via the city’s most overlooked dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, and began to message. Over the next several days, they covered food they liked to cook, travel (Middle East and NoLa), food you can make that reminds you of places you’ve traveled, politics, and food you can make to distract you from politics. Said singles decided to continue the chat in person, meeting up in the Village for a walk and a ‘quick drink’ at a bar Tim knew named, “The Otheroom.” The ‘quick drink’ turned into two as the conversation flowed and they discovered that despite coming from two VERY different places (Queens and Manhattan) they were able to look past their differences to what they had in common - a shared outlook on life, and a sense of humor that had them laughing together like old friends. Soon, they were inseparable. Despite living in different boroughs, they preferred to focus on what brought them together (friendship, jokes, shared values), not that which sought to pull them apart (the N train.) They met each others’ friends, got to know one another’s families and took trips together to far away places like San Francisco and even Philadelphia. As the couple grew ever more serious, the time came to face down the one thing that still stood between them and a lifetime together (the East River). Taking Tim’s hand (metaphorically, because in reality there were many boxes to carry), Ashley took a chance on an outer borough, and the two began to build a home and a future brighter than even the shimmering lights of Manhattan. Soon after, Tim popped the question, Ashley said yes, and they toasted their engagement back in Manhattan, in the Village bar where they’d had their first date two years before (which really was quite accessible by train).