If you haven’t heard the story yet, now’s your chance—although Duke definitely tells it better in person. It all began when Cheris started working at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, PA. Duke, working as an EMT, would bring patients into the ER, and the two began noticing each other from a distance. Duke thought Cheris was a doctor, while Cheris assumed Duke was married with kids. As time went on, her opinion shifted to, “Oh… he’s a jerk—and I feel bad for his wife.” At that point, they hadn’t even spoken—but both had already made up their minds. They continued crossing paths without interacting… until March 17, 2024. Duke arrived at Geisinger Danville with a patient and spotted Cheris in the ER. Seizing the moment, he made his move with:
“You don’t work here.” Not exactly smooth—but it broke the ice. Slightly caught off guard, Cheris replied that she was just there interviewing and would be back at work later that night. Exactly one week later, Duke was back at Geisinger. While dealing with paperwork, he heard a familiar voice, turned—and there she was. Without missing a beat:
“You again? What are you doing here?” Cue Cheris’s eye roll and a silent “WTF.” After one awkward side hug and a few glances across the nurses’ station, Duke was hooked. Back at the station, he asked for help finding “the short blonde nursing student with glasses trying to get a job at Geisinger”—only to learn there were hundreds who fit that description. Just when it seemed like a lost cause, Duke checked his phone and saw that Cheris had already found him on Facebook. While there’s still debate about who messaged first, Cheris admits she’d been trying to figure out who he was for weeks. From there, the adventures began—whether it was KFC in a pickup truck or trips to Tennessee, the two quickly became inseparable. Now, they’re excited to invite you to be part of their next chapter as they begin a lifetime of adventures together.