September 26, 2026

It all started in a basement on Cranford Street. Mickey was funny and playful yet a bit shy, just beginning to hang out with his future lifelong friend, Jimmy. Mickey and Jimmy were neighbors turned lifelong friends. Nicole was Jimmy’s lively and adventurous little cousin. Neither of them knew it yet, but the stars were aligning for them all those years ago. When she was five and he was seven, they met. It depends on who you ask as to who liked who first. Nicole swears it was her—and has several family members to back up that claim. Mickey insists it was him, though he says he kept it to himself (because she made him nervous). Either way, it took many years of friendship and quiet admiration before either of them was brave enough (or old enough, frankly) to become more than friends. It all changed because of a math exam. At the end of her sophomore year, Nicole had a big state math test coming up. Naturally, she turned to Jimmy—who loved math—for help. He agreed and came over to tutor her… which lasted all of 30 minutes. Soon enough, he suggested they skip the session and go grab something to eat instead. Nicole didn’t need much convincing and they both parted ways and said they'd meet up in a little while. Not long after, her phone rang. She looked down expecting her cousin to call her, but It was Mickey. Jimmy had ended up asking him to tag along, and he rang to let her know they were coming back to pick her up. She pushed down her butterflies and tried to prepare herself to see him again. What might have once been a typical hangout between them all years prior suddenly felt different. Something had shifted. After that night, the infrequent texts they'd sent each other over the years turned into joking over all throughout the day and talking on the phone for hours at night. Before long, they had become best friends. About a month in, Nicole admitted that she had a crush on him when they were kids. He replied, “Oh, I had a crush on you too.” After working up the courage, she confessed that she had never really stopped liking him. To her surprise, he said he hadn’t either. Within a few months of quietly dating, they fell in love—eventually sharing the news with their families. Over the past ten years, Mickey and Nicole have grown and changed in countless ways. The one constant has been how deeply they love, care for, and value one another. On July 26, 2025—Nicole’s 26th birthday—Mickey asked her if they could spend the rest of their lives together. Now, on September 26, 2026, Mickey and Nicole will walk down the aisle hand in hand, promising to keep growing up together—and growing deeper in love—for the rest of their lives.