Andrii was out enjoying Cinco de Mayo with his two friends, Alex and Sergii. Erica was dancing the night away with her two friends, Alicia and Kristina. They happened to be in the same club on Water Street in Milwaukee and around 2 AM, the two groups made their way outside to find an Uber home. Alex approached Alicia and Kristina, very concerned that they were sitting on the curb in dresses. He was insisting they stand up when Erica walked over at the same time Andrii and Sergii walked up. Erica stared at Andrii with a goofy grin and became completely oblivious to everyone else around them. Andrii saw how entranced Erica was with him and started a friendly chat. Erica was head over heels and her goofy grin hasn’t gone away since.

Erica bought a flight to Mexico for the entire summer the morning before she met Andrii. She moved out of her apartment and put all of her belongings into storage. She left Andrii with much hesitation on June 21, knowing she wouldn’t see him again until August 9. They texted everyday and grew closer in the weeks they were apart. On July 3, Erica woke up in Mexico City with her cousin, Mandy, ready to get on a bus to see the Mayan ruins when she received a message from her mom that her dad was in the ICU and it was time to come back. Erica rushed to the airport and got on the next flight back to Milwaukee. Andrii was waiting for her and brought her to the hospital to be with her dad. Erica quickly realized that her Dad needed her there each and everyday so she committed herself to going to help him heal and get his strength back everyday at 8 AM. The next night was the 4th of July, so Erica stayed in Milwaukee with Andrii to go watch the fireworks. She never left.

The summer was coming to an end and Erica needed to find an apartment in Madison before the school year started. She was looking for a place closer to Milwaukee and they were both entertaining the idea of weekly drives to see each other on the weekends. Andrii was a contractor working as a cable technician and asked what Erica would think if he asked to be transferred to Madison. Erica was overjoyed and they found an apartment together in Madison the next week. They absolutely love living in Madison and are both looking forward to buying a house and building a life there together.

Erica arrived home from her last day of classes on Thursday, June 7. She opened the door to their apartment to find a path of rose petals and candles leading to a bottle of wine and a card instructing her to go wait outside at 6:15. After an hour of wondering what was in store for her, Erica went outside to find a limo waiting to take her to Olin Park, where Andrii was waiting with a romantic picnic. It wasn’t until after the dinner when they were taking a walk by the lake admiring the sunset that Andrii popped the question. Erica couldn’t say yes fast enough!