Katie and Mike were never really *not* in each others' lives in some way. Their dads have been best friends since junior high, and Katie's uncle worked with Mike's mom back in their teenage days. Katie and Mike officially met each other in 1995, when he was 7 and she was 4. The Hughes stopped by northern Vermont to visit the Feeleys, and the rest, as they say, was history.... Basically. As they grew up, Mike and Katie would see each other at various family events - graduations, fundraisers, birthdays. They each went their own way: going to school, dating other people, breaking up with those other people. Mike even worked for Katie's dad for a while! Then, during the pandemic, something shifted. Katie had moved into her parents' place in Maine after a breakup, and Mike was single. They started texting, checking in on each other and the families. Eventually, Mike started popping up at the lake to hang out. When Katie bought a house, Mike was the first person she told. They talked about winter and how Mt. Wachusett and Wachusett Brewery were only about 10 minutes away. Mike suggested they go sledding and grab beers later that winter. Katie, somewhat impatient, countered, "Would you perhaps want to hang out sometime before this winter?" A week later, they had their first date on Mt. Cranmore in North Conway. They've been going strong ever since.