Aaliyah's Side of the Story: I moved to New Jersey in May of 2021 to be closer to Ramapo, NY, with the intent to volunteer there when able to do so. Being in a new hall on zoom, and more than 1,000 miles from friends and family the first couple of months were a bit tough. Then one day I went out in the ministry with Kaelyn (his sister) and tried my hand at making friends. I asked if she would like to meet in person and she agreed. Fast forward to the day we were to meet, Kaelyn texts me and asks if she could bring her brother …. (I didn't realize she had one)… and who am I to say no? I simply am trying to widen out. So we all arrive at the same time, do introductions and have dinner. I did NOT think about Thomas again. Dinner was nice and I was very excited to continue to grow closer to Kaelyn. A month goes by, and Kaelyn invites me to the beach, which to my surprise was 2 hours away! So the three of us talk and listen to music, and continue once arriving at the beach. Here is a fun fact... the beach didn't allow food, and those that know me KNOW I love to eat. So I did some research, found a little pub, asked everyone if they wanted anything and began to set off on my journey for food when Thomas asked me to wait and said that he would go with me so I wouldn't walk the three-ish blocks by myself. I thought the gesture was cute. We got food walked back ate on the boardwalk and headed back to the group. The next day I sent a snap of a snack we had shared the day before and, well... here we are. Thomas' Side of the Story: I was introduced to Aaliyah when she moved up from Florida to join our congregation last year. We were deep in the COVID pandemic at the time and our meetings were virtual so I would only see her on a screen for 3 months before we made plans to hang out. I’ll admit that I found her bubbly disposition and zeal in the congregation to be a little intimidating because she was very unlike me. I also wasn’t looking for any type of relationship at all. When I joined Aaliyah and my sister for dinner though, I learned so much about her. She was a kind, responsible, mature Christian sister. She was an intelligent and capable nurse which still impresses me today. She was pretty funny too, even though her jokes are so corny. The conversations we had were meaningful and involved, I really enjoyed talking to her. But, my defenses were still up. I really didn’t feel like I’d ever be romantically interested in someone for a long time. Fast forward to the beach day she described and we were all starting to get hungry toward the end of the day. Most New Jersey beaches are terrible because they don’t have any food onsite. She wanted to leave to eat and I offered to join her because I felt bad just letting her go off on her own. I was surprised when nobody else offered to join us! When we went to get food we were able to talk so much more and I learned the thing I loved most about her: She is a wonderful listener and full of empathy. Needless to say after that day I totally caught feelings and life played out the way it always does. I don’t regret it for a second.