Love always has a funny way of sneaking in. Maybe it’s divine intervention or maybe it’s just the universe’s way of getting noticed. Gabrielle and Tanner met at Penn College when he selected her to be on his staff of resident assistants. He claims there was no ulterior motive behind bringing her onto his staff, however the verdict is still out. Their relationship began as any other friendship would have but over time, passing pleasantries turned into shared jokes and excuses to hang out. And that’s how it stayed for some time. “Just good friends. I don’t think I could date him. We would fight too much” and endless other lies were told to all of Gabrielle’s friends and family but no one believed it. Slowly, the casual hangouts turned into Monday morning breakfast dates at the dining hall, Wednesday night laundry excursions, and bickering at Wegman’s over who should push the cart. Pleasantries and jokes turned into something more serious. They talked about their families, the goals, their pasts, and their futures. They shared about the messy parts while silently evaluating if their relationship could withstand all the weight that life unloads when you least expect it. While late nights transitioned into early mornings, love grew. Steadily. Irrevocably. Undeniably. So when the time came to “make it official” not much changed for them. The laundry dates and trips to the store remained but they flirted while doing it and Tanner snuck a kiss in when he could. But life keeps moving, as it always does. Graduation brought a new job and over 3 hours of driving between them but love evolved. Anniversaries turned into engagements which turned into a pandemic. But through all the changing and uncertainty, they still hold hands in the grocery store and wonder how they got so lucky. So it’s doesn’t really matter whether it’s God or fate or just good luck, because when love comes in, it refuses to be ignored.