George was literally the boy next door, but I always looked at him as the weapons geek. He had this big ol' book on Lord of the Rings battle strategies and an even bigger one on sword styles. We shared a couple classes, and I had him over once to critique the accuracy of a sword in my novel, but other than that we never really hung out. *** Hannah was the girl next door, but I was away at school in Minnesota when her family moved into their house. When I returned home, I noticed her at classes we shared. She was quiet, reserved, and respectful. I felt that I needed to get to know her better, so I called her house. My heart was pounding in my ears, and my stomach was full of butterflies. Her dad answered, and my heart sank, but I asked to speak to her. *** George asked me timidly if I would like to go on a walk. Unfortunately I was heading out the door to shop in town, and I told him that. Oh, I could feel him deflate on the other line! I felt really bad and said we could try again tomorrow if he was free. Why not? He seemed like a nice guy. I heard a tiny gasp and a "Sure! See you tomorrow at 6:30?" *** Hannah and I continued to walk in the following weeks, getting to know one another. It was wonderful every time. We had fun-filled conversations about everything under the sun—how we knew the same obscure shows we watched as children, shared the same appreciation for fantasy and art, and most importantly, our same views on life and moral matters. It was so much fun, I rarely remember the summer heat. About a month later I told her my feelings about her. I was so nervous about her reply. *** When George told me that he "liked" liked me, I remember laughing nervously trying to find a response before realizing I liked him, too.

Months passed, and our relationship grew. Hannah and I tried to spend as much time together as possible. Every day was a new favorite memory! Then came time for me to find my profession. With the encouragement of my Hannah, my parents, and all our friends, I chose to join the armed forces. I went to Marine Corps recruit training January 13th, 2019. *** Thus we delved into the world of long distance relationships. George shipped off to bootcamp, and it was letter correspondence for the next three months. It was quite a contrast going from next door neighbors to being states apart. But I wrote my George almost every day—over 80 letters. *** I know it would not have been as easy for me in bootcamp if it hadn't been for the prayers of everyone who knew me, but especially for the beautiful cursive letters Hannah wrote to me. These letters held the motivation and encouragement I needed to move forward during recruit training. *** At last, April 26 rolled around, and I flew out to San Diego with George's parents for his bootcamp graduation. I never felt more excited or proud than seeing him march onto the deck with his platoon, standing tall, tanned, and magnificent. Ugh, those long seconds of suspense felt like an eternity before they were dismissed. I tackled the poor guy and accidentally got a lipstick smudge on his uniform. But shhh. *** I moved from California, to Virginia, then to North Carolina for all my military training and schooling. I was able to visit Oklahoma three times since joining the Corps. Hannah visited me twice in North Carolina. We texted a lot more, video called a lot more, and looked forward to any chance of meeting up in person.

During our relationship we had found a little cove in Lake Fort Gibson, and since finding it, it became "our spot." We visited it every time George came to Oklahoma. It was late morning, but before the afternoon heat rolled in. The water was softly lapping on the shore, the cool breeze was washing over the lake, and there was not a soul in sight (except for the fisherman whose boat trailering we judged from a distance). George commented how bad we are at remembering to take pictures—we had not taken a single one on this trip. So he insisted on propping his phone on my car trunk and start posing. *** I was hoping Hannah hadn't guessed what I was up to since I spent a good deal trying to throw her off. I was a little nervous, but mostly excited. Then I dropped on one knee. "Hannah Marie Pennington, will you marry me?" *** At first I thought George was joking, and I sputtered something incomprehensible. After the shock and confusion passed, I said, "Yes!" *** This next chapter of our lives together is going to be a great adventure—joy and laughter, trials and tears, ups and downs, but there is no one on earth I'd rather spend it all with!