Ruth and Eric had a chance meeting one night in June outside of a punk rock show in NYC's Lower East Side. Both were there to see "Pkew Pkew Pkew", a lesser-known pop-punk band from Canada. While waiting in line, Eric commented to his friend that there weren't many DIY-punk venues left in the city. Ruth was eavesdropping and couldn't help but interject that Eric was mistaken and informed him that there was actually a free punk festival on Randall's Island that very weekend. Eric's friend could sense some serious 'beshert' vibes between them and left the two lovebirds to watch the show together. Eric drove Ruth home in his '03 Altima, nicknamed "Very Good Car" for its lucky license plate 'VGC700'. As he drove, they blasted music and sang along to the radio (one of their favorite activities to this day). That Saturday, they went to the free punk festival together on their first official date and the rest was history!

One balmy summer day, Ruth and Eric were having dinner at a local bar in his neighborhood. As they discussed what to eat, Eric noticed mushroom barley soup on the menu and got excited. Ruth said that she makes an amazing mushroom barley soup... a family recipe! Eric responded, "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Ruth thought he was joking (because marriage is not something to be taken lightly), but little did she know how serious he was. "I'm serious. Will you marry me??" She said no... Well, not yet.

On their 9-month anniversary (the very day that NYC 'officially' shut down), Ruth and Eric spent the windy afternoon on a cold, desolate Brooklyn beach, watching the sunset over the Verrazzano. With the lockdown on the horizon and facing what would be their longest time apart to date, Ruth resolved that she was finally ready and popped the question to Eric. He was thoroughly surprised and said yes, promising that once he had a ring, he would make it official and ask Ruth to marry him one final time. Though the lockdown kept them physically separated for the next few weeks, they were filled with love, excitement, and anticipation for their life together.

In Spring 2020, as COVID-19 became a long-term reality, Ruth and Eric decided to ditch their respective roommates and move in together. What started out as a short-term sublet from friends became their first home. Ruth and Eric have become expert cooks in their apartment and have decorated it with tons of art, books, music, and collectibles that reflect their shared loves of all things pop culture. Like their relationship, the apartment will always be a work in progress, but there will never be a shortage of good food, yarn, fabric, Funkos, or (most importantly) love.

In December 2020, Ruth and Eric offered to foster Candy, a lovely middle-aged calico, while her cat mom, a friend of a friend, was to be out of town for a couple of months. Ruth didn't think she was a cat person before she met Candy, but she fell in love. Eric has always been a cat person. Four months turned into nine and at that point, they officially adopted Candy into their family. At first, Candy was pretty reserved and liked to find hidey holes all around the apartment, but now they always find her waiting at the door to greet them. She loves to watch RuPaul's Drag Race and the Great British Bake-off with Ruth and Eric.

Last July, Ruth and Eric took the ferry into Manhattan to go see Marvel's "Black Widow" in the movie theater. They were rushing to make the ferry but Eric had to run carefully because he had a surprise in his pocket. They made it to the ferry and then to the movie and settled in for some classic superhero action. The movie was great and as the credits rolled Eric pulled out a ring and ask Ruth if she would go to the movies with him for the rest of their lives. Ruth said yes and then they watched the post-credit scene. Then they went out for ramen and took the ferry home as the sun set. A perfect day!