The hunt is over!

Carly had been working in a local breakfast diner for several years - a diner Justin and his coworkers frequented for lunch takeout. Carly took that order over the phone a dozen or more times over the years but with the way the restaurant was set up she never really saw who was coming to pick up the order. Suddenly the country shut down. Every procedure the restaurant had changed over night. Carly was one of two servers that remained to serve the community take out food only. Without all the distractions and a section full of tables the staff at the restaurant were finally able to put faces with names on these takeout orders they were packing up for years. Carly saw Justin. Her heart skipped. All of her coworkers heard it skip. A few weeks of jokes and flirtations transpired. A passing joke thrown over Carly’s shoulder - “Please…that boy knows I’d marry him tomorrow given the chance!” and they were off to the races! Justin’s ears perked, he asked someone if she was single and they were on their first date a few weeks later!

On the anniversary of their first date Justin and Carly took their dog, Otis, to a remote spillway in the woods they fondly refer to as The Lunch Spot. (Not many people know this but they come up with silly names for all kinds of things together.) Justin found The Lunch Spot on one of his reconnaissance missions to find ideal fishing spots and they have been going there with Otis since they moved to Ellijay in June 2022. Justin kept staring at Carly strangely and saying lovely things about how wonderful she is and how perfect for each other they are. Carly was very characteristically awkward and skeptical. As they sat on the carved and rotting wooden bench out there in the woods he asked in the sweetest and most nervous voice if she’d marry him while Otis stood and watched wondering why they weren’t paying more attention to him. Carly said yes knowing there was no man in the world that would ever compare to Justin.