It happened on the campus of St. John's University in June of 2006. Shanna and Kyle were training to become history teachers in New York City. They had both just graduated from college, and were equally anxious to begin their new lives. Early on their friendship was forged over a shared admiration for college football and The Federalist Papers. While it started as a platonic relationship, it was undeniable that the kindling for romance was in place...all that was needed was a spark. Two years later Kyle moved to Chicago while Shanna stayed in NYC. Over the next five years they would oscillate through periods of frequent, and then much less frequent contact. Then on a chilly Spring day in 2013 Kyle's phone wrang: "I'm trying to find a job in Chicago, ya got anything for me?" asked the ever-direct Ms. Mann. By that summer, Shanna and Kyle were again living in the same city. Over the next two years their friendship intensified as they confided in one another their deepest hopes, fears, and dreams. It was in the Windy City that the additional layers of trust and respect were imbedded into an already healthy affection for one another. In 2015, Shanna moved back to California. Meanwhile Kyle remained in Chicago, but was continuing to feel the pull of the Pacific himself. On a February day in 2017 the two were at lunch at Blue Plate Taco in Santa Monica when everything changed. Over a decade of love and respect was codified over a pitcher of sangria. By the end of the weekend Kyle had professed his love for Shanna, and by the middle of June he was a proud resident of "Clarita." On October 19th, 2018, on the steps of the Old Capitol building in Iowa City, Kyle asked Shanna to marry him. More than twelve years after the two had first met, their love was finally made official. While the road that lead to this day has certainly been a winding one, the two wouldn't have wanted it any other way.