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It’s June 2019. A warm summer night. Liam and Lis separately find themselves at a line dancing bar after Lis’ brother's wedding (Liam is not aware of Lis’ relationship to the groom, believe it or not). They hit it off, with the connection point being that both are incredibly bad at, yet enthused by, line dancing. They feel an instant spark. The only issue? Liam lives in San Diego & Lis lives in Washington D.C. Two days later, Lis’ flight back home gets delayed and she texts Liam: “I’m going to wait out this delay downtown at Stone Brewing. Any chance you want to meet up?” Liam sprints to his boss’ desk (it’s the middle of the work day), quickly explains the fiery connection he must chase, and leaves work in a mad rush (roughly three weeks after starting the job…thanks, Tony!). Liam and Lis spend the next few hours chatting about nothing and everything before parting ways. Somehow they know it won’t be the last time they meet, but they certainly have no idea all that is yet to come.
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A week later, Liam is at a layover in the Charleston airport on the way to visit family. He hears an announcement that his airline is looking for people to take a later flight, and offering a voucher in exchange for the time sacrifice. As a fairly broke young fella with a brand new reason to travel across the country (to visit a girl, of course), this is a huge opportunity. Liam accepts the trade and uses his next 13 hours thanking his lucky stars. Liam spends the next week in Maine, telling any friend, family member, or stranger who will listen about the jaw dropper he just met. He also may or may not tell his friend Conner “I think I love her?” Early, yes, but it’s just how he’s wired. Meanwhile in D.C., Lis tells every last customer and coworker at her restaurant about Liam, the guy she met in Temecula, CA. Liam and Lis start writing each other letters every week, crafting cheesy Spotify playlists, FaceTiming, and dreaming every day as if there weren’t 2,680 miles separating them. By mid-August, Liam books his flight to visit Lis (thanks to American Airlines for the voucher) and Liam and Lis have the most perfect weekend together. They bike through the city, go to some of Lis’ favorite local spots, eat falafel under the stars in front of the Washington Monument and catch a sunrise on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It's absolute bliss. Until the departure. Ouch.
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Fast forward a few visits, a few holidays, and about seven months. It’s March of 2020, and a mysterious virus has been making the news. Lis’ grad school trip to SXSW gets canceled and she is suddenly without plans for a week. Lis, somewhat spur of the moment, visits Liam in San Diego to fill this gap. After all, why miss a chance to see each other? Days later, the government of California places the state on lockdown. Liam’s work goes remote, Lis’ work and school go remote and they decide to stick together in San Diego and ride out this little quarantine thing. Days turn into weeks, which turn into months. Half a year of essentially one-on-one living together during a San Diegan summer solidifies what they already suspected: this relationship is the real deal. They cook a million homemade pizzas, have daily afternoon dance parties (shout out 88.9 Radio Milwaukee), surf at every given chance, run together, walk countless times around Mission Bay, make some terrible cocktails, and watch Tiger King, like everyone else in the world.
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After loving life under the same roof, their leases 2,680 miles apart just won’t do. Liam and Lis decide to move to Minneapolis, MN and truly start REAL LIFE™ together. Lis goes back to D.C. to pack up her apartment and Liam meets her there to make the U-Haul trek together to the midwest. For the next few years, Liam and Lis spend time climbing together, going on runs, hosting game nights and theme parties, biking around town, reconnecting with old friends and making new friends, cooking chili for Packer games, camping out, traveling, exploring the city’s many restaurants, tending to plants, and so much more. They learn how to be better partners, supporting one another through life’s ups and downs, and lay the groundwork for a full, adventurous, exciting life. While Liam and Lis are grateful for what they learned through long distance, the Zero Mile life is so much better.
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In 2023, Liam finally asks himself “what the heck am I waiting for” and buys a ring of the engagement variety. One afternoon, Liam asks Lis if she wants to go on a run with him. A Denim Run™, to be specific (if you want the backstory on Denim Runs, just ask). She accepts Liam’s invitation (naturally, it’s a handmade card). They leave to run—Lis suspecting nothing, and Liam knowing that he’s about to ask the girl of his dreams to marry him. Meanwhile, a group of their local friends are hard at work setting up a scene. After a few stops around town, Liam and Lis end their run in their alleyway and start walking towards the backyard. Lis notices a sign that says “Zero Mile Brewing” on the gate and knows something is up! She opens the gate to see their fire pit flickering, the string lights on, and two cans of beer from Stone Brewing (the brewery they hung out at in San Diego while waiting out Lis’ flight delay that one fateful day) on top of a cooler. Liam asks Lis to marry him. Lis said yes. A lot. Suddenly, a group of their friends comes flooding out the back door, shooting off confetti and popping champagne bottles. Celebration and many phone calls ensue. The ball is rolling! Now it’s summer 2024. Here we are. After hundreds of letters, thousands of miles traveled, and millions of belly laughs, we’re finally getting married! Saying we knew it would happen from the day we met sounds excessive. But we totally did.